R. Russell Rhinehart started his career in the process industry. After 13 years and rising to engineering supervision, he transferred to a 31-year academic career, serving as the head of the chemical engineering department at Oklahoma State Univ. for 13 years (nearly a full enrollment cycle). Rhinehart is a fellow of AIChE and the International Society of Automation (ISA). Now retired, he enjoys coaching professionals through books, articles, short courses, and postings on his website .