About me

"My life is more than my work. My work is more than my job."
-Ken Modesitt

WHAT I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO KNOW ABOUT ME
Ken Modesitt, 2006-2007

I am very excited to be back full-time in the university after being in industry both full-time and part-time during 1993-94, 1978–1988, and 1963-65! I am especially excited to be back at IPFW, where I worked from 1972-77, helping to set up what is now the Department of Computer Science. It is good to dialogue with students from a variety of backgrounds, and I'm hopeful that your horizons, as well as mine, will be expanded as a result. Although the university environment has been "home base" for 33 of the last 43 years since I left the University of Illinois with a B.S. in math back in 1963, industry has also been an invaluable part of my experience. You will hear me encourage active cooperation between industry and education often as a CS professor. The quality of relationships is at the root of all of our lives!

In the past, I've worked for industry while a grad student, as well as taught some courses while in industry. The attached abbreviated resume shows that. Most of my professional life, however, has been in either the university or industry, one at a time. As one example, it was challenging and exciting to be in both simultaneously (more correctly, the time slice shrunk from years to days...). In addition to being a full-time professor at California State University, Northridge, I also worked for Rocketdyne (the propulsion/energy division of Rockwell International, then Boeing, and now Pratt & Whitney), helping to apply expert system technology to system performance/decision analysis concerns for the Space Shuttle Main Engine. The shuttle Discovery took its maiden flight when I started in 1984, so I have “adopted” this particular shuttle – come see my office!
All of this is fine, and I feel I am competent and motivated in my profession. However and you will hear this often "My life is more than my work. My work is more than my job."

Consequently, let me share a little about the importance of my non work life. My God and family are first. The importance of both was brought home vividly in 1987, mostly because of the tragic death of my colleague and friend, Dr. Amir Asgari, as well as another young engineer at Rocketdyne. We are now in touch with Pegah, the daughter of Amir and Soudi, as a result of this mention! The same year saw our 1981 Mazda RX 7 with only 26,000 miles on it stolen and stripped. On a much brighter note, Jan, my wife of 30 years, is the senior advisor for the Department of Nursing here at IPFW, as of February, 2003. She graduated with her Bachelors degree in Psychology from California Lutheran University in May, 1988 and then just required 18 months to complete her Masters degree in Counselor Education. She is extremely determined to go as far as possible, and graduated in 2000 with a M.S. degree in Hospice (one of eight in the U.S.) She is the most wonderful combination of depth and bubbliness I have ever encountered. Kamarie, our 38 year old daughter, was married in 1994 and moved to Hawaii, after graduating from the University of Waterloo in Canada in 1991 (Honours Biology) and Ottawa University in 1992 with her teaching credentials. After working for the Pacific Whale Foundation in Maui, she and her husband moved back to the mainland (Minneapolis) for better jobs, and Kamarie now works for the zoo. Michael is a talented graphic designer. Kent David is our younger stepson (43) and lives in New York City, working in real estate, just as he did in Los Angeles earlier. We miss seeing him as often as we once did, so hope to change that soon! Our oldest son Kevin (45) stayed in the Fort Wayne area when Jan, Kent, and I left in 1977. Our children were pretty surprised when I suggested in the 1970’s that people might have computers in their home someday! Keith Modesitt, my father, and a MSEE Purdue grad from 1931, died in January, 2002 at the age of 94 ½. He had come to live with us in February, 2000 and was admitted to Hospice the next month. What a legacy he left for to us! Henrietta, his wife and my wonderful stepmother for the last 22 years, died earlier this year, just a few weeks shy of turning 100! My sister, the “original” Jan Modesitt, retired in 2001 after 36 years of teaching high school mathematics in Clarkston, MI. We love spending time with her! We brought two dogs home on the same day in August, 1991: an American Eskimo (Chelsea) and a Schipperke (Spock). Spock died in June, 1998 of prostate cancer, after giving us wonderful memories. Both Jan and I love music, having played in orchestras and bands during high school, and often singing in church choirs. We have been English handbell ringers since 1985 and truly enjoy the challenge.
So, what else is important in my life? A "biggie" is a strong belief that desirable outcomes for our world include a cooperative society based on self sufficient and contributing members. That is what I hope we all will become, if not there already. And the other belief is one that computers and education are absolutely essential tools to satisfy a whole host of our vital functional needs.

P.S. This summer, we are celebrating our 30^th anniversary by visiting Innsburck, Austria, as well as southern Germany and northern Italy with a group of alumni from the University of Illinois. In 1997, we took a fantastic trip to London and Paris, via the QE2 and the Eurostar to see Monet’s gardens at Giverny, returning via the Concorde. In the summer of 2002, my sister took her very first trip abroad with us to the United Kingdom – it was a blast! What I like to do on summer vacations: in 1985, I fulfilled a life long dream of climbing the 14,255’ Long's Peak in Colorado. In 1986 I went backpacking in the same area with my daughter and a good friend. And in 1987, the same friend and I took a delightful jaunt to Mt. Whitney. In 1997, we scaled Mt. Harvard, the third highest peak in Colorado at 14,420’. Travel, the stars, and cooperative space exploration also intrigue me. I hope to visit the International Space Station Alpha before I leave this earth for a better place. Do not think I will make it to the Moon, as originally planned!