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I was born in Germany and lived there for 18 years before, during and after WWII. Having personally experienced the horrors and senselessness of war, I began questioning traditional values associated with nationalism and organized religion, and I soon realized that human governments cannot legislate truth or freedom, cannot establish true values and cannot give purpose to our lives.
After emigrating from my homeland, I moved from one location to another, trying to establish a new home in eastern Canada and in the western United States, but growing no permanent roots anywhere. Having no strong attachments to any particular place has given me a sense of cosmopolitan citizenship. My home is planet Earth. I feel most secure and at home in pristine, natural surroundings, wherever they can still be found. I have similarly not become attached to any particular ethnic, cultural or religious way of life.
This has permitted me to look beyond ethnic traditions and religious doctrines and pursue my quest for truth and freedom without these constraints.
My viewpoints, opinions and convictions have crystallized out of a lifelong study of the world's philosophies, sciences and religions. I have taken ideas from many sources of knowledge and integrated these with my own experiences and with my professional knowledge of physics and engineering in order to construct a self-consistent world view. My personal philosophy has been influenced by early Eastern Philosophy,
by the Idealism and Romanticism of the eighteenth century and by New Age thought. Other contributions have come from my knowledge of Western science, from my sense of logic and through my intuitions.
I have found many truths in the writings of Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schelling, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Carl Jung, Khalil Gibran, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Werner Erhard, Stewart Emery, Terry Cole-Whittaker and many others.
Birth Place: Oppach, Germany
Accomplishments: B. Eng. (Honors) Engineering Physics, McMaster Univ., (1961);
M.A.Sc. Applied Science, Univ. of Toronto, (1962);
Ph.D. Aerospace Sciences, Univ. of Toronto, (1966).
1st Carter Scholarship, Guelph Coll. Voc. Institute (1953);
Dean’s Honor List, McMaster Univ. (1959-1961);
NRC Fellowship, Univ. of Toronto (1961/62);
Wallberg Research Fellowship, Univ. of Toronto (1962/63);
Ford Foundation Fellowship, Univ. of Toronto (1964/65);
NASA Tech Brief Award (1970);
Editor’s Choice Award, Nat. Library of Poetry (1995,1996).
More than a dozen R&D grants (1962-1989) from DRB (Canada),
AF-AFOSR, USAF (WP-AFB, Griffiss-AFB, AFWL),
US Navy, US Army (ABMDA, HDL), ONR, ARPA,
DARPA, NASA, NASA SBIR I&II (JPL).
Holder of 4 patents in Pulsed Power Technology.
Pioneering Research in atomic physics, plasma physics, gas dynamics, spectroscopy, rocket propulsion, high-energy laser development (1966 - 1999), and author of 38 scientific papers published in scientific journals and proceedings.
Author of poetry published in anthologies of the National Library of Poetry (1995,1996).
Author of non-fiction, philosophical book, “In Search of Truth and Freedom” (Avila Books 2000).
Biographies in: Who’s Who in the West (1981,1982);
Men of Achievement (1981);
Who’s Who in Science and Engineering (1999/2000).
Member of: Sigma Xi (Emeritus) (1967-);
Optical Society of Am. (1982-);
Prof. Engineers of Ontario (1961-1998);
Planetary Society (1981-2000);
Astronomical Soc. Pacific (1990-).
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