Hello!
Thanks for visiting my little corner of the Internet. If you're here because I referred you here, you're probably looking for something specific, like some funny pictures, a bit of inspiration, or some Bible study stuff.
You may want to see what I've done over the course of my career, or what I've been up to lately. Maybe we share some of the same hobbies, like skiing, wood working, making music, or robotics. You might even be interested in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering within the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering at Lipscomb University! Whatever brought you here, I'm glad you dropped by.
Responsible for course design, content development, and delivery of engineering classes and labs, student academic advising and mentoring, ABET and SACSCOC accreditation activities, and engineering missions support. Founded Lipscomb's BisonBot Robotics Camp program in 2007, served as Faculty Senate President in AY2009-2010, Interim Dean of Engineering in AY2011-2012, received tenure in 2014, and became Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering department in 2019.
Led software engineering efforts in scientific software UI/UX design, protein crystallography experiment definition and planning, data modeling, software & hardware integration, and graphical data query and analysis.
Researcher, faculty member, M.S. thesis reviewer, and Ph.D. committee member. Authored and presented over 20 papers at national and international conferences. Operations management activities included quality improvement, financial management and reporting, budgeting, and personnel management. Founding chair of the Institute's Senior Research Council, the group responsible for strategic R&D planning and program development.
Conducted UML- and OCL-based metamodeling research for use in automatically generated domain-specific graphical modeling environments, developed and taught graduate-level courses in model-integrated computing and object-oriented software construction.
Responsible for course design, content development, and delivery of computer science classes and labs, student academic advising and mentoring, and supported CS program ABET/CSAB accreditation activities. Served as course director for several CS courses, and as an adjunct professor in the Electrical Engineering department. Received the USAFA "Outstanding Academic Educator in Computer Science" award for AY1995-1996. (Retired USAF, June 30, 1996)
Responsible for oversight of data acquisition, analysis, and reporting systems used in ground-based hardware-in-the-loop test and analysis activities in support of DoD systems acquisition and development. Additionally, served in the Directorate of Technology supporting development of new hardware and software systems and techniques to support future DoD test and analysis needs.
Assigned to Arizona State University to attain a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. The degree was granted in August of 1987, after which I was immediately assigned to Lackland AFB, Texas to complete U.S. Air Force Officer Training School, graduating on December 15, 1987 as an Air Force Second Lieutenant.
Responsible for calibration and repair of a wide variety of electrical and physical measurement and diagnostic equipment used by the Air Force, including multimeters, oscilloscopes, signal generators, microwave equipment, digital analysis systems, and spectrum analyzers.
Confusion, Yelling, Running, Yelling, Marching, Pull-ups, Push-ups, Close Order Drill, Studying, Yelling, Classes, Marksmanship, Random Inspections, Tests, and finally... Graduation!
Dissertation: "Metamodeling - Rapid Design and Evolution of Domain-Specific Modeling Environments."
Thesis: "Implementation of Linear Predictive and Huffman Coding Algorithms for Real-Time Data Compression."
Graduated magna cum laude.
I'm a passionate learner, maker, and educator. I love using my hands as well as my mind. I enjoy playing music, woodworking, electronics, and robotics. I also love snow skiing, motorcycling, swimming, and reading. But my greatest joy and satisfaction comes from teaching, from knowing that I have opportunity to make a real difference every time I step into the classroom.
A woman of many passions, Vikki is a servant-artist who works in a variety of media, plays piano, guitar and violin, builds and refinishes furniture, designs and constructs VBS sets and costumes, decorates homes and businesses, cooks for sick neighbors, is ferocious at crazy-eights, loves to garden, makes our home comfortable and beautiful, keeps me warm at night, laughs at most of my jokes, and serves the Lord by serving to others. I still can't believe she said yes all those years ago...
To quote Joan Woodward, "Sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades, but to be married to someone who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat!"
"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions."
"And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
"I can do it fast, I can do it cheap, I can do it well. Pick two."
"For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?"
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't -- you're right."
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."
"Better is the enemy of good enough."
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Bible study is important to me. Studying God's Word has many benefits, more than I can list here, and some that I can't even fully explain except to say that I receive a "peace that passes understanding" by listening to God's voice and letting Him do the heavy lifting.
Listening to God is all about hearing what He has to say, and that's where the Bible comes in. It's an extremely powerful book, one that has certainly changed my life for the better. It does that to people.
"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." --Heb 4:12
In other words, God speaks to our depths through His Word. Paul recognized this as he wrote to encourage the young preacher Timothy, saying "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) It's nice that God gave us an instruction manual for living life to the fullest!
Part of my service to God is teaching His Word--something I find extremely enjoyable, as He's given us so much material to work with! To that end, here are some links to class notes people have asked for. I pray they will be of value to you.
As new (and old) parents know so well, raising children is one of the most challenging activities anyone can engage in. Fear, uncertainty, joy, weariness, temper tantrums, laughter, tears, exhaustion, unrealistic expectations, morning chaos, evening drama, doubt, excitement, and sibling rivalry are standard fare for parents, while modern society and mass media continue to send wildly mixed messages to our children and ourselves.
