Pod,
I know that our first meeting was probably just a summer gig for you... but that geology summer camp really had a huge impact on my life. Of all the instructors and students there YOU are the one I remember most (Ok, there was Erica G. and perhaps I remember her in a bit more detail than I should, but damn... as a teen male who the hell wouldn't?!)

That summer changed me, my parents noted that I seemed like a different person. Yes, I learned a lot of geology, and a lot of of those lessons have stuck with me... but there was more than that. I always knew I wanted to be a scientist- even when I was a toddler- there was no question in my mind about it. I wanted to experience the thrill of discovery, to reveal the unknown - but from watching my father and media I anticipated that to get that rare reward I would have to spend painful years grinding away at first learning and then researching and then- if I was lucky I would be rewarded with the joy of discovery... and then back to the grind to try and make another discovery.

THAT was my view of what working in the sciences was like- now that I think back on it, it is surprising that I felt so determined to go into the sciences. That was the way I viewed science when I came to that summer course in Colorado Springs as a fat nerdy teen.

I learned a lot from all the instructors- it was a VERY well done program. Euler H. was a mythological character of course, so I can't help but remember him, but of all the instructors I only remember him and you in detail.

I learned a lot of field geology from you, identifying rocks an minerals, mapping strata etc... but most importantly I learned that the PROCESS of science can be fun and rewarding in and of itself. I learned that there is more enjoyment to be had than just the rare and brief 'eureka' moment ... the process of getting to that moment- even if the desired discovery never actually happens- that process itself is actually most of the fun.

The research, the analysis the planning of how to attack the research, the collaboration, the brainstorming... THAT is actually most of the fun. Keep in mind, as I was growing up my only first hand knowledge of the scientific process was from watching my father- he was a theorist in solid state physics. What I witnessed was day after day of him working on calculations- quite literally AGONIZING over them at the dining room table almost constantly ... very rarely he would have a breakthrough and he would have a few weeks of euphoria. That was 'the scientific process' as I understood it then. I had no concept of experimental science, he was a theorist and never worked in the lab.

That summer camp exposed me to a whole new side of science. The joy of observation, using your mind in real time to analyze details and deduce facts from those observations. I don't think I had ever even conceived of doing experimental physics prior to that summer. Science in my mind was sitting at a table and writing calculations or writing computer code... that was all I had really seen first hand.

While the other instructors at the camp were good (even the asshole one whose name I can't remember, he had a dog he brought with him on field trips) YOU were the one that truly showed us the FUN and excitement to be had in the process. The eureka moments are rare, but getting there is more than half the fun. No one made that clearer than you did. It opened up an entirely new side of the scientific process to me...

I learned that there can be joy in the act of observation, fun in the process of analyzing the data, the satisfaction in the organization of the data in a way it can lead to discovery, excitement in occasionally seeing Erica in a swimsuit...

I am sure that you had a similar impact on all the other students in that class and others over the years. I ended up becoming an experimentalist instead of a theorist like my father.

Beyond that, the confidence and independence I gained that summer was crucial in preparing me for the challenges to come.

So beyond YOUR actual research you had a real impact on others that also went on to do science in other areas. You certainly taught us that the process can be rewarding in itself. Your example certainly influenced us and quite likely led some to go into the sciences who might not have done so otherwise....

Though I believe Mark(?) ended up being somehow involved in the Enron scandal... but I doubt that there is any way you played a part in him going down that path... Mark was kinda a lost cause from the start.