I got my undergraduate degrees in math and computer science from the University of Minnesota, which is not far from where I grew up in Blaine, Minnesota. I went to U.C. Berkeley for graduate school, where I studied algebraic geometry with Robin Hartshorne. I enjoyed making many good friends there, playing softball (Transfinite Cardinals forever!), motorcycling in the hills, and working my way up to expert in the Bay Area chess scene. Singing in the Berkeley Chamber Chorus was quite exciting at that time, as we made some trips (Germany in 1992, England in 1993) and recorded Handel's oratorios Theodora and Judas Maccabaeus with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra for Harmonia Mundi.

Finishing my Ph.D. in 1994, I taught at U.C. Riverside in 1995 and returned to Berkeley in 1996. I didn't have a regular job that year, but scraped up a little money giving chess lessons, singing a with a truly enjoyable group on Sunday at St. Pete's Episcopal church, and doing some freelance work with my buddy John Black which resulted in U.S. Patent 6,324,296. I also sang with the Sacred & Profane Chamber Chorus. In 1997 I was a postdoc at the University of Barcelona. It was great living in beautiful Barcelona - I lived just a few blocks downhill from Gaudi's Parc Guell. It was here that I learned the game of go, a fascinating board game of oriental origin. After returning to Riverside in 1998, I then taught for two years at Notre Dame from 1998-2000.

Some highlights since arriving here at Texas Christian University: