Richard W Hansen
Richard is a member of the Information Technology team at the U.S. Geological Survey Colorado Water Science Center. He helps the team maintain personal computer (PC) equipment and assists personnel in using applications
In 1973 I ran Fortran programs on the mainframe computer at the Wyoming Highway Department.
I went to college the following year and used paper-tape and IBM punch-cards to run software on an NCR mainframe. Programming languages included COBOL, Fortran IV, Neat/3 and RPG II.
In 1977 I began writing a robot operating system In Commodore Basic to be run on my Commodore 64 computer. In 1991 my software was a runner-up in a national software contest through COMPUTE! Magazine. The software development continues and over the years was ported to IBM Basic, html and now Python.
At Laramie County Community College I participated in a customized Microsoft Office Training Program and went to work for the USGS Wyoming Water Resources. I went to classes in Mclean, Virginia to learn the ins and outs of Data General (DG) computer workstations. The USGS was just starting to use IBM personal computers (PCs) so my duties included setting up and assisting co-workers use DG workstations and IBM PCs running Windows 3.14 and entering data into Ingress databases. I also configured and monitored a remote water-treatment plant at F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
For four years I taught classes and wrote a newsletter for the Cheyenne Association of Computer Enthusiasts.
In 1996 I was delighted to begin working at the Colorado Water Science Center in Lakewood. The office at that time was using DG workstations and IBM PCs and added Sun Unix servers to the mix.
Currently, I am monitoring Outlook email and Teams chat, Monday through Friday from 6:30 AM to 3:30 PM.
My spouse and I have three sons and in 2024 we will be celebrating 50 years of marriage.