Lonnie McCulloch

From "Rocket Scientist" to Rock Scientist

When Lonnie was growing up, he had a picture in his bedroom of a naval submarine breaching the water. Scotty, who kept systems running as the chief engineer on Star Trek's Starship Enterprise, was his hero. So his joining the U.S. Army and eventually becoming an engineer at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory fulfilled his childhood dreams.

Along the way, Lonnie earned undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering technology and mathematics from the University of Idaho; a master's degree in engineering from Idaho State University; and a master's degree in project management from George Washington University.

The transition from being an engineer at a nuclear power plant to a gemologist

Lonnie worked for Westinghouse and Lockheed-Martin, and then Motorola, where he managed a team of engineers and technicians manufacturing computer chips. He was looking for a way to unwind from the stress of his job, and a friend suggested learning gemstone faceting - which he enjoyed tremendously. While selling some of his faceted Montana sapphires, he met Peter Henry, owner of Market Square Jewelers in Dover, New Hampshire. Viewing his extensive gem collection introduced Lonnie to a wider world of gemstones. In 2001, Lonnie was able to retire from engineering to focus on his new passion for gems.

Read Lonnie's featured story in the GIA Education Quarterly 2016.