Ron Peterson's young life as an emerging nerd/adventurer led him to Caltech, then the University of Illinois, where he received his PhD in low-temperature physics. As a scientist, he worked on solar energy and satellites, and after eight promotions was responsible for multiple research labs and businesses at Honeywell, turning over $200 million per year. None of those experiences prepared him to be a lobbyist, community organizer, or writer, but that's why his retirement has been fun. His first book was a memoir called An Introvert Learns to Fly. Then, in a ten-year project, he completed his second book, Gardeners of the Universe, an award-winning science-fiction adventure about the next seventy years. In his spare time, he travels, manages a community garden for over two hundred immigrants, and holds summer "Grandpa Camps" where he teaches high school and college subjects to his grade-school grandchildren.