When asked about what someone knows about Mr. Joseph Chittissery Mathai, most will say he is a physics teacher from India. But have you ever wondered how or why Mr. C.M. came to Louisville? Who is the man behind the gadgets? Mr. C.M.’s father had been in India’s air force for nearly 15 years when he was stationed in the small town of Secunderabad, where Mr. C.M. was born in the military hospital. His family moved soon after to Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu after his father resigned from the air force. Mr. C.M. was the second oldest sibling with an older brother, a younger sister and a younger brother. He received all his education in Chennai, his undergraduate degree at Loyola College and his master’s degree in physics from Annamalai University. “I was better off in math; I chose physics because it was more challenging,” he said. Mr. C.M. was only 22 years old when he started teaching in the city of Jamshedpur at Little Flower School. “My grandfather was into teaching and my father taught in the air force,” Mr. C.M. said. He completed 10 years of teaching physics and electronics to juniors and seniors. Mr. C.M. was forced to move out of the area. “I was having health problems because of the iron dust from the steel industry,” he said. “The doctors said I should move for better health.” He decided to move out of the country and take his family to the United Arab Emirates. He lived and taught in the capital, Abu Dhabi. For 11 years he taught at Al Nahda International School. His job paid well, there were no taxes, and there was free housing. Colleges were not great, however, and for the sake of his children’s education, Mr. C.M. decided to move yet again. It was then that he chose to move to Louisville. Representatives from Norton Hospital spoke to them about giving his wife Elsy a nursing job. Mr. C.M. submitted applications to Atherton, Trinity and St. Xavier. Trinity and Atherton were the only two high schools at the end of the year that gave him job opportunities. He said, “I chose Trinity because it is a Catholic school and I thought I would be more comfortable here.” Mr. C.M. enjoys playing cricket and tennis with his three sons and daughter: Joel, Elvis, Elton and Divya. He attends Mass at the Cathedral of Assumption. He constructs gadgets for fun–anything from televisions and timers to full-scale robots and revolving scoreboards. In his spare time he flies with the Microsoft flight simulator. Next time you see Mr. C.M. ask him about his travels and life outside the United States. You will find he is far from an ordinary physics teacher.