David Pyne
R. DAVID PYNE
EMILY BLACK
540 NE 5th Avenue
POB 1232
Gainesville, FL 32601
352-336-3820
Self-employed
Fifty years ago I was that scrawny little kid with an English accent, having just emigrated from London, England. My parents lived on Grand Bahama Island and I had my own apartment in Coral Gables.
I was actively involved back then with Sea Scout Ship 537. The Skipper was Dave Wood, the geometry teacher at CGHS. He and my many friends at CGHS, SSS 537 and University Baptist Church served as my surrogate family, providing an enriching experience and many happy memories. Sometimes I would spend the night at my apartment but other times I would stay on the Sea Scout, a 69 ft yacht, and sit on the dock eating mangos from a friend in nearby Coconut Grove. We made several long weekend cruises to Bimini and Key West and many trips around Biscayne Bay, plus trips to Sebring for the 24-hour Grand Prix. I look forward to seeing Dave Wood and many other friends again at this reunion.
After graduation from CGHS I went to Duke University, graduating with a BS in Civil Engineering, then went on to the University of Florida for an MSE in Environmental Engineering, specializing in Water Resources. I joined an engineering consultant company in Gainesville that was subsequently purchased by CH2M HILL which has since grown into an international giant among engineering companies. I worked there for 30 years in several positions, including firm-wide Director of Water Resources Engineering.
While there I developed the “Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR)” technology for storing drinking water underground in fresh and brackish aquifers. Over 100 ASR wellfields are now operating in 22 states and several other countries around the world, providing water supply reliability and sustainability at relatively low cost without the adverse environmental impacts associated with construction of surface reservoirs. I wrote a book on ASR and got a patent on some of the technology, thereby checking off two of the items on my “bucket list.” Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro is also on the list; however I’m waiting until they extend a road nearer to the top.
In 2000 I left CH2M HILL and formed my own company, ASR Systems LLC. We have been busy since then, designing and constructing ASR wellfields and related projects throughout the United States and in several other countries. Retirement is not really in the picture since we are having so much fun doing what we do. Instead we just plan to take more time off each year.
I have been married to Emily Black for 35 years and live in Gainesville, Florida. Emily is a true “Renaissance Woman,” with successive careers as a professional civil engineer specializing in water resources; a massage therapist; an acupuncture physician, and a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. For nine years she served on the Florida State Board of Engineers, followed by eight years on the Florida State Board of Acupuncture. She now has a thriving business marketing Biomats, a far infrared therapeutic medical device for which demand is building rapidly around the world.
We have a son, Christopher, who is now 31. He married Megan three years ago and we now have a grandson, Max, who will be two years old on May 6, 2012. They live in Knoxville, Tennessee. Chris, Megan and Max have become the focus of our energy, with increasingly frequent trips to visit them in Knoxville, and family vacations to various places. Max is a wonderful, happy child.
Emily and I spend a lot of time also in the south of France, Cancun and family weddings in England. There is a bumper crop of English nephews and nieces getting married about now. We anticipate spending a lot more time in Knoxville and are buying a second home there. We love traveling to exotic places, enjoying fine meals with friends. We also like fine wine, picnics, chocolate, good books, and have hopes for another grandchild.