Robert was born in Grand Rapids and has been living in Michigan all his life. He moved to Ann Arbor about 15 years ago and lives in north Ann Arbor with his wife, Martha. They have a daughter Betty who lives in Ypsilanti with her husband, Mark and their children, Amelia (4) and Joshua (9). When he was younger, Robert worked for the Ford Motor Company, but he retired a couple of years back. He runs a coffee shop close to North Campus called "Nomad". His weekdays are usually pretty busy since the coffee shop is open from 9:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the evening. On weekends, Martha looks after the shop, and this gives Robert a little time for himself.

He often uses the desktop PC at the shop or at home to look for something online using Google or to send an email. Sometimes he uses them for more complicated tasks like maintaining an inventory of the café, managing finances, etc. He enjoys reading and learning about emerging technologies and is more tech-savvy than most of his friends. He is an avid photographer and often takes random photographs, especially of their dogs.

A very social person, Robert likes meeting new people and being out and about in the community. He often talks to the students and professors who come to the café to grab a bite to eat or get a drink of coffee or pop. On weekends, in his time away from the café, he likes to spend quality time with Amelia and Josh. He often takes them to the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum. In fact he looks forward to these trips to the museum. When he was a child they did not have such fun places to learn about Science and Technology. And if they did, his family didn't go! In the end, the trips to the museum fascinate him as much as they fascinate Amelia and Josh.

He really likes the way the museum encourages children to interact with their parents. Often Josh or Amy come up to him and ask him to come watch them or play with an exhibit with them. At times Amy wants her "gramps" to take pictures of the sand patterns that she has made or Josh has questions about how things work. Spending time with his grand children and explaining things to such a captive audience often makes his week.