Grandon, 'Gran', Mathews was a senior at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. His Mother was a physics professor; his Father was a dentist; they were 'well-off' but not what they would call 'wealthy'. Both parents encouraged him in his materials engineering studies. Gran was particularly interested in flight, most of it in non-traditional forms.
Gran enjoyed the use of a brick barn which had been repurposed as a big workshop, where he 'played' at building things. He rode an electric bike to school, most days, both because he could avoid traffic and didn't want to ride to school with his Mother.
He loved to build things that worked; his current spare time was spent working on the design and construction of a small, electric hovercraft.