Solutions and Surprises

About the Book

Author Jerry Fritzke flying first class in the cargo-rigged DC-3 into Kikwit, Zaire Africa. This is one of many flights he has taken in several out-of-the way countries around the world, such as Oman, Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka and several times here in Zaire to solve a myriad of problems. Although each problem had a technical slant, the solutions to them were usually made simply by “being there” and working with the people who did this work every day. As a result, there were many side benefits, such as exciting rides over waterfalls and looking into the face of thirty-five foot high “standing waves in the middle of the second largest river in the world. A crash here meant no rescue. Meanwhile, Jerry’s wife Irene had to read headlines in the local newspaper saying “Walnut Creek Man Missing in Africa” one week after Jerry left for Zaire. He’s still around though.

About the Author

Jerry Fritzke was born in 1930 and raised in Tonawanda New York, a town of 13,000 situated between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Jerry Graduated from Tona-wanda High School in 1948 and then went on to Purdue University where he earned a BS in Metallurgical Engineering in 1954. He married Irene in 1952 and, after graduation, they moved to Cincinnati Ohio, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and then finally to Walnut Creek California in 1959 where they still live. After leaving his job at the Stanford Linear Accelerator in 1973, Jerry has worked for himself as a full-time consulting engineer in Metallurgy and Corrosion since 1973. He taught evening classes in Metallurgy for several years at Laney Junior College in Oakland and was a docent in Natural Sciences at the Oakland Museum for seven years. He often has been called upon to testify on legal cases in deposi-tions and in court. Over the years he has enjoyed presenting talks about his trav-els and adventures he experienced during these travels. For several years, he and Irene have led trips for the Sierra Club and walks in Walnut Creek’s Open Space regions to point out the hundred or so different species of wild flowers blooming there. He is an avid reader with special emphasis on astronomy, biog-raphy, and history. His hobbies include astronomy, classical music, sports, writ-ing, geology, travel, photography, and opera.