About Me
You might ask:"Who are you? Why are you doing this? Do you know what you're doing? Who is paying you to do this?
A very brief answer to these questions are: I'm an immigrant from the Netherlands who has been fortunate to live the American dream. I'm doing this to protect our investment in Garrett County and because I like science. My multi-disciplinary experience during my many years of employment with Science Applications International Corporation allows me to sensibly tackle almost any problem. I get paid nothing, nada, rien, niets, niente, nihil, hashi, nichts, netchego, không, semmi, wu, nai, Jack-sh*t. I don't know all these languages, only a few, but I've been to all those countries.
On the more serious side, the best way to explain myself is to present my resume, explaining some of the things I have done in my past (as of August 2016).
I’m a full-time resident of Garrett County for more than 12 years (as of 2000), and part-time for over 20. I retired from SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) in 2000, having been employed with them for 27 years. Prior to that I worked for NFS (Nuclear Fuel Services) and Westinghouse Electric Corporation - Monroeville, PA, each for 3 years. I graduated from Arizona State University with a masters degree in Mechanical/Nuclear Engineering. I did some work on a PhD but this took to much time away from the family I had to support. Furthermore, I was doing such advanced work at NFS that I found myself teaching the teacher! I specialized in heat transfer and fluid dynamic processes and the use of computers to solve problems in these and other areas. I worked with some of the earliest computer systems (IBM1620 or GE226 anyone?).
Since retiring from SAIC in 2000 and moving to to Garret County I have spent a great deal of time studying processes that affect the well-being of Deep Creek Lake. This has led me to organize, under the auspices of the POA, two successful workshops (Dec. 2010 and Dec. 2011), that, I believe, have greatly contributed to the ongoing activities that involve studying the health of the lake. These workshops have also resulted in the formation of the SPORE group, a loose organization of retired individuals who discuss, regularly every Monday over lunch, issues affecting the well-being of Deep Creek lake (You can join us anytime at Brenda's Pizzeria at noon, provided you pick up the lunch tab.)
This has resulted in me developing the deepcreekanswers.com website, an extensive collection of all kinds of information about Deep Creek Lake, deepcreekwatershed.org , a collection of documents and reports that were used in the development of the Deep Creek Watershed Management Plan, and garrettshale.com, which is a collection of summaries and links to documents about Marcellus Shale gas development in Garrett County.
Many of the needs expressed in the Watershed Management Plan and the Science which is supposed to happen have already been, and continue to be, discussed at the SPORE luncheons.
I have also a business interest in Ridgeview Valley, a residential real estate development project, off Rt 219, on Gravelly Run Rd, in McHenry, MD.
I have been on the Property Owner’s Association of Deep Creek Lake Marcellus Shale committee on which I was invited to participate as a technical advisor. The purpose of the committee was to filter through all of the published hype and inform/alert the POA’s members of those issues that may affect them. I was particularly interested in risk analysis and the interaction of Marcellus shale drilling operations with groundwaters. Fortunately, Marcellus Shale is no longer an issue in the State of Maryland.
From August 2013 to September 2014 I was on the Steering Committee for the Deep Creek Lake Watershed Management Plan. There are complementary issues resulting from Marcellus shale drilling operations and watershed management concerns.
In the past, in Garrett County, I served on the GRIC Board of Directors, was a member of the Technology Group of the Western Maryland Economic Task Force, travelled a great deal world wide (all seven continents), taught photography and Introduction to Engineering at Garrett College, was soccer coach for three years for Northern Garrett County youths participating in the JCP league and helped out coaching soccer for one season for JV at Southern High School (Southern beat Northern for the first time ever!). I’m Ok at golf.
A few years ago I've had major bypass surgery. I'm alive and well thanks to the medical staff at MonGeneral in Morgantown, WV. My rehab has been helped considerably by doing Pilates at the Balanced Body Studio in McHenry, MD, which I continue to do twice a week.
My professional career started with Westinghouse Electric Nuclear Power Division, Monroeville, PA, for whom I developed a computer program to analyze nuclear reactor control rod damping data and used and modified sophisticated tools to estimate the power capabilities of new nuclear reactors.
I was recruited by NFS (Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc.), to move to Rockville, MD, from Monroeville, PA, in 1971, and subsequently developed several computer programs to analyze the thermal and hydraulic performance of reload nuclear fuel assemblies and performed many tests with 2.5x scaled fuel assembly mockups to understand flow distribution. I recently came across a reference that appeared to still use one of those computer programs that I developed in 1972!
Subsequent to the abrupt slowdown of the nuclear industry in 1973, as a result of increased regulation, NFS decided to close doors and I joined SAIC in McLean, VA, where I became involved in all kinds of multidisciplinary projects.
Throughout my career I have been on the forefront of many technical applications that used powerful computers (Control Data Inc. computers in those days, to simulation complex analytical problems. I worked on projects, managed projects, and managed people. I’ve written many proposals, reports and technical papers. Most were done for the Defense Department.
I specialized in the modeling of physical phenomena and simulation of systems by both computer and hardware. My experience spans a broad range of technologies, from nuclear power, alternative energies, transport of particulates in the atmosphere, to the effects of weapons of mass destruction and chemical warfare agents.
I also conducted numerous sophisticated experimental programs at very high temperatures, requiring the design of unique temperature sensing methods, experimental procedures and data analysis techniques.
In the alternative energy area I was involved in designing and researching optimal ways to extract energy from solar hot water collectors, concentrated solar collector systems such as parabolic troughs, dish and central receivers, photo-voltaic systems, and wind energy systems.
Jointly with another company I was involved extensively in analyzed experimental data from dust injected into military and commercial aircraft jet engines to determine causes for turbine malfunction and engine shutdown. This led us to develop methods to recommend to commercial airlines where and when to stay out of volcanic ash clouds.
I was involved in many other programs and projects, including studying the transport and long term storage of radioactive waste materials, economic analyses of the effects on the nations economy from high oil prices, the analyses of risks from the meltdown of a nuclear power-plant and many others.
Pffhhew! That was a lot of fun. Never worked 40 hrs a week. I had a very satisfying career.
