I worked in metal fabrication for about 10 years, followed by another 8 or so years in mechanical construction, with about half of the mechanical construction time as a project manager. I returned to school and earned my BS (Cum Laude) in Physics, with a math minor in 1995. I attended graduate school at Texas A&M University, first in Physics, then in Mechanical Engineering, for about 2 years. I went to work the full time in a metal research group studying severe plastic deformation in metals, and have been doing this ever since. While working there I pursued independent study in Engineering for professional engineering certification which was granted in the State of Texas: P.E. license #97374