He had a B.S. and a Doctorate degree in Chemistry and Biology from CalTech graduating in the class of 1955. He worked as a T.A. for Linus Pauling for a time and spent time studying the genetics of fruit flies (they multiply fast so easy to study) long before DNA sequencing. His working life was with Dow Chemical Company working in secondary oil recovery ending his career with the title of research chemist for that company. He lived in Cambria, California in his retirement.