Personal Information
The short story, for now...
I was born in suburban Pittsburgh, PA, and lived in that area until I was 10. My father's job with Trion brought us to North Carolina, specifically to the town of Sanford. I lived there until 1991, when I moved to Raleigh to be closer to my job at the time. I started my college career at NCSU in 1979-80 as a part-time student, but marriage, kids, and divorce intervened, and I didn't return to the university until 1997. I've earned my B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science here at NC State, and will finish my Ph.D. in the Spring of 2009.
My wife Sharon works in the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at NC State. She is a graduate of Meredith College, and graduated this spring (2008) with a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at NCSU. We are avid Wolfpack fans with season tickets to football and basketball (although they are both in the nosebleed sections!).
I have a daughter and son from my first marriage. My daughter, Leia (yes, named after the Star Wars Princess!), graduated from UNC-Greensboro two years ago with degrees in Elementary Education and Sociology and is currently teaching K5-1st grade in Guilford County. My son Jonathan attended Western Carolina University for 2 years, but left there and is now an Airman First Class in the US Air Force.
Although I haven't had much free time for the past few years, I used to be an avid and very competitive bowler. I carried a 200+ average in 3 - 4 leagues for 2 years before I came back to school, and bowled my first perfect (300) game in sanctioned competition on March 27, 1996. Sharon and I actually met at the bowling alley - my son bowled in a kids league with the stepson of Sharon's boss at that time, and her boss and his wife got her involved in a short league, then they talked me into being the 4th person on the team. The rest is history (for another time...).
