 When he was four, his family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.His scientific career got off to an early start, when, in April 1958, he was awarded third prize in the American Chemical Society Chemistry test (Pittsburgh Section).He went on to win several other science honors while at Taylor Allderdice High School, including attending the Westinghouse Science Honors Institute (October 1958 to April 1959), and the Sun-Telegraph, Pittsburgh and Allegheny Count High Schools Scholastic Award in Science (1959).