Family: My significant other, Patricia, here in Newtown; and a sister, a niece, and nephew, and their families, who all live in Georgia.

Pets: Two rescue mutts, Joy and Stella.

How long have you lived in Newtown? About 6½ years. I moved here from New Mexico, and before that had lived in Arizona for most of my adult life.

Career: I am a mechanical structural engineer at what’s now Danbury Mission Technologies. People who have been here a certain amount of time might remember it as Goodrich, or UTC Aerospace, or even Perkin-Elmer. I use physics calculations to predict whether the components and assemblies that we design are going to withstand the loads of such things as being launched into space, or gunfire recoil on a tank turret, and so forth. I also make predictions about issues regarding how well the more precise components of our products will perform. I do the physics, and then comes the testing to make sure I got it right.

What did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut, so now I’m working somewhat close to that aspiration.

Who would you like to be stuck in an elevator with? Ben Franklin. We could cover a pretty extensive variety of topics, such as developments in government, how his goals or how his thinking at the time has progressed into today. Same thing with his scientific experiments — how those have been developed, how we’ve gone from proving that lightning is electricity to using electricity for everything from communication to transportation, and what are his thoughts about how we’ve developed since the Founding Father days.

Are you a member of any clubs, organizations and/or communities of faith? I’m part of Newtown Historical Society, where I serve as both a docent and the Membership Chair on the board there. I’m also part of Newtown Lions Club. I joined in December and I’ve been enjoying my volunteering experiences with them.

Do you have a favorite author? Joseph Heller, who wrote two of my favorite books, God Knows and Catch-22.

What was the most recent movie you saw in the theater? Patricia and I regularly go to Connecticut Cult Classics film nights at The Strand theater in Seymour, and the last film night was a David Lynch theme, so we saw Blue Velvet and Eraserhead.

Do you have any unusual or surprising talents? I can raise one eyebrow at a time and even make them do a little wave.

Any pet peeves? Able-bodied people not returning carts to the cart corral at Costco.

What is your proudest accomplishment? Graduating from college. That was four total years of really hard work that went into getting through the aerospace curriculum. I went to Georgia Tech, one of the higher esteemed colleges in the engineering community, and it was very challenging to get through.

Who or what has been the greatest influence on your life? Both of my parents. My mom taught me to be confident and comfortable in my own skin. My dad taught me to be congenial and personable and to basically go out of my way to be helpful to customers and other people.

Favorite travel destination? London. I have a fascination with the history of the English language, which is inevitably intertwined with the history of England. Between the history and the culture and the activities, London keeps my brain full.

What is your favorite thing about Newtown? The New England style charm to it. The convenience of stores and restaurants here, that still maintain their New England aesthetic, along with the main streets in Newtown and Sandy Hook, as well as the rural and semirural areas. I also like the preserved spaces. I do a lot of hiking, and appreciate that the town hasn’t been overdeveloped.

Do you have a personal credo? Always be learning. I enjoy learning as much as I can. I find it very enriching to learn about topics in different areas. My day is spent with science and engineering, but afterward I like to learn about history, and art, and music, and I just find that mental development to be personally enriching and helpful with day-to-day decision making. And I also want to get all the jokes.