Mr. Larson received a BSME from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and an MS from the University of Arkansas, where his academic focus was thermal systems. Following his MS studies, Mr. Larson worked in the Propulsion Analysis group of General Dynamics, Fort Worth developing and applying software to the analysis of engine nozzle and aircraft fuselage integration. He then moved into the product development field, holding several positions in varied industries including plastic injection molding support machinery (developing a line of cooling towers), industrial severe service valves (managing small research and design teams) and medical imaging (developing heat exchanges and heat transfer analysis methods for CT scanners).

He has spent the bulk of his professional career in product development in the bicycle industry, where he holds 15 US patents. He currently teaches freshman and sophomore level courses in Mechanical Engineering. He is also active in contract product design and development.