Thomas Massie
Thomas Harold Massie (born January 13, 1971) is an American politician, entrepreneur, and engineer. A member of the Republican Party, Massie has been the United States representative for Kentucky's 4th congressional district since 2012, when he defeated Bill Adkins in the special and general elections. The district covers much of northeastern Kentucky, but is dominated by the Kentucky side of the Cincinnati area and Louisville's eastern suburbs.
For other people named Thomas Massie, see Thomas Massie (disambiguation).
Thomas Massie
Steve Applegate
John Collins
Rhonda Howard
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Before joining Congress, Massie was Judge-Executive of Lewis County, Kentucky, from 2011 to 2012. He also founded a startup company based in Massachusetts, where he previously studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[1]
Massie has been described as a libertarian Republican and a member of the Tea Party movement, which backed his candidacy for Congress in 2012.[2][3][4]
Early life, education, and business career[edit]
Massie was born in Huntington, West Virginia.[5] He grew up in Vanceburg, Kentucky.[5] He met his wife, Rhonda, at Lewis County High School in Vanceburg.[5][6] His father was a beer distributor.[5]
Massie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[7] He participated in the MIT Solar Car Club, which took second place behind a Swiss team in the Solar and Electric 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway in 1991.
In 1992, Massie won MIT's then-named 2.70 ("Introduction to Design and Manufacturing", now named 2.007) Design Competition.[8] MIT professor Woodie Flowers, who pioneered the 2.70 contest, mentioned that Massie watched this contest on television in seventh grade and wanted to come to MIT to win it.[9]
In 1993, Massie and his wife founded a company, SensAble Devices Inc., that allowed users to feel digital objects that appeared on a screen.[10][11] He completed his bachelor's degree the same year and wrote his thesis, Design of a three-degree of freedom force-reflecting haptic interface.[12][13] In 1995, Massie won the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventors[7] and the $10,000 David and Lindsay Morgenthaler Grand Prize in the sixth annual MIT $10K Entrepreneurial Business Plan Competition.[14] In 1996, his company was reincorporated as SensAble Technologies, Inc., after partner Bill Aulet joined.[10] He raised $32 million of venture capital, employed 70 people, and obtained 24 patents during his time at the company,[15] which he sold in 2003.[11]
In 1996, Massie completed a Master of Science degree (SM) with his thesis "Initial haptic explorations with the phantom: virtual touch through point interaction".[16]
Lewis County Judge Executive[edit]
In 2010, Massie ran for Judge Executive of Lewis County.[12][17] He won the primary election, defeating the incumbent by a large margin,[12] and then beat the Democratic nominee by nearly 40 points.[18] Massie also campaigned for then-U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul, speaking to various Tea Party groups on his behalf.[12]
Massie resigned as Lewis County Judge-Executive effective July 1, 2012.[19]
Personal life[edit]
Massie lives in Garrison, Kentucky, with his wife, Rhonda, and their four children, in a home he built on their cattle farm.[4][192][193] Using wood and stone he gathered from the farm, Massie constructed the home while chronicling its progress on his blog "Building a Timberframe Home From Scratch".[11][192][194] The off-the-grid home is powered by solar panels and a salvaged Tesla Model S battery he retrofitted for his home's electrical system.[193][195] As the owner of a Tesla Model S as well (becoming an early adopter in 2013),[196] Massie has referred to himself as the "greenest member of Congress".[194][197]
On December 4, 2021, Massie drew criticism for posting on his Twitter account a family Christmas photo with an assortment of guns, just days after four teenagers had been killed in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting.[198] Massie said he did not intend for the card to offend but went on to say, "I was like: 'Wow, the world's not gonna see this. It'd be kinda fun to just share it.' And I shared it, and I didn't just kick the hornet's nest, I agitated every hornet on the planet."[199]
Massie appeared as a contestant in a 2002 episode of the TV show Junkyard Wars.[200]
Massie is a Methodist.[201]