David Van Baak was propelled by middle-school hobbies in electronics and astronomy into studying physics (as a sort of average between engineering and mathematics).  His degrees (from Calvin College and Harvard University) predate the Reagan administration.  He was a faculty person at Calvin College for most of 1980-2014, with a specialization in advanced-laboratory tasks.  From 2005 onward, he collaborated with TeachSpin as a summer visitor, and took up full-time work in Buffalo after retiring from his faculty position.  He belongs to that tiny Venn-diagram overlap region of persons who know how to run both a sewing machine and a milling machine.  His interests outside of work include mountain backpacking and canal kayaking.