About Me
About
James Phelps Ph.D.
About
James Phelps Ph.D.

I’m a professor teaching online courses (live and asynchronous) to students from all around the world. I give lectures in my local community on a huge variety of topics to people who just want to comprehend our changing world. My love is working with people until they grasp elusive concepts with a revelation of true comprehension.
I love history!
If we don’t know and learn from our past, then we cannot succeed in the present. The study history, historical documents, and historical events and people in the times and context of their experiences is fundamental to critically understanding today’s world.
Using this information I’m able to apply that learning to present day problems of all types and offer guidance in addressing today’s issues to those who are interested. Couple that with years of world travel, learning from local cultures in a multitude of countries, applying scientific and engineering principals to thinking, and you get who I am today.
Of course, you have to add to this a 21 year career in the U.S. Navy working on nuclear submarines. The stories I could tell you about hunting other nation’s ships and submarines; about nuclear power plant and submarine disasters that will never be released to the public; the people and places we went including our ports of call; and you would be like my disbelieving brothers. What I did, saw, experienced cannot be imagined by those who weren’t there. Those life experiences are fundamental to my very core of being.

Entering the service as an E-1 in 1977, I earned multiple promotions up to E-7 in my enlisted career and was selected for a direct commission to Ensign in 1991 in the Nuclear Power Limited Duty Officer field where I remained until my retirement in 1998. During these 21 years I served the following duty stations and assignments.
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, Quality Assurance Officer/DDS Maintenance Officer, 1996-1998
Naval Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, General Services Division Officer, Electronic Systems Production Officer, 1994-1996
Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, Assistant Radiological Controls Officer for Production, Special Projects Nuclear Repair Officer, 1993-1994
USS Holland, Repair Department Administration Officer, Nuclear Production Officer, 1992-1993
USS Proteus, Nuclear Repair Officer, 1991-1992
Machinery Division (Nuclear), Leading Chief Petty Officer, Leading Petty Officer, USS Florida, USS Michigan, 1986-1991
Maintenance Training Group, Nuclear Power Training Unit – Idaho, 1983-1986
USS Puffer, 1980-1983, Machinist Mate (Nuclear)
Naval Nuclear Power Pipeline School, 1977-1980
Testimonial
Proud
stories


