Even if you’ve never met Larry Nelson, a systems programmer who works for Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services in the High Energy Physics Group at Loomis Laboratory of Physics, his e-mails and personal Web page offer a clue (such as a quote from Willy Wonka) that Nelson has a zest for life. An avid motorcyclist and amateur photographer, Nelson has won awards for “Blue Rose,” his customized Harley-Davidson FLHS Electra Glide Sport, and for his photos of fog-shrouded Abbott Power Plant and a Nebraska farmstead, which can be viewed on his Web page. A devotee of classical music whose collection of CDs is approaching 3,000 in number, Nelson commissioned the internationally renowned concert pianist and organist Csaba Kiraly to transcribe composer Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, Opus 38, for organ. Kiraly premiered the transcribed work in a recital at The Chapel of Saint John the Divine on the UI campus in September 2002 and is working with Nelson on transcribing another piece. Nelson has worked at the university for more than 32 1/2 years, about half of that time with the School of Chemical Sciences and the rest with CITES.
Tell me a little about what you do.
The High Energy Physics Group has its own computer center and I am in charge of all their Linux machines – setting them up, maintaining them and trouble-shooting problems as well as doing some of the network-and security monitoring for the HEP network. I also act as a coordinator for other CITES/DS consultants at the physics department, the Nuclear Physics Lab and the School of Music.
What’s the most challenging part of what you do?
Making sure that the systems are secure and stay secure. And keeping up with the new technology and trying to fix things when they go wrong. A lot of what we do here is cutting-edge and there aren’t very many places we can fall back upon for help. A lot of times we have to figure it out ourselves, do a lot of research on the Web asking people if they’ve run into the same problem and how they fixed it, hoping to get clues that might relate to the problem here.
What do you enjoy most about your job? Being able to work with all this high-tech computing equipment and making it all work well for the HEP researchers. We put a lot of disparate things together to build these systems and sometimes it’s amazing that it all works. Plus, it’s a small group so we’re kind of like family here.
What’s your educational background?
I got all my computer training basically on the job. I was in the Air Force for four years, stationed at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, and did computer programming. When I got out, I got a job right away at the university and over the years I’ve learned a lot from many really good mentors.
How did the transcription with the Schumann “Spring” symphony come about?
When my wife and I got married in April 2000, we wanted a spring-themed wedding, and I was looking for suitable music. For some of the pieces we wanted to do, there just weren’t any organ transcriptions, including the Schumann piece. Months later, I began searching in earnest for a transcription and e-mailed many organists around the world. Finally, I hit upon the Web page for this Hungarian concert pianist, Csaba Kiraly, who had transcribed many major symphonic works for organ, and e-mailed him. He agreed to transcribe it and do the world premiere in Urbana as an added stop on his U.S. concert tour. My wife was floored when I gave her a framed copy of the concert flier as a present for our second anniversary.
And you’re collaborating on another transcription?
Yes, but we’re keeping the title of the piece under wraps for now. I think it will be even more impressive than the Schumann because it will be even more familiar to people. We’re hoping he’ll be able to premiere it in Urbana in 2005.
What other interests do you have?
Architecture and renovating our house in Urbana. Wine is also a big interest. We have a 300-bottle wine collection, which includes some 1975 and 1978 California cabernets that we’re waiting for the right occasion to uncork. I’m also looking forward to retiring at the end of September 2005 so we can do some traveling -- to wherever the dart lands on the map.
