A man with twice the life experience of most college students is living alongside them in the residence halls.

Joe Keller is a 46-year-old graduate student in math. He lives in Murray House in Knapp Hall, which typically houses younger students.

Keller said the benefits of living in the residence halls make it worth the inconveniences. “This has been one of the most productive years of my life,” Keller said.

There is a problem with his home at Iowa State: sometimes it gets noisy. But it’s not other students who cause the ruckus. “The only problem is the noise, since the building is so old,” he said.

Keller graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in math. He graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in 1980 and was a practicing ophthalmologist for 22 years.

Keller said his love for research spurred his decision to return to college.

“Research has always been a part of medicine and it seems that this is a way that I can make a unique contribution,” he said.

Having experienced residence hall life at Harvard, Keller said he liked the fact the residence halls would be very conducive to studying.

“My main reason for living here was convenience. It’s also cheaper to live in a double room as opposed to the single rooms at Wallace-Wilson,” he said. “It’s also nice to live in a place where I’m not the only person studying.”

Kate Bruns, communication specialist for the Department of Residence, said the average age of Knapp residents is 19.

“Only 13 of the 476 students in the entire building are in the age category of 22 and over,” she said.

Bruns said the Department of Residence has created housing specifically for older students, so if an older student chooses to live in younger student areas such as Knapp, he or she usually has a specific reason for doing so.

Keller said he enjoys the ease of living on campus and the simplicity of residence hall life.

“To some, living in such a small space might be a challenge, but I love it,” he said. “And the food here is the best I’ve ever had. Everything is so convenient.”

Keller said this is his second semester both in the dorms and at Iowa State and he has no intentions of leaving any time soon.

“This is the ideal living situation,” he said. “I will stay in the dorms at least another year.”

Reed Baessler, Murray House resident assistant and junior in political science, said Keller fits in well. “He’s just like everyone else, but he’s old enough to be our dad,” he said. “He’s a great guy.” Baessler said Keller once e-mailed the hall director to let her know that he was leaving for the weekend. “He’s just really respectful,” he said. Taylor Mulfinger, Murray house president and sophomore in food science, said Keller is quiet, but seems to fit in with the other students living on the floor.

“He studies more than anyone else, so he’s very quiet and very busy,” he said. “He doesn’t come out of his room much, and needless to say, we haven’t had a single problem with him.”

Of the residents, Keller said “I am amazed at the maturity level of the men on my floor,” he said. “There is a good balance between academics and being social. Everyone realizes there is a time for work and a time for play.”

Keller said the math doctorate program is an intensive 5-year process, so he spends most of his time studying. “Learning math is largely something you do yourself, but we grad students do have some study groups,” he said.

As a teacher’s assistant in the statistics department, Keller said he spends a lot of time with students and studying, but he does take the time to attend social activities. “Being a grad student in math means I’m very busy and don’t have much time for a social life,” he said. “But I do take advantage of basic social opportunities such as house meetings.”