Martin plays contrabass. Hailing from the Netherlands, he and his family have called the US home since the early eighties. Martin pursues both classical and jazz music, and has played with a variety of community bands and orchestras, including the Ames Jazz Band, The Lyratones, The Friday Night Moose Band, Symphony Parnassus, The Bay Area Rainbow Symphony and The San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Band. His professional life revolves around pharmaceutical R&D, and he has worked for companies such as DuPont, Merck and Amgen. Currently he is head of drug development at Edison Pharmaceuticals (located across the street from the SETI Institute and a stonesthrow away from Moffett Field). In this capacity, Martin supports several collaborative projects with the Ames Research Center. He holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Amsterdam. Martin and Plonneke, his wife of 37 years and counting, live in San Mateo.