WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT STANDARD ELECTRIC, AND WHAT DO YOU SPECIALIZE IN?
I am an Application Specialist, with a focus on high-end industrial automation products. I spend most of the time supporting Schneider Electrics PLCs, HMIs, Drives, and Motion hardware. Although, in the 40+ years that I’ve been in the industry, I have been exposed to every major manufacturer of these types of products.
HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN ENGINEERING?
In my early teens, I got involved in model railroading, a hobby I am still involved in. This hobby can incorporate a diverse set of disciplines, one aspect of which includes electrical circuits and systems. Nurtured by my father, I knew at a young age that that was the career path for me.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THIS INDUSTRY?
I enjoy learning about the different control and automation processes used in the industry.
WHAT TRAITS DO YOU HAVE THAT HELP YOU IN YOUR ROLE?
I am a life-long learner. I take about 10 college correspondence courses a year. I am constantly learning new concepts to keep pace with changes in all disciplines that are part of my daily life.
WHEN YOU'RE WORKING WITH CLIENTS, HOW DO YOU HELP THEM IDENTIFY AND SOLVE THE PROBLEMS THEY'RE FACING?
As part of my Electronics training in the US Navy, I learned a systematic, 6-step trouble-shooting methodology. Applying this process has served me well in efficiently diagnosing problems and getting my customers’ systems, back up and running.
WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU'VE LEARNED WHILE WORKING AT STANDARD ELECTRIC?
There is a larger world, beyond Allen-Bradley, where I worked for ten years as a system designer.
WHAT KIND OF THINGS DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE OF WORK?
I am an advocate of the DaVincian principles. I study and practice a diverse group of interests.
- I am actively involved in my local church, organizing musical ensembles. I am also an amateur theologian, focusing on doctrinal development through Christian Church history.
- I play any low brass instruments. Early this year I procured a hand-made Austrian Alphorn, which I am now teaching myself to play. I play semi-professionally with a German Blaskapelle , “Die Freistadt Alte Kameraden Band.”
- I have a highly detailed and automated, 600 square-foot, HO Scale model railroad, in my basement. It is a circa 1929 replica of the Great Northern Railway segment through the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. It features hand-laid trackwork and scratch-built buildings from old photos from the Great Northern Railway Historical Society, of which I am a member.
- As an advocate for healthy living, my wife and I begin each day with at least half an hour of exercise. In the summer, we hike on the Ice Age Trail, which stretches about 1000 miles across the state of Wisconsin. In 2010, to commemorate our 20th wedding anniversary, my wife Kelly and I, road one of our tandem bicycles across the state of Missouri (550 miles).
- I also prepare most of our meals, using whole foods, enjoying fresh tomatoes, peppers, salad greens, and herbs from our hydroponic gardens.
- I am an avid reader, usually engrossed in two books at a time. The topics supplement the college course that I take.
WHAT IS AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOU THAT MIGHT SURPRISE CO-WORKERS OR FRIENDS?
I have an interest in botany, evidenced by a six-foot-tall Avocado tree growing in my basement. I actually have four Avocado trees, but the oldest and biggest one is about five years old.
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