Ben Contreras:  

Life Shortly after graduating from Munich American High I joined the US Air Force and married my high school sweetheart. We had a marriage of 19 years and had four wonderful children. I retired from the Air Force after 20 good years during which I obtained a PhD in Electrical Engineering, was on faculty of US Air Force Academy and conducted research on the Air Force Airborne Laser Laboratory. I retired from the Air Force in 1980 and I joined Martin Marietta and conducted research on the Space Based Laser program for 19 years. In 1999 I started a small engineering business, Averitech Inc. to continue to conduct research on the Space Based Laser program. I am currently the President of Averitech and continue to conduct research on Space Based Lasers. School I attended Harrison High School in Colorado Springs before going to Munich American High in my Junior year. I then graduated from Munich American High School and enlisted in the Air Force that summer (1960). College I started going to college evenings while in the Air Force at South Dakota Tech in Rapid City, South Dakota. While in the Air Force I attended Arizona State University from 1966 to 1968 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering on a commissioning program. I was then selected to attend the University of Illinois for a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. While there the US Air Force A...Expand for more