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In Memoriam—Paul Rodgers
J. Great Lakes Res. 21(2):799 Internal. Assoc. Great Lakes Res., 1994
In Memoriam-Paul Rodgers On Monday, July 8, 1996, a tragic helicopter accident took the life of Paul W. Rodgers. Paul was a former graduate student of mine, as well as a very close friend and colleague. But perhaps more important was the loss to the Great Lakes research and management community of one of its leading advocates and researchers. At his untimely death at age 44, Paul was a partner and executive Vice President of Limno-Tech, Inc., where he had worked since 1983. He had certainly come a long way from that wide-eyed dreamer with his hair streaming half-way down his back who walked into his first examination in graduate school in 1974 with a slide rule on his hip which he had just learned to use the night before. Born in Aurora, Colorado, Paul grew up with an enduring love for nature. Following receipt of his BA degree in Biological Sciences at Indiana University, Paul enrolled in the Engineering Science (Environmental Engineering) degree program at Clarkson University with a strong desire to contribute to protecting the environment. He left Clarkson in 1979 with an M.S. and a Ph.D. and a knowledge base in applied limnology and water quality modeling. He honed his modeling skills and intensifIed his love of the Great Lakes while working as a visiting scientist at the EPA Large Lakes Research Station in Grosse Ile, MI before joining Limnb-Tech. During his tenure at Limno-Tech, Paul was instrumental in helping shape the growth and success of the company. He greatly advanced the state of the art of computer modeling and innovative uses of computer graphic interfaces and GIS technologies. Throughout his professional career, Paul held three main values as his guiding principles. First was his unwavering integrity; he would never compromise his scientific findings to satisfy the desires of a funding agency or client. Next he always advocated the position that he felt in the long run was Paul Rodgers testifying before a best for the whole ecosystem in question. Sometimes the right course of acHouse of Representatives subcommittee tion was not always the most popular, but that never deterred Paul. Finally, on behalf of the Water Pollution Con- and perhaps most importantly, Paul had a tremendous work ethic. He never trol Federation at a hearing on remedi- took the easy path and always researched and evaluated all options before ation of contaminated sediments in the making a decision. Even as a graduate student, Paul always questioned the Great Lakes, 21 June 1989. "conventional wisdom" on a subject rather than blindly accepting it. When the above traits were combined with his frisky sense of humor, his talent for dealing with people, and his unique ability to translate theory into practice and to explain it to lay audiences, it is no wonder why Paul made such significant contributions to environmental research and management in general and the Great Lakes Ecosystem in particular. He was one of the few individuals that had modeled or conducted an assessment of virtually every part of the Great Lakes. He had modeled toxic chemicals fate and transport in all of the Great Lakes. He was a prominent member of the Green Bay Mass Balance team. He developed and applied eutrophication models in such systems as Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and Saginaw Bay. But perhaps Paul's greatest contributions came from his ability to synthesize information from a variety of sources in order to assess the status of a given ecosystem. Just to name a few of his contributions in this area, Paul organized and co-chaired one of the first symposia on dioxins in the environment, he testified before Congress on Great Lakes contaminated sediments problems and potential solutions, he was the lead author on a major literature review and assessment of the Upper Great Lakes Connecting Channels, and most recently he led a major effort that produced an extremely well received analysis and assessment of the state of the Great Lakes Ecosystem. Paul was also a very active member of IAGLR, which he served as chair of the Publications Committee from 1983-1990. Paul is survived by his wife Marlene and their daughter Alison. He will be sorely missed, not only by his family but by his second family at Lirnno-Tech and his adopted family of Great Lakes researchers and managers.
u.s.
Joseph V. DePinto Great Lakes Program University at Buffalo
799
In Memoriam-Paul Rodgers On Monday, July 8, 1996, a tragic helicopter accident took the life of Paul W. Rodgers. Paul was a former graduate student of mine, as well as a very close friend and colleague. But perhaps more important was the loss to the Great Lakes research and management community of one of its leading advocates and researchers. At his untimely death at age 44, Paul was a partner and executive Vice President of Limno-Tech, Inc., where he had worked since 1983. He had certainly come a long way from that wide-eyed dreamer with his hair streaming half-way down his back who walked into his first examination in graduate school in 1974 with a slide rule on his hip which he had just learned to use the night before. Born in Aurora, Colorado, Paul grew up with an enduring love for nature. Following receipt of his BA degree in Biological Sciences at Indiana University, Paul enrolled in the Engineering Science (Environmental Engineering) degree program at Clarkson University with a strong desire to contribute to protecting the environment. He left Clarkson in 1979 with an M.S. and a Ph.D. and a knowledge base in applied limnology and water quality modeling. He honed his modeling skills and intensifIed his love of the Great Lakes while working as a visiting scientist at the EPA Large Lakes Research Station in Grosse Ile, MI before joining Limnb-Tech. During his tenure at Limno-Tech, Paul was instrumental in helping shape the growth and success of the company. He greatly advanced the state of the art of computer modeling and innovative uses of computer graphic interfaces and GIS technologies. Throughout his professional career, Paul held three main values as his guiding principles. First was his unwavering integrity; he would never compromise his scientific findings to satisfy the desires of a funding agency or client. Next he always advocated the position that he felt in the long run was Paul Rodgers testifying before a best for the whole ecosystem in question. Sometimes the right course of acHouse of Representatives subcommittee tion was not always the most popular, but that never deterred Paul. Finally, on behalf of the Water Pollution Con- and perhaps most importantly, Paul had a tremendous work ethic. He never trol Federation at a hearing on remedi- took the easy path and always researched and evaluated all options before ation of contaminated sediments in the making a decision. Even as a graduate student, Paul always questioned the Great Lakes, 21 June 1989. "conventional wisdom" on a subject rather than blindly accepting it. When the above traits were combined with his frisky sense of humor, his talent for dealing with people, and his unique ability to translate theory into practice and to explain it to lay audiences, it is no wonder why Paul made such significant contributions to environmental research and management in general and the Great Lakes Ecosystem in particular. He was one of the few individuals that had modeled or conducted an assessment of virtually every part of the Great Lakes. He had modeled toxic chemicals fate and transport in all of the Great Lakes. He was a prominent member of the Green Bay Mass Balance team. He developed and applied eutrophication models in such systems as Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and Saginaw Bay. But perhaps Paul's greatest contributions came from his ability to synthesize information from a variety of sources in order to assess the status of a given ecosystem. Just to name a few of his contributions in this area, Paul organized and co-chaired one of the first symposia on dioxins in the environment, he testified before Congress on Great Lakes contaminated sediments problems and potential solutions, he was the lead author on a major literature review and assessment of the Upper Great Lakes Connecting Channels, and most recently he led a major effort that produced an extremely well received analysis and assessment of the state of the Great Lakes Ecosystem. Paul was also a very active member of IAGLR, which he served as chair of the Publications Committee from 1983-1990. Paul is survived by his wife Marlene and their daughter Alison. He will be sorely missed, not only by his family but by his second family at Lirnno-Tech and his adopted family of Great Lakes researchers and managers.
u.s.
Joseph V. DePinto Great Lakes Program University at Buffalo
799