Stephen Senturia turned to writing fiction after a long career as Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, culminating in election to the National Academy of Engineering. He writes about academic life in the fast lane, top-flight institutions, run by smart, competent people, where in spite of best efforts, things can still go badly wrong. The Martin Quint Trilogy explores the stresses and strains of academic life and their unwelcome spillover into family life. Martin is an academic super-star, but at home, has something of a tin ear. In One Man’s Purpose, we agonize with him as he mentors a razor-thin tenure case. In Cross Purposes, he must deal both with a pushy college trustee and an unwelcome relic of his past, leading his marriage to a precipice. In A Different Purpose, Martin and his wife, Jenny, seek reconciliation amid new challenges, learning that while some questions can be answered, there are others that have no answer.