“One day Larry said to me, ‘We are working on behalf of the angels.’ I still clearly remember that day in his office and the impact those words had on me” (Abid). After a trip to Trona, California to investigate fatal blunt force trauma by a pneumatic conveyor belt access door, Abid was glad their work would prevent future failures. “Larry found a simple way that the door could have been redesigned that would have prevented this accident. Ultimately, the case went to trial and the jury found that the pump manufacturer had a design defect and gave an award to Moore’s wife and children in excess of five million dollars. It was a proud day for me, and I am sure it was so for Larry” (Abid).
Larry Walter Anderson is a man that succeeds because of his knowledge and passion for his work. As an engineer with emphasis in fires and explosions at Exponent, a firm that investigates and analyzes equipment and machinery failures, Larry is responsible for safety measures in equipment such as access doors to pneumatic conveyor belts. After doing necessary tests and equations, Larry is called upon by lawyers as an expert witness: a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person. In a way, Larry has two personalities: one is his work mode where he is an expert at revealing the truth of a failure; the other is “a rare personality that makes everyone around him have a good time” (Dan). Larry’s passion for solving failures and having a good time is what leads many to respect him. Among his successes as an engineer, Larry has been a great role model and grandfather for me. His compassion and storytelling is something I have always cherished. Learning about all the steps he has taken to prevent future failures has only furthered my respect for my grandfather.
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Larry never had a thought about going to college. One day, an admission representative from the University of Washington stopped by his high school to give a presentation where he learned about the benefits of extending his education. The thought of pursuing mechanical engineering was very exciting for Larry because he loved working on his car. Larry told his parents that he was going to go to the University of Washington, but didn’t get the response he expected. “My dad said ‘well I thought you were going to join the Navy.’ He sounded kind of disappointed. They were thinking I was going to be gone and they wouldn’t have to support me anymore. Dad said, ‘Well okay, but I’m not going to pay for that goddamn car of yours” (Anderson). Nonetheless, Larry attended the University of Washington where his brilliant mind helped him receive scholarships to continue his education at the University earning his Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D.. While it was tough for Larry and his fiancé at the time, Judy, to pay for the program, Larry’s professors convinced him that it would be beneficial in the long run. For Larry this path definitely has given him many more opportunities than he would have had. Larry’s outlook on getting a job is “take your highest [paying] job that is reasonable”. Starting out at Ford working on heat shields for the government, Larry experienced what luxuries his extended education brought: a brand new car and a great starting salary.
After working at a company called Acurex, where Larry worked on heat shields, he and a friend from Stanford decided to try to start their own company converting oil into energy. Larry was in charge of designing the machine, and his partner was in charge of finding and measuring the gas. All looked like it was going well until they couldn’t get any business. Their customers were used to getting top dollar for gas, but they didn’t realize not all gas is of the same quality needed to produce electricity. “Ranchers wouldn’t sell the gas for cheaper even though it was of lower quality” (Larry). At home, Larry’s family went through rough times because of their severe lack of income “‘Okay we are going to be poor in a month.’ And I said ‘okay...’ Then he would say ‘Two weeks to go, we’re not going have any income.’ ‘One week to go, we’re not going to have any income’, and I swear this part is true, [as] he went off to his new company [he said], ‘okay this is the last of having any income’. He comes home that night and says ‘I hate being poor! I’m going to get a job’” (Judy). And he did. His connections led him to become the assistant to the CEO of Exponent with one phone call.
Larry finds his job fun and intriguing. While many of his cases are sad, some turn out to be an adventure like his trip to “Baghdad, Iraq about three years ago. It was funny because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go because it was a war zone...but it ended up being one of the most interesting things I’ve ever done” (Larry).
Not everyday does one’s occupation bring them across the Atlantic into a war zone to find out if someone was secretly siphoning off gas from the giant bags of gasoline. The US army brought Larry in to figure out what happened to the lost gasoline. As it turned out, the bags deflated over night when the soldiers remeasured the height of the bags as the gasoline condensed due to the cold. In the end, Larry was able to experience what it was like to live in the army barracks and find himself among random mortar fire. For Larry, this case was one that wasn’t necessarily intellectually challenging, but allowed him the opportunity to go somewhere exciting. Sadly, not all of Larry’s cases are this way.
There was a mother of a six year old boy who ran her own therapy business. She used a very nice hot tub to help her patients relax before their treatment, but the hot tub used three engines to run the powerful jets. Over the weekend, the heat was turned off, but the engines kept pumping the water, heating up the tub. The young boy unknowingly entered the scalding 135-degree water and eventually died from his burns. In Larry’s investigation, he ran tests to see if the hot tub could indeed reach the deadly temperatures on another model. In his case findings, Larry claimed that the hot tub engines caused the water temperature to rise, eventually leading to the death of the six year old boy. Larry proposed a plan of how to fix the design of the hot tub. “The President of the company called us back and said ‘Thank you so much! I had no idea that running pump motors could cause this kind of accident’” (Larry). The results of Larry’s case have helped protect others from a similar fate.
As a retiree, Larry will spend more and more of his time doing old people activities, like golfing, cycling, walking, and last but not least, fixing his cars. If you asked Larry what he wanted to be in high school, he would have said a mechanical engineer so he could work on his car. While he may have put his degree into something slightly more engaging and applied, Larry has returned back to his high school dream. “I call it car collecting. I currently have five cars. One is my wife Judy’s daily driver, a lexus SUV. The newest one is a 2004 M3 BMW. A ‘99 Porsche Carrera. I bought that new for my 60th birthday. I have a 1964 porsche. It was Judy’s car from 1980 to 1982 or 3. After we had grandchildren (Collin and Connor) she retired the car for a regular car. I have recently spent a lot of time and money restoring it and it is a very beautiful car. Most recently I bought a 1954 Ford Ranch Wagon which you might even call a hot rod. It looks like a stock Ford, but it has been highly modified. That’s my hobby. I actually have too many cars. I have five cars and only four parking spaces. One will have to go eventually” (Larry). Throughout Larry’s experienced life, he has put in a lot of time and effort to make himself and those around him feel comfortable. In a way he rivals the life of his old Porsche: old, active, and fun to be around. It is qualities like these that have given Larry the opportunities of his dreams. The passion that comes from within is motivating and inspiring. He believes that his success is due to the chance he took back as a senior in high school to see what going to college would be like.
