U.S. District Judge David Godbey can solve a complicated math problem, find oil deep underground and deliver a swift kick to the face if need be. And those are just a few of the Dallas federal jurist’s many talents.

As one would expect from a man with so many unusual abilities, Godbey entered his legal career through a different door. The son of a Methodist minister, Godbey graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1978 with an electrical engineering degree and a math degree.