PROFILE: Dick Birnie '66

TEACHING EXPERIENCE: Earth sciences department chair Birnie, 61, has taught in the department since 1975, save one semester in 1999, when he was a visiting professor of environmental studies at Williams. His courses for undergraduate and graduate students include general and field geology, mineralogy, crystal chemistry and remote sensing. From 1990 to 1994 he was associate dean of the faculty and dean of graduate studies. He has three degrees from Dartmouth, including his 1993 honorary A.M., and two from Harvard: a 1972 M.A. and a 1975 Ph.D., both in geology.

CLAIM TO FAME: Recipient of the Student Assembly's Undergraduate Teaching Initiative 2005 Profiles in Excellence Award, based on student nominations.

AN INVALUABLE NATURAL RESOURCE: Birnie's love for the College is palpable as he speaks of his research and field studies with students with the passion of a newly minted Ph.D. in his first semester of teaching. He can't conceal his pleasure over the "very exciting" SA award, a token of appreciation bestowed as he moves toward emeritus status. "I have heard that my enthusiasm is evident, but that's natural because I am working with very exciting material that is interesting to share," he says. "The things we do well in life are the things we enjoy. That's been the case with me and geology."

HOT ROCKS: Birnie specializes in remote sensing, "the science and art of inferring the earths surface features from digital data collected by satellites," and nearly every year has traveled to exotic research locales such as Alaska, Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, Italy, Pakistan and Greenland. Closer to home, he has led undergraduate earth science majors in the department's off-campus program, "the Stretch," through several western states.

THOUGHTS ON DARTMOUTH: Birnie arrived at Dartmouth in 1962, sharing his undergraduate education with 3,000 other men. "I enjoyed my undergraduate career immensely, but as I look back to the Dartmouth of today, how could I have? In retrospect it was an unnatural place. Thayer Hall was filled with nothing but men and if a student was foolish enough to invite his date in for dinner, the place would erupt in hoots and hollers. Our social behavior was ridiculous." He feels that single-sex fraternities and sororities are like antiquated relics, representing cultures far different from the world students enter upon graduation. He's happy other aspects of campus life—buying books at the Dartmouth Bookstore, developing film at the Camera Shop, getting a haircut at Walt & Ernies—have remained the same.

LOOKING BACK, WITH A GRIN: A favorite memory from Birnie's teaching career comes from a stay in Wyoming with undergrads on the Stretch. Late one afternoon after the group returned from field work, a student left for a jog and got lost. Local search-and-rescue officials were called to duty. Recalls Birnie: "It was a tense and worried time, and I had to speak with the guy's flustered parents back in New York City. He ended up finding his own way back the next morning, and I could only give him a big hug and say, 'I am so glad you're back safe, but now I am going to kill you.'"

OFF-CAMPUS: Recently celebrated 32 years of marriage to wife Pieter "Pieti" with a large celebration at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge; is father of Katherine (28), Peter (24) and Elisabeth (20). An avid hiker, Birnie has conquered the "100 Highest Mountains" in New England, many alongside his children.