Employee Spotlight: Dr. Chris Taylor

A scientist at heart, Dr. Chris Taylor has been drawn to all things technology for over 20 years.

While most children were busy writing letters to Santa for the latest hi tech gadgets of the '80s, PaperWise Product Manager and Research Analyst Dr. Chris Taylor, or Dr.T as we call him, used resourcefulness to purchase his first computer, a Commodore 64. With the help of his dad and grandfather, Chris recruited help from his friends, family, their co-workers, and even a couple of businesses to collect aluminum cans to recycle. From this collection, Chris raised enough money to bypass Christmas and feel the reward of working for cutting-edge technology. Fortunately for the team at PaperWise, this accomplishment sparked a passion for computer science as he wrote his first computer program by age 12.

Native to Poplar Bluff, a small town in southeast Missouri, Chris always sought to expand his mind and continue to learn. Before starting college, he worked on his family's farm as a shepherd, raising and shearing sheep. Upon graduating from high school, he followed his analytical mind to Harding University. Initially a double major in Ministry and Computer Science, Chris's inner developer took over when he transferred to Southwest Missouri State University, now Missouri State University. Three years later he received a B.S. in Computer Science. "My grandfather once told me, 'Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life.' I really took the advice to heart. I love research and writing programs. It's what I do in my spare time," said Chris on why he chose Computer Science as his course of study. His educational journey continued as he attended the University of Kansas where he further cultivated his knowledge of Computer Science, earning his M.S. and Ph.D. Choosing this path, Chris knew at the end of every day, he would get to do something he loved and make money while doing it. "It's awesome," expressed Chris.

His first computing job was with Associated Electric in Springfield, Missouri. Originally hired as an intern to model all of their electrical substations, Chris was able to get the entire project done in less than the time they expected it to take 3 interns. Upon graduating, he was hired full-time. "I worked there for 5 years before I decided I wanted to pursue graduate studies," Chris said. He moved to Overland Park, KS where he worked for a dot com company for a year while in transition from Springfield, and then while in school, worked as a teaching assistant at KU for several years.

During that time Chris received the Paul F. Huebner Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching, and made his way up to be Course Coordinator, where he coordinated 14 sections of a general education course in computing. His time doing his doctoral studies granted him the opportunity to be part of the Madison and Lila Self Fellowship, an exclusive group of doctoral students who were trained in leadership, communication, and public policy creation. Membership to this group provided funding for Chris's Ph.D. and all research completed during that time. "It was an honor to be part of this group," said Chris of his experience. "My research has been published in the Journal of Intelligent Systems, Computational Intelligence in Biomedicine and Bioinformatics, and presented at the 6th International Symposium on Soft Computing for Industry."

In 2008, Chris finished his Ph.D. and moved back to Springfield, Missouri. In the same resourceful style of that 12 year old boy, he wrote all of the universities in Springfield looking for a teaching position. The inquiry ultimately led him to PaperWise, which had been recommended to him as a business where he would encounter interesting research. On August 4th 2008, Chris joined the PaperWise team as a member of the Professional Services Group. Soon after, he moved into a new role as manager of the development group. However, his love of research remained. To his delight, Chris eventually moved into the position of Product Manager and Research Analyst where he now helps determine what product changes or new solutions PaperWise offers to customers. "I love the challenge of looking at a business problem and trying to come up with ways to streamline it and apply technology to it in order to benefit the customer. There's nothing quite as satisfying as coming up with a creative solution to a real-world problem," explained Chris.

When Dr. T is away from PaperWise, he spends most of his time happily ever after with his wife of 13 years, Kim. They have a deep-seated love for the theater, board games, and movie nights, all of which they enjoy sharing with friends and family. Halloween is the Taylors' favorite time of year. Annually, they throw a big Halloween party which draws people from several states away. In addition, they also throw a yearly "murder mystery" party in December. Both adventurous, they love to travel and explore new places, taking time every year to go someplace new and experience the unique attractions offered in each area. "We like to joke that we're going to have to start adding things to our 'bucket list' because we've almost already done them all," Chris shared.

Dr. T has an eclectic variety of hobbies and interesting experiences that he carries with him. Among those hobbies are painting, knife throwing, and collecting of medieval weapons. He also appeared as a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, had dinner with the Ambassador from the United Arab Emirates, and has officiated two funerals. He has even had his own claims to fame as a radio newscaster, a stand-in for a lead singer of a local band, and an appearance on the cover of an industry magazine. With so many attributes that make him a matchless asset to PaperWise, it's hard to believe the Doc when he says, "Tragically, I was born without a personality," as nothing could be further from the truth.