I was raised in a farming-ranching community near Phoenix Arizona.  I received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

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I joined Chevron Research Company after three years of active duty in the USAF.  I moved between research and refining operations a number of times.  About two-thirds of my career was in reserch.

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I was the President of Chevron Research for over seven years before retiring. After that, I worked as a consultant to major oil companies on technology management, both independently and with the Stanford Research Institute. In 1997, I was appointed as an adjunct professor of chemical engineering at UC Davis.

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I was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology in 1995.