Do I have a life outside of physics? You bet! The purpose of this page is to let my students know a little bit about me. 

Look here for my Curriculum Vitae which gives you some idea about my professional life.
But, there's a little more to me...

The most important part of my life is my family. I have a wonderful wife, Sara, and four great kids. In order of descending age they are Geoff who is 40, Andy who is 38, Hannah who is 24, and Adam who is 13. Maybe you can tell that I like kids!  The picture above was taken at Christmas, 2009. The whole family is here, including my daughters-in-law Carol and Erin; three grandchildren, Ivy age 5, Sage, age 3, Finn, age 2, and Wyatt (not yet born as of this picture!).

One of my favorite ways to leave my cares behind is fishing. I do only fly fishing except when I go to the beach once or twice a year. Locally I fish for bream and bass and occasionally get up to the mountains to do a little trout fishing. From spring through fall you will often see my canoe atop my green truck.

Our family lives in a 100 year old house near the top of the Baxter hill. One of my hobbies has been to restore this old house. Mostly without professional help I have been able to convert a wreck of a house to a really beautiful home. Of course, I acquired many skills along the way --carpentry, wiring, plumbing, etc.--but the one I am proudest of is stained-glass window making.

I began playing violin about 20 years ago when my eldest son was learning. If you know anything about the Suzuki method of music teaching, a parent is always heavily involved and I was the "participating parent" with my son Geoff so I decided to try to learn it a little myself. After all, I love music but have always felt deprived that I never learned to make music myself. What I found was that, while my musical talent is minimal, I have a very good ear and can play reasonably well by ear. It is only in the last few years that I have made a serious effort to learn to read music. My daughter Hannah was the next generation of violin students in the family and I was again the "participating parent"--deja vu all over again! Although she has now quit playing, I still play in a small ensemble of other Suzuki parents. Adam played violin for about 7 years, but he now is studying drums, much cooler!

I love to cook. I am best at baking (of course, must be in the blood!). I have been making bread for more than 30 years and make all my family's bread. After many years I can finally make a baguette I am proud of. Your grandmother would approve of my pie crust.  In response to popular demand, here are a couple of my favorite recipes: cornmeal bread and French bread.