What is your first U of A memory?
A core early memory of the U of A for me is Dr. Hubert Taube’s CHEM 161 class in the physics building over 20 years ago. My current office is in CCIS, which sits where the old physics building and V-Wing used to be. It feels sometimes like I have come full circle to where my U of A story began.
What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?
I think I am mostly an open book, but perhaps one thing they might not know is that I played trombone in a small jazz/funk group in Stockholm, Sweden for a few years. We did pub gigs and even a couple of concerts. We played everything from Dixie and swing to funk, ska and acid jazz, and even some bossa nova.
What’s your favourite distraction?
When I am at work, I often find myself down a rabbit hole after reading a little bit about one of our researcher’s projects. Whether it’s about a university in central Italy that someone is collaborating with, coyote and human interactions in Edmonton, or “what the heck is a bubble chamber?!”. I take comfort in thinking that it could be relevant for my job, right?
If you were enrolling in one course, program or degree right now, what would it be?
There are so many interesting things to study, but I think Industrial Design would be up there. I like working with my hands and solving challenges, but also exploring creativity and beauty woven into function.
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
That’s a tough one, but I think it would have to be Leonardo da Vinci. As a scientist, tinkerer and musician, I love using all the sides of my brain and his invention ideas fit the whole range from practical to absurd. I would love to have him walk me through who they would work with and hear what you would design now with our expanded knowledge and tools.
If you could see any live performance tomorrow, what would it be?
Another hard one! I think I will go with Frédéric Chopin. The way his music makes the piano come alive, I would love to hear the virtuoso himself. If multiple acts are allowed, I would add B.B. King. I am still disappointed that I missed him at the Jube in 2012 just a few years before he died.
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
Maybe it’s a bit cheesy, but I would say that plans are good, but the journey is even better. It won’t look exactly like you thought it would, but I have a feeling it’s better than it would’ve been because of all the detours along the way.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
A bicycle. And actually, I have a hard time living with only one of those. Currently I have a Yuba Mundo longtail cargo bike, a LeMond touring bike (that my dad cycled coast-to-coast), and a Gary Fisher 90s mountain bike that’s my winter beater.
What three words describe your U of A experience?
Exploration. Community. Opportunity.
