About
Me
I
was born in the city of Newcastle, N.S.W., which is about 100 miles
north of Sydney. When I was 2 years old, my parents moved to Perth
in Western Australia, where we lived for the next 12 years. I attended
primary school and junior high school during these years. We then
moved back to Cooranbong, N.S.W. (near Newcastle), where my parents
still live. I attended senior high school and college, completing
a B. Ed (Sci.) degree in 1979. In 1980, I attended The
University of Newcastle, Australia, where I completed an Honors
year. In 1981, I taught school in the Cook
Islands as a volunteer. After returning to Australia in 1982,
I entered graduate school at the University of Newcastle and completed
my Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. In 1986, I moved to California
to work at Loma Linda University.
While there, I met my wife Jackie, who was working on a combined
M.D./Ph.D. program. We were married in December, 1987. In 1990,
I moved to the University of California,
Riverside. In 1992, we moved to Orlando, Florida, where we have
been ever since.
Initially,
I worked at the Citrus Research
and Education Center in Lake Alfred. This research station is
part of The University of Florida.
In 1995 I joined the The University
of Central Florida, first as an adjunct, and then as a Visiting
Assistant Professor. I taught biology and plant physiology. I was
also involved in the University's program to use the Internet for
distributed/long-distance learning. My final project was to mount
my general biology course on the World Wide Web. I taught this course
in the Spring of 2000. In January, 2000 I joined the faculty of
Valencia College,
where I now teach Fundamentals of Biology I and II.
The
single biggest change since moving to Orlando has been the birth
of my daughter, Erica in 1996. This single event has
caused many changes in our lives. Erica continues to amaze us with
her development. I can't think of anything more rewarding than being
a father; there is just nothing else like it.
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