St-Louis Elementary School (1944 – 1953)
a) I was an eager/dedicated student seeking the praises from the nuns
b) My getting good to excellent grades were the hopes of my parents
c) My family was poor and I could feel it in class & in the school yard
d) I felt unworthy to have Therese Ouellette & Francine Larose as chums
e) Somehow, I was never good enough
St-Joseph’s Boys High School (1953 – 1957)
a) I was more religious than other boys & less aware of nitty gritty of city life
b) Very naive and unsure of myself, especially, around girls of my age
c) I felt scared & empty much of the time. My family was poor.
d) I wished that I had a friendly, available father with whom to spend
time. My friends, Roger and George, did and I envied their good fortune
e) I often wished I did not have to wear poorly fitting shirts that my uncle in Lexington, MA gave me – large cuff-links also
Lowell -Technological Institute (1957 – 1961)
a) Not continuing with chemistry & missing a course in physical chemistry
b)No courses in biology, botany, archaeology, anthropology, etc.
c) No courses in economics, sociology, socioeconomic theory, American and European history
d) Only a 2.9 average on 4.0 in freshman year- yet a 4.0 score as senior
e) Socially, very clumsy being with some 500 students at LTI at that time
Penn State (1961-1963)
a) I felt clumsy at first but got better thru life experiences at University Club
b) Fortunately, I made neat friendships with Guido Konstantin Moeller
(Berlin), Jack Lowental (Brooklyn) and Louis Revol (Paris) – mind expanding
c) Then, I started to feel like a dedicated physics researcher but, still quite tentative
Lawrence Livermore Labs (1963 – 1965)
a) I had a lack of knowledge of experimental physics & electronic devices
b) I still had little appreciation for Mossbauer’s work and the quantum physics of chemical reactions
c) My poor grasp of laser dynamics, Cherenkov radiation and Lawrence’s cyclotron in the next room was embarrassing
d) No practical knowledge of controlled thermonuclear fusion like the Russian Tokomak and the research at Princeton in New Jersey
German University – Max Planck Gesellschaft (1965 – 1967)
a) My marginal knowledge of spoken German was always challenging. I
was still not fluent but, adequate with clear info exchange
b) I was still a pie-in-the-sky physics graduate student, entranced by the physics greats of the past in the German universities.
Penn State University (1967 to 1969)
a) Beginning to understand the ethos of the physics R&D world – international exchanges of knowledge, camaraderie, etc.
b) Appreciating the encouragement and support of three professors in physics and Nuclear Physics departments
c) Benefiting from their contacts at national laboratories
Sandia National Labs (1969 – 1979)
a) new to pulsed power technology, kilo-amp and mega-volt machines – much advanced electrical engineering
b) new to being a project lead on an important, simulation-physics set of
experiments with national security importance in fighting the Russians
c) being surrounded by top-notch professionals was awesome & scary
d) I was impressed by the engineering skills that others had & I needed