Dr. Kirk Daniel Thompson attended the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque. During college, Kirk honed his social skills by selling environmental instrumentation, laboratory instruments, and systems for a small electronics company. Kirk earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from UNM in 1965, then his Master of Science Degree in Engineering in 1966 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kirk's career combined his passion for engineering with the excitement of the technological revolution that continued throughout his lifetime, and it took him on adventures around the world.

Shortly after graduation from MIT, Kirk started working at Motorola Corporation in Phoenix, Arizona, where he served as a project leader on various independent research, development, and customer-funded projects. In 1967, he received a patent for his work on multilayered circuitry interconnections with integral shields.

Going to school while working, Kirk earned his Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University (ASU) in 1973. He then became an ASU post-doctoral fellow in biomedical engineering at the Arizona Heart Institute. After returning briefly to the private sector as a Principal Engineer at Omnicomp, Inc., he returned to ASU as an Assistant Professor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

However, Omnicomp recruited him back the following year by giving him the role of Chief Engineer. With its purchase by the GenRad Services Product Division in 1980, Kirk then became its Director of Engineering where he participated extensively in the development of automatic test equipment standards and products, including the best-selling GR2225/2235. Kirk's entrepreneurial nature motivated him to begin pursuing a career in consulting, which led to the incorporation of Quincy Street Corporation in 1977.

In 1981, Kirk began working full time at Quincy Street Corporation, which developed numerous products and kept him busy until he retired after his 80th birthday.

He continued to mentor ASU students until he moved to Florida, most recently as part of its Center for Negative Carbon Emissions.

Socially, Kirk was an active member of the Phoenix Country Club, where he spent many hours with friends on and off the course. He loved a good party and great art, and combined these in the Phoenix Men's Arts Council, for which he chaired the Cowboy Artists of America show in 2007.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Billie; a daughter; a son; and a sister.