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Richard Alexander
I've always been a curious person. Some of my earliest memories are of me exploring and playing with whatever I find, often getting into trouble in the process. I just want to know...
My family and my religion are important to me. Because I was born into a Navy family and we moved to far-away places, my experiences with my extended family have been limited, but I always had an awareness that they were there, and this has provided me with a sense of my place in the world. Until I was about five years old, my interests were limited to my immediate surroundings, but about the time I was five, I began to consider what I wanted to do in life. Firefighter first attracted my interest, then carpenter. Then, I discovered space exploration, and that swept aside everything else. I was so interested in it that when I was six years old, my parents worked out a deal with the local planetarium for me to attend the Astronomy classes they offered to adults. I worked out a deal with my Second Grade teacher to spend a few minutes each week telling the class what I had learned in the Astronomy class the previous night.
Times were tough for my family for much of the rest of my childhood. However, when I got into high school, I was able to take a lot of interesting classes in science and technology. I even took a class that allowed me to fly a small Cessna aircraft! I took all the science classes that I could; Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Biology. My high school science fair project on Optical Computers took me to the New Mexico State Fair in 1984. I enrolled in University Chorus and Freshman Introduction to Engineering at the local state university during my last two years of high school. When I was in the Eleventh Grade, I was given a series of proctored I.Q. tests, which determined that I had an I.Q. of 132. I was then admitted to my school's Gifted and Talented program.
I was accepted to New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, New Mexico, but I elected to go active duty in the U.S. Navy, instead. The Navy offered me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn and certify in nuclear power, so I entered active duty as a Nuclear Propulsion Candidate. However, my grades in Machinist's Mate Class "A" school were slightly too low, so I was dropped from the nuclear program and sent to the fleet as a conventional Machinist's Mate. I certified on the main propulsion turbines, the electric generation turbines (lower level and upper level) and the water distillation plant. I also took several classes, either those offered by the Navy or civilian colleges or a correspondence course in Microcomputer Repair.
After my discharge from the Navy, I spent a year in Bible college, then returned to my mom's home in New Mexico. There, I earned an AAS in Laser Electro-Optic Technology, because lasers fascinate me. I wanted to study Computer Engineering, so I enrolled in a college in East Texas. A few years later, I moved to the Dallas area, to work as a Computer Help Desk agent. Now, I've earned an AS in Computer Science and an AAS in Computer Systems/Information Systems and I'm working on a certificate in Geographical Information Systems.
Travels
I was born to a military family in California, but we stayed there only long enough for my sister to be born. Since then, I've lived in Michigan, Guam, Virginia, Hawaii, Tennessee, Arizona, New Mexico, Illinois and now Texas. My family usually traveled by car, so I've seen quite a bit of the continental United States, as well as a little bit of Canada and Mexico.
I joined the Navy when I was in high school. After my high school graduation, I went to boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois, then was stationed aboard ships at Naval Base Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia. The Navy sent me to Florida, Rhode Island and New York, as well as a Mediterranean cruise with port stops at Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Gaeta, Italy; Toulon, France; Haifa, Israel; and Naples, Italy. I visited Jerusalem and Tel Aviv while my ship was at Haifa.
I've lived in Texas since 1994. About 2004, I began making interstate road trips to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas, in addition to visiting as much of Texas as I could. My goal is to photograph and video record as much as I can.
Education
Degrees
AAS and certificate in Laser Electro-Optic Technology (1992)
AS and certificate in Computer Science (2013)
AAS in Computer Systems/Information Systems (2013)
Studies
Science
Astronomy
Biology (performed DNA sequencing)
Chemistry
Physics
Technology
Technical Soldering (MILSPEC electronic assembly)
Fiber Optic Splicing
Laser Assembly, Operation and Repair: Helium-Neon, Argon Ion+, Nd:YAG, Nitrogen, Laser Diode
Microcomputer Assembly and Repair
Information Storage and Management (EMC text)
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) using ArcGIS
Drafting and AutoCAD
Electronic Circuit Analysis and Design
Digital Electronics
Welding
Machine Shop
Vacuum Technology
Cisco Switches and Routers
IPv4 Subnetting
Operating Systems
MS/PC/DR-DOS 3.3 to 6.0
Windows 3.1 to Windows 8
UNIX
VSAM
Linux
Mac OS X
BeOS
OS/Warp
Computer languages (formal training)
LOGO (1 week)
COBOL (IBM mainframe-VSAM) (1 semester)
Assembly (x86) (1 semester)
Assembly (MIPS) (1 semester)
C (1 semester)
Pascal (1 semester)
C++ (2 semesters)
Java (3 semesters)
HTML 5 (1 semester)
CSS 3 (1 semester)
SQL (1 semester)
Computer languages (informal training)
BASIC
C
C++
MS-DOS Batch
Forth
Lisp
Human Languages
English
Russian
Koine Greek
Spanish
Italian
Hawaiian
Samoan
Tongan
Miscellaneous
Business
Photography
Hermeneutics
University Chorus
Certifications
CompTIA A+
CompTIA Network+
CompTIA Security+
CPR
Commonwealth of Virginia Firearms Training
Machinist's Mate Class "A" School
Casualty Control
Engineering Training Schoolship Basic (ETSS)
Leadership for Petty Officer Third Class (Petty Officer Indoctrination)
Principles of Naval Engineering
Interests
Aviation
Lasers
Space Exploration
Optical Computers
Sub-atomic Particle Physics
Holography
Cytology
Genetics
Engineering (Mechanical, Civil, Computer)
Materials Science
Power Production
Robotics
3D Printing
Photography (Technical, Artistic, Studio, Landscape, Nature, Nudes, Astrophotography, Infrared, Aerial, Underwater, Macro)
Soap Making
Gardening
Cooking
Hydroponics
Naturism
Hiking
Camping
Swimming
Bicycling
Employment
US Navy Machinist's Mate
Armed Security Guard
Wordprocessor
Computer Technician
Laser Technician
Computer Operator
Art Model
Volunteer
Puppeteer
Sunday School Teacher
Preacher
Firefighter/First Responder - Albuquerque Fire Department, District 10
Hiking and Camping Group Co-organizer
Projects
Spaceports (Photojournalism)
Science Places (Photojournalism)
Photo Diary (Photojournalism)
Video Road Trips (Photojournalism)
OFFPlanet space education website
Societies, Associations and Awards
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society of Two-Year Colleges
Alpha Beta Gamma International Business Honor Society; former Secretary for Nu Tau chapter
National Technical Honor Society
NASA National Community College Aerospace Scholars
