Rick Stimbeck's GIV-SAT page

Rick Strimbeck

or (more formally) Dr. G. (for George) Richard Strimbeck, here seen in the innards of the Svellnosbreen (glacier), Jotunheimen, Norway.

Here's a brief pictorial bio...

I climbed my first tree (a white pine in my back yard in New Jersey) when I was 5 years old. I've been playing and working in and around trees ever since.

In an alerce (Fitzroya cuppressoides) tree on Isla Chiloe, Chile.

I grew up on the Massachusetts north shore, where I spent a lot of time roaming the beaches and rocky shores, in summer and winter.

Enjoying a frost-wedged boulder, Marblehead, MA

It took me about 25 years to get from a high school diploma to a Ph.D., but I have some pretty good excuses. I took a couple of years off to work during my undergraduate years, but finally earned a degree in botany at the University of New Hampshire.

Red trillium or stinking benjamin, Trillium erectum

I spent the summers in between academic years working on a trail crew in the White Mountains.

Ready for another work week, Rattle River Trail, New Hampshire

This set me up for my Big Adventure: a two year stint in New Zealand and Australia, much of it working as a backcountry hut keeper on New Zealand's Milford Track.

Clinton Valley, Milford Track, NZ

I passed through Malaysia and Nepal on the way home. I trekked around the Annapurna Range then into Everest Base Camp, where I spent New Year's Eve with the British Winter Everest Expedition.

Tengboche Monastery, Ama Dablam (right) and Lhotse (left)

Not feeling quite ready for grad school, I worked at odd jobs to save enough for a trip to hike California's John Muir and Sierra Crest trails...

Half Dome, Yosemite Valley

then landed a job as a naturalist at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forest's Lost River Reservation ...

The Hall of Ships, Lost River

summers only. In the winter I was a PSB (Professional Ski Bum) working as a ski patrol and instructor. Nordic, telemark, and backcountry skiing continues to be a major passion.

Free heel skiing, Mt. Mansfield

That passion has propelled me on three different trips to Norway, skiing in the Hardangervidda, Jotunheimen, and Rondane mountains.

Leirho, Jotunheimen, Norway

When I heard about UVM's Field Naturalist Program, I thought it would be the perfect grad school option for me. The program introduced me to the rich natural history Vermont.

Camels Hump at sunrise

A glacier bay photo But also included study in Glacier Bay, Alaska, where I was introduced to sea kayaking.

and Costa Rica, where I studied plant-animal interactions with renowned tropical biologist Dan Janzen.

Dan Janzen candling Ateleia herbert-smithii seeds

My wife, Nancy Bazilchuk, was also a field naturalist (we met in New Hampshire shortly before she enrolled in the program), and we now have two girls, Molly and Zoe, and a never-finished house in Richmond.

Family & pet

I did my Master's research on the effects of fire and seasonal flooding on Vermont's largest bog, near the mouth of the Missisquoi River in Swanton.

Maquam Bog in early November

After completing my Master's degree, I went to work for Art Johnson of the University of Pennsylvania, running a series of ambitious field experiments on effects of acid deposition on red spruce.

Art Johnson in the 'Hotel Abtao', Sierra de Piuchue, Chile

The experiments involved working in tree canopies, 15 to 20 meters above the ground, to enclose branches in teflon chambers that we could use to exclude or introduce pollutants.

A branch chamber, Whiteface Mountain, NY

I also helped with Art's biogeochemistry research in Chile and Puerto Rico

A muddy field crew, Sierra de Luquillo (El Yunque), Puerto Rico

The red spruce work eventually led me back to UVM and my Ph.D. advisor Don DeHayes. I studied the causes of winter injury in red spruce trees and graduated as the School of Natural Resources' first-ever Ph.D.

Severe winter injury in red spruce

To celebrate my success, I took a little time out to build a Pygmy Osprey plywood-fiberglass composite sea kayak, which I learned to roll at the ripe old age of -- never mind.

A so-so roll, but it works!

Most recently I have moved to Johnson State College, where I teach biology, botany, forest ecology, and natural history, and collaborate in ongoing research at UVM.

My main man.

