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There are not so many people who can say that a certain person has changed theirlife. I can and I’d like to share how much that person changed my life. 27 years ago as a junior dentist, I was invited by my teacher to join a seminar to be held by Charlie Burstone in Taipei. At the time, this was a huge financial investment for me and was the first time that I would attend a presentation by a foreign speaker. The subject was to be Biomechanics, which had never been taught in Taiwan. Furthermore, I understood nothing about this topic and so for the next 6 months, I studied all of the available texts about Biomechanics from Charlie Burstone. By the time he held his speech, I had a firm understanding of both details and the language that he used and surprisingly also of Biomechanics. After this speech, I understood that this was a market niche to be developed in Taiwan and I decided there and then to specialize in Biomechanics, being blessed to study in Indiana University, the birthplace of Biomechanics, under the tutelage of the prominent Dr. Eugene Roberts. That this would have such a profound effect on my life, nobody could have thought at the time, but I was determined to follow in Charlie’s footsteps and for him to become my professional grandfather. Ever since the first time I listened to him in 1988, I knew he was very special and since then, my gut feeling has been confirmed and continually reconfirmed each and every subsequent time that I met him. Whilst at the Charlie Burstone Memorial Gala Dinner in Indiana in November 2015 I was intrigued to hear the story of another man whose life had been changed by Charlie Burstone, Dr Mike Marcotte. In fact, so intrigued that I asked him to share it as a follow-up to Dr. Roberts' In Memoriam featured in our last edition; I hope you will enjoy his vignette as much as I do. To further honor Dr. Burstone, I have decided that through 2016 we will feature a "Charlie In Memoriam" in each of our publications, so if you have any stories or pictures, or know of anyone who does, please contact us and we will publish the best In Memoriams in our journal. I sincerely hope that these will help to inspire you as much as he inspired me and that we can continue to allow the Burstone Biomechanics Legacy to march along the path to glory.
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