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Who's Who at the Computing Center
Meet some members of our staff [Patrick Chinn | Rob Jaques | Tim Ketchum]
Joyce Winslow
jwins@oregon.uoregon.edu
Patrick Chinn
Distributed Network Computer Consultant
Microcomputer Services [back to top]
This Oregon native's long history with the Computing Center began over ten
years ago, when he was a student majoring in journalism at the UO. During that
time, Patrick worked as a student consultant and advertising copy writer for
the Microcomputer Purchase Program (MPP), which offered educational discounts
on computer hardware and software, and assisted UO students, faculty, and staff
with technical questions.
Shortly after graduating in 1991 with a B.S. in Journalism, Patrick signed on
as a software trainer with Custom Business Systems, a small software company
in Reedsport, Oregon. But Patrick didn't stay away for long. Nearly a year later,
he was back in Eugene working for Symantec Corporation as a consultant on Norton
Utilities for the Macintosh, and two years after that, he returned to the Computing
CenterÑthis time, working as the sales floor manager for the MPP. When
the MPP closed in 1997, Patrick moved on to become the Biology Department's
Mac lab manager and later, the computer support manager at the EMU.
Last November, Patrick once again joined the Computing Center, this time as
a member of the Microcomputer Services team of consultants who assist faculty,
staff, and students with a multitude of microcomputer questions and problems.
His journalism background made him the ideal candidate for updating and revamping
the Microcomputer Services website at http://micro.uoregon.edu,
a task which has consumed the bulk of his time since assuming his new position.
Patrick is often mistaken for his identical twin Andre, who is the director
of Information technology at the UO School of Journalism and Communications.
The brothers are close, and share a passion for soccer as well as an interest
in technology. Together, they jointly manage Equilibrium, a city league team
primarily comprised of UO students. Patrick's other favorite sports are long
distance running and whitewater kayaking. This year, he ran in the Hood-to-Coast
relay and is currently training for this fall's Portland Marathon.
Patrick and his wife Pamela are enthusiastic world travelers. Together, they've
explored most of Western Europe, including Scotland, England, France, and Italy.
This summer, though, they're suppressing their wanderlust in order to sell their
house and hunt for a new home in south Eugene.
Rob Jaques
Microcomputer Technician
Electronics Shop [back to top]
If you've ever called the Computing Center's Electronics Shop for help with
hardware problems, chances are the cheery voice that greeted you was Rob Jaques'.
Rob has repaired computers and peripheral devices and performed system upgrades
since he joined our staff in 1991.
Rob grew up in Southern California and initially he had no intention of leaving
his sunny home base. After graduating from high school, he had some fun playing
rhythm guitar in a couple of rock bands, but he soon turned to the electronics
field for more stable employment.
After a year of concentrated study, Rob got a job maintaining the computer facilities
at Norton Air Force Base. For two years, Rob and his staff were responsible
for keeping the entire complex humming, including an IBM mainframe and five
miniframe systems, tape backup, CompuCorp 2200 terminals, and numerous modems
and printers.
Life was good. But after Rob and his wife Darla started their family, the couple
began to have second thoughts about raising their two children in the urban
crush of Southern California. In 1984 they packed up and headed north to live
in an old farmhouse just outside of Sweet Home.
At first the romance of farm life was compelling, and the transplanted city
dwellers enthusiastically bought calves and a couple of pigs, and planted a
large vegetable garden. They began canning their own produce, and proudly turned
out jars of blackberry jelly.
However, after several years of laboring on the farm while holding down full-time
jobs, Rob and Darla decided it was time to cut back. They now have only two
dogs to care for, and leave the jelly-making to Smuckers. In his new-found spare
time, Rob occasionally builds cabinets and small furniture pieces in his woodshop,
and he and Darla enjoy camping and fishing trips.
In recent years, Rob's role at the Computing Center has expanded to include
teaching informal workshops on the safe disposal and recycling of discarded
computer and electronic equipment. Most recently, he's been working with UO
Environmental Manager Nick Williams to educate campus users about computer recycling
issues.
Tim Ketchum
Systems Analyst
Administrative Services [back to top]
Tim Ketchum has lived in the Northwest all his life. The son of a Forest Service
Ranger, Tim grew up in the scenic Sisters area and helped pay his college expenses
by working as a fire lookout for the State Forestry Department each summer for
seven years.
Tim gravitated toward a career in computer programming early on, and he earned
a B.S. in Computer Science from OSU in 1987. His first job out of college was
as a Special Applications Programmer for the Forest Service. After working there
for several years on temporary appointment, he moved on to become a systems
analyst at the Computing Center in 1992.
Tim's duties include developing and maintaining Student Systems on campus. He
is one of the three programmers who implemented DuckCall, and he also created
DuckHunt (the online schedule of classes) and managed the implementation of
DuckWeb, the interactive student information system. In addition to keeping
these systems running smoothly, Tim provides backup support to the database
administrator and works on ongoing development projects as needed.
Tim and his wife Darcy have two boys: eight-year-old Cory, a Pokeman enthusiast,
and four-year-old Nick, whom Tim describes as "a wild bundle of energy."
While Tim is not known for his love of cooking, the boys have pressed him into
service as a Sunday morning chef. His speciality, blueberry pancakes, unfailingly
gets rave reviews.
The family enjoys exploring new territory together. Last summer they drove cross-country
to a Ketchum family reunion in Iowa and stopped along the way to investigate
such natural wonders as the Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal, Utah, and
the Black Hills of South Dakota.