In 1948 I entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology undecided between studies of chemistry and physics but my first year convinced me that physics was more interesting to me.

I have taught history on the high school and college levels and am or have been a lecturer at the Smithsonian The National Institutes of Health and numerous colleges and universities mostly on science fiction and technology subjects.

My grandfather on my mother's side was a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology my other grandfather was a lawyer and one time Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

However I had a chance encounter with an admissions officer of Stevens Institute of Technology who so impressed me by his erudition and enthusiasm for the school that I changed course and entered Stevens Institute.

The only protection as a historian is to institute a process of research and writing that minimizes the possibility of error. And that I have tried to do aided by modern technology which enables me having long since moved beyond longhand to use a computer for both organizing and taking notes.

My intention was to enroll at McGill University but an unexpected series of events led me to study physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

I am told that there have been over the years a number of experiments taking place in places like Massachusetts Institute of Technology that have been entirely based on concepts raised by Star Trek.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology accepts blacks in the top ten percent of students but at MIT this puts them in the bottom ten percent of the class.

I do a lot of work with the Dyslexia Institute because for people with dyslexia who do not have parental support it is a huge disadvantage. I was fortunate because my Mum was a teacher and she taught me to work hard.

Our institute's agenda is relatively simple. We study the relationship between social-economic change and culture. By culture we mean beliefs values and lifestyles. We cover a broad range of issues and we work very internationally.