As an undergraduate student at Bucknell University studying mathematics, I had the good fortune to receive instruction from three professors within the department who considered themselves statisticians. Paul Benson had actually practiced as an professional actuary for many years before returning to Bucknell. He taught courses in elementary statistics and probability. During my exposure to Benson I learned how statistics and probability can help solve interesting problems. Dr. William Mendenhall, however, had the greatest impact on my future. His courses on statistical methods including design of experiments, broadened my appreciation for the role of statistical approaches. I distinctly recall Mendenhall returning from a weekend trip to Pittsburg with a a new example of how DoE can help a company improve. At the end of my junior year Mendenhall became the chair of a new General Electric internship. This meant a modest income and real work using statistics. We spent part of our time tutoring students taking the departments elementary stat class. More importantly we spent about half our time working on data analysis for 'real' projects, both from on campus researchers and a few off campus projects. I was hooked! I wanted to learn more. I took courses from a new faculty member who had just finished his PhD under Dr. John Tukey at Princeton. Harvey Arnold taught us mathematical statistics, linear regression, and much more. We have continued our friendship even as he moved to Back to Tom's Home Page