James R. "Jim" Macias

James R. (“Jim”) Macias was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, the youngest of seven children, to Frank and Katherine (Young) Macias. After high school he attended Kansas Newman College, earning a Batchelor’s of Science degree in chemistry in 1981. Over the ensuing five years he completed a PhD in organic chemistry at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, and began working as a research scientist for Shell Oil Company in 1987. Not single for long post-academia, he reconnected with former acquaintance, Deborah (Nelle) Edney, whom he married in August, 1988. Deb, along with her daughter Jennifer, moved to Houston shortly thereafter to help start the new family.

Outside of two expatriate working assignments, the first in the Northwest of England as a young fuels scientist, and a second in Shanghai just shy of retirement, Jim spent his entire 33-year industrial working career based in Houston, Texas. And, although his primary source of intellectual inspiration was understandably in the hard sciences, throughout the years he maintained a general interest in art, literature and music. Encouraged initially by his father’s love of poetry, he was later inspired by brothers, cousins, other relatives and colleagues who dabbled in poetry and prose, songwriting, drawing and painting.

He is the author of two earlier books: A Ph.D thesis published in 1987, the title of which is far too long and convoluted to include here, and a memoir entitled “Footsteps on the Planet,” written post-retirement and published in 2025.

Jim and Deb split time between Northern Colorado and Southeast Texas, where daughter Jennifer and her family currently reside. They have four grandchildren, and look forward to watching them grow, mature and prosper over the next several years.

A Plainsman's Illustrated Book of Poetry and Prose https://a.co/d/gpUrEJm