I have had the good fortune to become involved in writing about science, technology, and people that have become interesting, important and very successful.

The technology, the science and the people came from the world around us. When I was a boy, my father gave me an early transistor radio and a small telescope, and when I was fitted with eyeglasses I became interested in optics and vision. I learned how to fix things from my mother, who had learned from her father, a cabinetmaker. The Sputnik launch and the telescope interested me in astronomy. Living along the Atlantic coast, and spending four years at Caltech when the smog was at its eye-burning worst, interested me in the environment. My uncle Bouton introduced me to the outdoors. Science fiction introduced me to literature and imagination. My wife Lois and I explored the outdoors together after we moved east, and later became parents.

I was fortunate, too, when I landed a job at a little laser magazine just as lasers and fiber optics were starting to take off. It led me into a fascinating career in science and technology writing and journalism. I have covered fascinating and important scientific research in the evolution of dinosaurs and birds and the impact of human activity on the climate of our planet. I covered dramatic advances in lasers and fiber optics that have made those technologies important parts of our lives and the global telecommunications network. I have talked, met and worked with giants in those fields. It's been fascinating and fun, and I hope my writings have helped people understand the technology and science of the world around us.