Co-winner of the 2002 Tom Fairley Award for Excellence for McGraw-Hill Ryerson Mathematics of Data Management. I have 30 years of practical experience with technologies ranging from radio telescopes to precision machining. At the back of my filing cabinet lurk an Honours BSc (mathematics, physics, and chemistry), an unsaleable screenplay, and several awards for short stories and theatre lighting design. My innate perfectionism is tempered by a respect for deadlines.