About Me

I am a Research Fellow Emeritus in the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, with Bachelor’s Degrees in Zoology (Houghton University) and Anthropology (Bloomsberg University of Pennsylvania), a Master’s Degree in Biology (State University of NY, Binghamton), and a Ph.D. in Fisheries and Aquatic Ecology (Auburn University). I was born and raised in Rochester, New York and spent lots of time around the Genesee River, Lake Ontario, and the Finger Lakes. From my youth, I was fascinated by both living animals and fossils, and I collected and studied both.

After finishing my master’s degree, I worked as a research biologist at a lab on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania for 11 years. My wife, four daughters and I then moved to Alabama in 1985, where I completed a Doctorate and Postdoctoral studies at Auburn University. I worked 26 years at AU as an aquatic ecologist and founding director of Alabama Water Watch, a citizen volunteer, water monitoring program. Through the International Center for Aquaculture and Aquatic Environments at AU, I made more than 100 trips to 25 countries, working with local communities, nongovernmental organizations, and policy makers on watershed projects. I am committed to environmental education and revealing the natural wonders of Alabama through teaching, public speaking, and science writing.