Dr Robert Lomas gained a B.Sc with first-class honors in electronics before earning a Ph.D in solid-state physics with a particular interest in developing the theory and practice of crystalline semi-conducting hetro-junction photo-optic devices. He went on to work on the development of the first micro-processor chips and missile guidance systems before specializing in software development for command and control systems used by the Fire, Ambulance and Rescue Services. He later developed expertise in data mining and data capture techniques which he used to improve the response times of emergency services control rooms. For a while he was a visiting lecturer at the Fire Service Staff College where he taught data-based command and control. In 1986, he became a Freemason and quickly established himself as a popular lecturer on Masonic history before co-authoring the international best-sellers The Hiram Key, The Second Messiah, Uriel's Machine and The Book of Hiram. Since 2000 he has been writing on his own and has a string of best-sellers including Turning the Hiram Key, Freemasonry and the Birth of Modern Science, and The Man Who Invented the Twentieth Century. He also writes text books including Mastering Your Business Dissertation and specialist Masonic books such as The Secret Science of Masonic Initiation. His latest book is Freemasonry for Beginners He currently is a Visiting Fellow in Information Systems at Bradford University School of Management in Yorkshire, United Kingdom