A career in Biology has probably been in the works for me since I was a kid. I grew up in rural southwestern Ohio and when I wasn’t playing baseball I was usually exploring the fields, woods, and creeks that surrounded my little hometown. After my first college course in ecology, I knew Ecology was the area of Biology for me — I briefly considered Medicine but sick people did not have the same powerful appeal as Mother Nature. I was really hooked after a couple of Undergraduate Research Projects and a summer of work-study employment at Miami’s Ecology Research Station.

My degree is in Physiological Ecology. Very broadly, this is the study of how physiological systems adapt to changing environments. Given this disciplinary specialization it should not be too surprising that my primary teaching responsibilities are Physiology and Ecology! I also teach introductory-level Human Biology, which examines the human as a biological species and draws heavily from both physiology and ecology. As opportunities arise, I enjoy very much advising the Honors and Independent Research projects of RC students. These have ranged from studies of how stress affects heat production in the brown fat of white-footed mice to surveys of salamanders.

My published research spans a diverse array of animals and environments. I’ve had a blast studying tropical tree frogs and marine toads on the island of Trinidad, bats in the lava caves of Oregon, nestling birds in the Mojave Desert, hatchling snapping turtles in Colorado, field mice galore from Ohio to Colorado to Alabama, and my all-time favorite critter, the pocket gopher, in the mountains of Colorado and California. I even got to dissect the brain of a manatee! Over the years grants to my research partners and I have been gratefully accepted from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Forest Service, NSF, NIH, and Earthwatch.

Over the past three years, I’ve been engrossed in a totally different line of research — different for me anyway. I’m studying nut production and growth in isolated stands of American beech trees. Particularly, I’m interested in the relationship between nut production and predation on nuts by insects and small mammals. Trees don’t bite and they don’t run away, so this research, while not as inherently exciting as animal fieldwork, is a nice change. Trees also don’t do anything very fast, so I am committed to this project for the long haul. I was able to get this all underway with funds from a Mednick Fellowship.

I have been fortunate to have experienced tremendous colleagues, researchers, professors, and a hodge-podge of assorted and wonderful characters and co-workers. They were all experts in something or other and I learned immensely from their generously shared expertise. I’m trying to pass it on.

In my real life, I enjoy spending as much time as I can with my wonderful wife, two terrific sons and their beautiful wives, and my amazing two grandsons — both budding ornithologists and wildlife artists, and real sluggers to boot!