 After his graduation he moved to the United States, where he completed a master's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1966 and worked for two years as a development engineer for Honeywell, in Minneapolis, before returning to Mexico and rejoining his alma mater in 1968 as an assistant professor.In Mexico, he lectured on automation, machine instrumentation, and trained staff for the local industry before marrying Margaret “Peggy” Marshall, daughter of Dr. W. Robert Marshall, Jr., dean of engineering of UW–Madison, on 25 January 1969.He went back to UW–Madison to complete his doctorate degree, which was awarded in 1973.