The Ueda family was interned in Idaho's Minidoka War Relocation Center[1] for three years, beginning in the summer of 1942, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and signing of Executive Order 9066.
He was drafted into the Army in 1951 for two years, and attended the University of Illinois, first at Navy Pier and then at Champaign-Urbana, graduating as a mechanical engineer in 1958.
Later that year he was hired by Lyle Hansen to work at the Snow, Ice, and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE).
After two more seasons of drilling it finally reached bedrock at about 4,550 ft. Ueda later described it as "the most satisfying moment of my life, or of my career".
After this he worked on building drills for other organizations, including Ohio State and the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE).