I plan to start slow on Wikipedia. I am a bit frustrated by the editorial system and certain aspects of the culture. So far, I much prefer the academic editorial model. On the other hand, I like Wikipedia's goal and value the easy access it provides to a wealth of information. I would like to help expand its content, as an author and collaborator. Once I have accumulated enough experience and knowledge to offer useful advice to newcomers, I would like to become a host at the Teahouse. I am much less interested in editing and even less so in policing, but I understand the need for both. I assume good faith, always strive for fairness, am tolerant of mistakes, and am approachable. I like to help.
My Wikipedia name, BiostatSci, derives from my profession. I have worked as a biostatistician and health science researcher for the last 44 years. I've been retired for the last three of those years but continue to engage in some research projects as a Professor Emeritus. I am married to a wonderful woman who is called Nammy by our grandchildren. We raised three children to adulthood. Tragically, our youngest son died in an automobile accident at age 30. Our surviving son and daughter gave us three precious grandchildren. Other members of our family are a son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and a golden retriever that is going on 14 years old. We all live in New Mexico except our son and his family, who are 1900 miles away in Buffalo, NY.
I grew up on an island in Puget Sound between Tacoma and Seattle. My father worked as a telephone lineman and repairman for AT&T. My mother was a homemaker. Both were dedicated parents who instilled values by example. I graduated from Washington State University with a BA in mathematics, then from San Diego State University with a master's in statistics. I earned a PhD in statistics in 1976 from Iowa State University, where fellow students and I started what we believe to be the first fantasy baseball league, in 1976. I then spent the next 44 years on the faculties of the University of Florida (27 years) and the University at Buffalo (17 years). I took a three year leave of absence during my time at Florida to work as a research scientist at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima, Japan. Living in Japan for three years was a wonderful experience for my entire family, including my 80 year old mother-in-law. I took a six month leave from Buffalo in 2016 to engage in bioinformatics research as a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar at the C.R. Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science on the campus of the University of Hyderabad. My wife also was Fulbright-Nehru Scholar and taught in the mathematics department on the same campus. Over the years, I have published in a wide variety of areas of science, including statistics, maternal and child health, education, radiation effects, neuroscience/neurology, and gynecologic oncology.
Nammy and I both retired in 2017 and moved to New Mexico, where we enjoy great weather, hiking, the fabulous Balloon Fiesta, and working to develop the small business we started for the purpose of creating jobs and educational opportunity in Guatemala. We import arts and crafts made in the Maya highlands around Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango and sell them wholesale and retail in the U.S. So far, we have made nothing from the business. In the first year we didn't come close to covering expenses, but we created a few jobs and helped others in Guatemala make it through the pandemic so far. We and our son financially support the education of five young Guatemalans, who otherwise faced a life with very limited opportunity for economic advancement. We love the Lake Atitlan area and lived there for a month in 2019 to meet with our Guatemalan buyers and the artisans and shop owners they buy from in Panajachel and Chichi. We have visited or lived in 14 countries around the world, and Lake Atitlan is one of the most unique and beautiful settings we have seen. Guatemala, in general, is a beautiful country. If there was opportunity, safety, and justice for indigenous peoples there, they would not try to immigrate to the U.S.
"Justice for all" is more than a slogan to me. It is deeply held core value. Exploitation, discrimination and oppression of people who have done nothing to deserve it pains me. I support organizations and movements, like Black Lives Matter, that stand up against it. I love the beauty of nature and want it conserved. I value education for many reasons and think it is the easiest path to prosperity. I believe that dignity belongs to those who do not forfeit it by their actions, but that an individual's self-esteem comes from the work of their hands or mind. Although we inherit strengths and weaknesses from our parents, we are shaped by our environment. I want children to grow up in a nurturing, kind and inclusive society that helps people develop their strengths and protect them (and others) from their weaknesses.