But enough about me! Click here to go back to the staff page, here to go back to the GIVSAT summer 2000 home page, here to go back to the Geology home page, or here for a great web site (not mine) about bubbles.

From the Ruins of Great Zimbabwe (courtesy of my sister, who went there), a koan on a central dilemma of 21st century life.

	I climbed my first tree (a white pine in my back yard in New Jersey) when I was 5 years old. I've been playing and working in and around trees ever since. In an alerce (Fitzroya cuppressoides) tree on Isla Chiloe, Chile.
	I grew up on the Massachusetts north shore, where I spent a lot of time roaming the beaches and rocky shores, in summer and winter. Enjoying a frost-wedged boulder, Marblehead, MA
	It took me about 25 years to get from a high school diploma to a Ph.D., but I have some pretty good excuses. I took a couple of years off to work during my undergraduate years, but finally earned a degree in botany at the University of New Hampshire. Red trillium or stinking benjamin, Trillium erectum
	I spent the summers in between academic years working on a trail crew in the White Mountains. Ready for another work week, Rattle River Trail, New Hampshire
	This set me up for my Big Adventure: a two year stint in New Zealand and Australia, much of it working as a backcountry hut keeper on New Zealand's Milford Track. Clinton Valley, Milford Track, NZ
	I passed through Malaysia and Nepal on the way home. I trekked around the Annapurna Range then into Everest Base Camp, where I spent New Year's Eve with the British Winter Everest Expedition. Tengboche Monastery, Ama Dablam (right) and Lhotse (left)
	Not feeling quite ready for grad school, I worked at odd jobs to save enough for a trip to hike California's John Muir and Sierra Crest trails... Half Dome, Yosemite Valley
	then landed a job as a naturalist at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forest's Lost River Reservation ... The Hall of Ships, Lost River
	summers only. In the winter I was a PSB (Professional Ski Bum) working as a ski patrol and instructor. Nordic, telemark, and backcountry skiing continues to be a major passion. Free heel skiing, Mt. Mansfield
	That passion has propelled me on three different trips to Norway, skiing in the Hardangervidda, Jotunheimen, and Rondane mountains. Leirho, Jotunheimen, Norway
	When I heard about UVM's Field Naturalist Program, I thought it would be the perfect grad school option for me. The program introduced me to the rich natural history Vermont. Camels Hump at sunrise
A glacier bay photo	But also included study in Glacier Bay, Alaska, where I was introduced to sea kayaking.
	and Costa Rica, where I studied plant-animal interactions with renowned tropical biologist Dan Janzen. Dan Janzen candling Ateleia herbert-smithii seeds
	My wife, Nancy Bazilchuk, was also a field naturalist (we met in New Hampshire shortly before she enrolled in the program), and we now have two girls, Molly and Zoe, and a never-finished house in Richmond. Family & pet
	I did my Master's research on the effects of fire and seasonal flooding on Vermont's largest bog, near the mouth of the Missisquoi River in Swanton. Maquam Bog in early November
	After completing my Master's degree, I went to work for Art Johnson of the University of Pennsylvania, running a series of ambitious field experiments on effects of acid deposition on red spruce. Art Johnson in the 'Hotel Abtao', Sierra de Piuchue, Chile
	The experiments involved working in tree canopies, 15 to 20 meters above the ground, to enclose branches in teflon chambers that we could use to exclude or introduce pollutants. A branch chamber, Whiteface Mountain, NY
	I also helped with Art's biogeochemistry research in Chile and Puerto Rico A muddy field crew, Sierra de Luquillo (El Yunque), Puerto Rico
	The red spruce work eventually led me back to UVM and my Ph.D. advisor Don DeHayes. I studied the causes of winter injury in red spruce trees and graduated as the School of Natural Resources' first-ever Ph.D. Severe winter injury in red spruce
	To celebrate my success, I took a little time out to build a Pygmy Osprey plywood-fiberglass composite sea kayak, which I learned to roll at the ripe old age of -- never mind. A so-so roll, but it works!
	Most recently I have moved to Johnson State College, where I teach biology, botany, forest ecology, and natural history, and collaborate in ongoing research at UVM. My main man.