This 12-week study uses God's approach to caring for us, His precious children, as a model for how we should parent the children He has entrusted to us. Our Heavenly Father has a lot to say on the subject of parenting, and His Word provides a wealth of practical advice on raising happy, healthy children while keeping everyone's sanity in check. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:4,
"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
So whether you're already a parent or are just interested in learning more about God's advice on the subject, enjoy these lessons. Use the links below to view or download PDF versions of my slides and notes for the class. The content is based on an excellent book written by Dr. Kevin Leman entitled "Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours." I heartily recommend this book to you. It's chock-full of great advise and information, and is available in both paper and electronic formats. Also, some of my slides contain images obtained from the World Wide Web (most often from Google Images). Please do not modify or distribute these slides without permission.
This topic is one of my all-time favorites. As an engineer and scientist, I'm amazed by the breadth and depth of God's creation, from the smallest sub-atomic particles to the incomprehensible vastness of space. As a Christian, I'm humbled and thankful that God gave us this world to enjoy.
The Psalmist wrote:
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth; their words to the ends of the world."
And what a world it is! So much life. So much complexity. So much balance. So much mystery. Some say this is just a grand accident, that we're here by chance and random events. But that's not what God says! He claims to be the planner, designer and creator of it all.
This 13-week study looks at God's creation from a biblical perspective while simultaneously exploring the science and engineering of our universe and ourselves, examining the days of creation, the physical facts of our existence, the wonder and complexity of nature, and even the details of our genetic code. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14) and nowhere is this more evident than when we study ourselves and our surroundings.
Use the links below to view or download PDF versions of my slides and notes for this class. Note that some of the slides contain images obtained from the World Wide Web (most often from Google Images). Please do not modify or distribute these slides without permission. Click here for a list of class topics, scripture references, and bibliography.
Ever feel like a little fish in a big pond? It's easy to do. The world and it's problems can loom large, making us feel small and insignificant. But Jesus said:
"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?"
God really does have great things in store for us! This class, Minor Characters in Major Roles, will help us see how relatively minor characters (as if there could actually be such a thing!) made major contributions in God's kingdom. We'll look at what made their contributions so major, how their actions affected others, and the significance of their stories. And we'll come to understand that these "minor" characters are no different than you and I, and we have just as much potential as they did for making major contributions in the Kingdom. Remember, God measures greatness differently than we do!
Click on the links below to view or download PDF versions of each week's lessons and handouts.
| Week | Lesson |
|---|---|
| 1 |
Course Overview Class Handout |
| 1 |
Cornelius |
| 2 |
Jochebed |
| 3 |
Barnabas |
| 4 |
The Blind Man of John 9 |
| 5 |
Boaz |
| 6 |
Mordecai |
| 7 |
Aquila and Priscilla Timeline of Aquila and Priscilla |
| 8 |
Rahab |
| 9 |
Three Samaritans |
| 10 |
Angels |
The Psalms have always played an important part worship to God. This "Book of Songs" beautifully teaches us how to speak and listen to God both when we're alone with Him and in our corporate worship (where, sadly, we often allow preaching to take the place of our worship to God). Listening to a sermon can be beneficial, but if it doesn't lead each of us to sense of reverence, awe, and praise to the Almighty, then we've merely heard a good speech! Studying the Psalms will help soothe our souls, sharpen our senses, and make us much more aware of God's love and care for us.
In a literary sense Psalms are poems, and must be read and understood as such. When viewed this way, more lyrically than doctrinally, the Psalms bring us to a new, more intimate level of worshipfulness. Psalms are high powered, condensed, and energetic, and as such must be read thoughtfully and meditatively to appreciate the deep meaning contained within, painting vivid pictures of God's intense desire to be in fellowship with each of us.
My prayer is that these seven lessons will enrich your mind and open your heart to the love and care the Creator lavishes on those who love Him, and will help you communicate back to Him your love, joy, and thanksgiving, as well as your troubles, fears and doubts. He wants to hear it all, and He wants to protect and comfort each one of us.
Click on the links below to view or download PDF versions of each week's lessons and handouts.
Many in today’s world are skeptical of Christianity. Non-believers attempt to define God in
terms of what they see and hear around them, posing questions such as “Why has Christianity
done so much harm?”, “Why does God create earthquakes and famines?”, “Why did God let my
sister die?”, “Isn’t the Bible full of contradictions?”, and “What makes you think your religion is
the right one?”
By examining a three-year written dialog between a Christian son and his 70 year old unbelieving father, this class will examine these and other “tough” questions in light of what the Bible says, strengthening your own faith and giving you more confidence to “give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” (1 Pet 3:15)
This study are based on the excellent book Letters from a Skeptic, 2nd Ed., by Dr. Gregory Boyd (the son) and Edward Boyd (the father). I pray that this study will bless you in two ways: by strengthening your own faith and by giving you the confidence to answer those "tough" questions unbelievers often have. In fact, many have reported that after reading Dr. Boyd's book and studying these lessons with me they were able to start deep and meaningful conversations with friends and loved ones about salvation through Christ our Lord!
Click on the links below to view or download PDF versions of each week's lessons and handouts.
By the way, BibleGateway.com is a great site for looking up scripture using many different bible versions. I use that site quite a bit. Another site with a lot of material is Bible.org. Pay special attention to the work of Robert Deffinbaugh. He puts together some very insightful lessons.
