I am a Ph.D. physicist raised in Oregon and Mississippi and living since 1986 in Munich, Germany. I spent most of my career doing research on fusion energy before leaving to do software development. After free-lancing a while in plasma technology, technology assessment, and project management, I am now working on grid computing (AstroGrid-D) at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. My hobbies include various forms of mountaineering and snow sports, aikido, and sundials. I am married to a German journalist and have three adorable children.

I have spent most of my Wikipedia incarnation on the English Wikipedia. My first foray into the Simple English Wikipedia was an attempt to explain exponential functions and related mathematical topics.