About the Author

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Having served as a merchant seaman in his late teens during the height of World War II, and later sailing as a deck officer in the early post war era, provided the author with a keen perception and a first understanding of the mechanics of the universe. His early seagoing training in navigation had raised in him the desire to gain a greater knowledge of the world he lived in. During the 60's, he obtained two degrees in Physics and began an academic career of management, teaching and research at the University of South Florida. In the 70's, He received funding from the Federal Sea Grant Program for development of an oil spill recovery concept for which patents were later issued. This work also provided the opportunity to spend a year as an invited research associate with SINTEF at the University of Trondheim in Norway. By the mid 80's he had moved from Florida to the North Carolina mountains in the first step toward early retirement. This moved him out of the "big city" and into a more peaceful environment, one that would be conducive to other kinds of creative activity. From the fall of 89 through the spring of 91 He taught at the University of Western North Carolina on a part time basis as he began to settle into a slower pace of life.