George Phillies

George Phillies was born July 23, 1947 in Buffalo, New York, first son of Eustace G. Phillies, M.D. and Clara Phillies (both deceased). He has one brother, Gregory Paul, who is a radiologist working in Buffalo, New York. Phillies grew up in Kenmore and Williamsville, New York, finished as salutatorian at the Williamsville Central High School [now Williamsville North], and went to M.I.T. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While at MIT, Phillies earned degrees of Bachelor of Science in physics and in life sciences, as well as Master of Science and (in 1973, after a total of three years and three months in graduate school) Doctor of Science degrees in physics. Phillies then joined the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program as a researcher. In 1975, Phillies moved to California, working as a postdoctoral fellow in the U.C.L.A. Chemistry department and living in Santa Monica. Phillies in 1978 moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was employed as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan. In 1985, after declining alternatives at nationally-known schools, Phillies moved to WPI, where he rose to the rank of Professor of Physics (and Biochemistry Associated Faculty, and Interactive Media and Game Design Associated Faculty). Phillies has attained international recognition for his scientific studies of light scattering and polymer solutions. Phillies' primary service efforts are on the WPI campus, where he teaches and does research. Almost all first-rate universities are run by elected faculty committees, and WPI is no exception. Phillies has repeatedly been elected to the most important WPI committees. Phillies, 66, has never married, and lives in his home in Worcester, Massachusetts. His hobbies include science fiction, game collecting, and gardening. As a nonprofessional fiction writer, several of his short stories have won awards at national conventions. Phillies collects strategy games and has written (with Tom Vasel) two books about designing board games. Previous political activities: Phillies is an active member of the Libertarian Party, both in Massachusetts and nationally. In 1996, Phillies was elected Executive Director of the Massachusetts Libertarian Association, and was the party nominee for United States Senator from Massachusetts. In 1998, he ran for Congress as a Libertarian against Democratic Party incumbent Jim McGovern and Republican Matt Amorello. In 2004, Phillies was elected as one of the two Regular members of the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts State Committee. In 2008, the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire chose Phillies as their nominee for President of the United States and placed him on the ballot. The other George Phillies's were his late grandfather George E. Phillies (Attorney) and his late father, Eustace George Phillies. Grandfather believed that he was in some part responsible, via the Justice for Greece Committee, for extending the Marshall Plan to Greece. Phillies' father was a physician, specializing in internal medicine and hematology.