This spring, Dr. Roger Nielsen completed his service as Chair of the Department of Geosciences.
Folks here at the Breakthroughs in Science HQ Annex are utterly grateful for his leadership. Roger is the best when it comes to helping us attract funding for science breakthroughs, plus he’s got a great, dry sense of humor–you might call it gallows humor.
(Not to say that gallows are part of every day life here, but from what we can tell, the role of Department Chair might be the toughest one that exists on a university campus.)
Roger juggled a huge breadth of projects, needs, opportunities, etc. with aplomb and was always availalble for last-minute requests.
In thanks, we’re going to buy him a slice at American Dream Pizza. We hastened to point out that the cost of a slice is hugely inversely related to our gratitude. He seemed to understand. Said something about how we all get by on bread and water because of budget cuts, so a slice would be a nice change of pace. Again, Roger’s sense of humor always comes in handy.
Roger and his son Karl took a much-deserved trip this summer. Highlights included Mt. Rushmore:
Dr. John Kimmerling has stepped into the role of Interim Department Chair and we’re really looking forward to working with him to build on the good work Roger did.
