Getting used to retirement was an adjustment after working for so long. I had been doing all the home projects along with my career so there wasn’t much left to keep me busy. Then the call came that changed everything. I was beginning to see that life was full of surprises and sometimes if embraced they could change everything. This was on of those moments. I got a call from a former friend and peer from 21 years prior. His name was Dr. Greg Harris. He was now a professor at Auburn University and was calling me to see if I would revive the “Bird Inc” program from back in the days at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, UAH
I got a call from a former friend and peer from 21 years prior. His name was Dr. Greg Harris. He was now a professor at Auburn University and was calling me to see if I would revive the “Bird Inc” program from back in the days at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, UAH
I said yes. This was the fall of 2022. March of 2023 we tested it in Auburn at Drake Middle School. This started some momentum and growing interest that led to a small grant. I revived a contact from earlier in my career and we were off to Jasper, Al. and spoke to nearly 1800 students and got rave reviews. This was put into a proposal to the Department of Defense. April 2024 we received the grant. August 2024 I was hired.
Principal Research Scientist/Engineer III – 2024-Present
Since the start of the program in 2024 until the end of 2025 our “Bird Inc” program has reached about 9500 middle school students in 13 counties, and 82 schools in Alabama. We are positioned to continue until end of school year 2027. We are looking for new funding and opportunities to reach the future workforce of America. Alabama has a lot of talent. We are working hard to find ways to discover it and then help it grow.
