Ken Marich
The Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR) is proud to introduce Dr. Robert Springer as an Instructor on the ILR faculty. Bob was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in his teens in Southern California. He earned a B.A. degree in Psychology with a minor in Aerospace Engineering (1965) and an M.A. degree in Experimental Psychology (Human Factors) in 1967, both degrees from California State University, Los Angeles. While working at Rockwell Corporation he earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (Visual Psychophysics) from the University of California, San Diego in 1974. He joined Xerox Corporation in 1973 as a research scientist and led a project to determine the primary perceptual and physical determinants of copy quality. He was also involved in vision research on the appearance of high contrast imagery. Bob moved on to Bell Laboratories as a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff. There he managed the development of high-resolution video projectors and improved image quality of flatbed scanner technology for audio-graphics teleconferencing. From there Bob’s career took him to jobs with AT&T Technologies, Ricoh Corporation, and Bell Science and Technology Inc. (now Verizon). During his career he published 19 papers and holds seven patents. Bob retired from “high tech” in 1997.
After a year in SaddleBrooke Bob realized that he wanted to contribute to the community and started teaching GED General Science and Mathematics at the Pima County Eastside Learning Center. He also taught Psychology at Pima Community College and is now an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arizona teaching User-Interface Design and User-Centered Product Design. In his spare time, if he has any, he is a coordinator for Project Catapult in Tucson and helped to implement a successful math tutoring program with 140 tutors in three high schools and four K-8 schools. To round out his teaching career he taught a class on “Our Amazing Visual Perception” for the ILR in SaddleBrooke.
Bob and his wife Carla moved to SaddleBrooke in 1997. They have two grown sons and grandchildren they enjoy. The ILR is proud to have Dr. Springer on our faculty and look forward to more challenging courses that he will propose for inclusion in the ILR program.