Rob grew up on a dairy farm in a small town in Michigan. He attended a one room school house, they really existed in rural Michigan even in the 1950's, was a member of the 4-H Club, and generally followed the agriculture track, including planning to become a veterinarian. Rob qualified for and attended the Air Force Academy as pre-med student as his first step toward becoming a vet. However, the immediate needs of the Air Force during the Vietnam War intervened and they insisted he become a fighter pilot. He did and loved the flying. Rob flies regularly still.
After his tour was up, Rob went to work for GE Imaging for his first civilian job. GE Imaging had just launched the first MRI system. With GE's help Rob obtained a Masters in Medical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA from University of Maryland at Baltimore. With this combination of degrees Rob entered what he calls the "research triangle " of medicine. Its not a place in North Carolina, but engineering, marketing, and medicine working together to develop new medical devices. It allowed Rob to be involved in bringing MRI images into the operating theater to provide real time information, and create new imaging capabilities that allowed doctors to see more deeply and clearly into the body.
Rob then was involved in developing ultrasound surgery devices, and robotic cardiac surgery methods and machines. These developments occurred while working for startup firms. Developing and rolling out many of these devices had Rob in the operating room with the surgical teams. The patient impacts were enormous and Rob loved it. He then became involved in developing orthopedic joint replacements and related procedures and tools. The cumulative impact of these medical device developments has changed surgery procedures that put the patient into the hospital for days into outplacement surgeries where the patient is home for dinner.
Of course working for all these different businesses required Rob to move around the country a fair amount. While living in the Kennett area Rob joined the Longwood Rotary Club to develop local relationships and become a part of the community. He loved being a member of his first Rotary club, us, so when Rob made his last job change and moved to the Menlo Park CA area, he joined the Rotary club there. "What a difference. They had the wealth to be a money raising club, and that was pretty much their entire role." As Rob prepared to retire he and Robin moved back to this area and Rob rejoined Longwood Rotary. He picked up his interest in working with students and is again very active in student exchange programs for our club and the district. The thing that has most impressed Rob about the exchange student experience impact, is the students learning how those living outside the US see us.
In addition to supporting Rotary, Rob is a member of Angel Flight. This is a group of pilots that transport medical patients from their homes to the distant cities, like Philadelphia, where they can get the sophisticated medical care they need.