Robert Irons has 21 years of experience in MIS planning, ADP facilities management, and ADP systems design and development. He received a BS from Weber State College in 1967 and a MPA from John F. Kennedy University in 1982. After receiving his BA he worked for the Federal Government as a management analyst from 1968 to 1972 and then in computer support positions from 1972 to 1985 (the last 10 managing government computer facilities).
In 1985, he left the Federal Government to work as a private sector employee in computer related work. From 1985 to 1988 he worked as a project manager, senior systems analyst, and consultant for several different Washington DC area companies.
In 1988, he began working for MSD on the Lister Hill Center General Computer Support Contract. Since January 1991, he has worked as a DBA and application developer in support of the Metathesaurus Project, one of three components of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) Project. His UMLS work has involved maintaining the Metathesaurus database(s), developing editing applications to update them, and developing requirements for editing workstations for Metathesaurus Editors.