Greetings to fellow graduates. After graduation, I spent a few years living in various states from California to Florida and eventual returning to GR to attend GVSU. There while majoring in Physics I meet my now ex-wife Marilyn. We both acquired our B.S. degrees and moved to Kentucky where I owned Northwind Home Improvement Company for the next seven years. We both entered Graduate programs at the University of Kentucky. In 1983 Marilyn finished with a Masters of Clinical Nutrition and in 1984 I obtained a Masters in Physics with the most wonderful graduation gift, the birth of our first child Zonnie Nicholas. I took a position at General Motors Research Labs, and we moved to Romeo a community north of Detroit. In 1987 another of life's most wonderful gifts arrived my daughter Ayla, currently a Doctor of Physical Therapy practicing in Denver CO. Having reached the top of my promotional track in 1990 I was awarded a General Motors Fellowship to return to graduate school to obtain a Ph.D.
With offers to study at Northwestern, MIT, and UoM, many of you will be happy to know that I chose UoM and acquired a doctoral degree in Materials Science in 1993. Most friends agree that it couldn't have kept me too busy since we had two more boys during that time frame, Jorian in 1990 a Musician and music teacher, and Ander, 1993 who has a Masters in Microbiology and currently working at NMU in Marquette.
My research as a Materials Physicist involved understanding the physics of 5 to 15 year future materials such as III-V semiconducting sensors, carbon nanotubes, combinatorially grown Lithium battery electrode materials, and Hydrogen storage compounds. I had the opportunity to publish and deliver lectures all over the US, Europe, India, and Singapore. I retired from GMRL in 2009.
Of all the things I have accomplished in my life, I consider the births and raising of my children to be the greatest and most fulfilling experiences of all.
I met and fell in love with Deb Habrat (Leibson) at Centrals 40th reunion, and we have been together since then. Many of you may recognize that name as Deb spent many years hanging out with members of our graduating class. We now live near Almont MI on Sunset Farm with two dogs. We do a lot of volunteer work at our local VFW and spend summers RVing around Michigan. Looking forward to seeing you all.