As I reflect upon the many interesting projects I have been involved with over my career, I am struck by the fact that in almost every case my background in both mathematics and English has been an invaluable asset. As I have discovered, my stubborn refusal to give up one interest in favor of another has allowed me to undertake some intriguing tasks.

Fresh out of school, I went to work as a Public Affairs Officer at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The ability to write and edit coherently was certainly an asset, but, without my mathematical skills, I would not have been effective in covering the numerous areas of scientific research that was my “beat.” My next job was with a film production company in Hollywood, where I became involved in the first use of videotape in television commercials. The introduction of video recording technology opened up for me an entirely new area of technical exploration. But, without my writing skills, I would have missed it completely.

In 1979 I joined a project to broadcast a closed captioning system to enable hearing-impaired viewers to enjoy television along with the rest of the population. Aside from a thorough knowledge of broadcast video systems, I relied heavily on my math background in building the technical data creation, encryption, transmission, and decoding systems. And I relied on my English skills to establish computer-based language coding, timing, and translation systems. Next, I turned my attention back to the film industry.