I am currently a research Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle where I am engaged in canopy research in Douglas Fir and Coast Redwood forests. I give occasional lectures and lead field trips for the University, and teach several field classes on Pacific Northwest old-growth forests and Northwest canopy ecology.

I grew up near Chicago and moved out west in 1984 from Madison, Wisconsin. While there I first learned of the champion tree program and helped bring their state list of champion trees up to date. I began the Washington State Big Tree Program 1986 at which time I became the state coordinator of the National Big Tree Program.

I received my MS in 1991 and PhD in 1995 from the University of Washington. My main research interests are old-growth ecology, canopy structure and its control of the understory environment, spatial patterns in old-growth forests, and tree plant geography.

Most of the things I do revolve around trees – many of my friends describe me as ‘obsessed’. In my professional life I work in forests, both on the ground and among the branches. This life takes me to many of the great forests of the Pacific Northwest and California. I recently completed some fascinating canopy work in the world’s tallest hardwood forest in Australia. I spend much of my private life measuring trees – I maintain a database of tree measurements from all over the world. I take extensive measurements, sketches and photos on some of the most remarkable of these trees for tree portraits.

An avid hiker, photographer, woodworker, and big tree hunter, I am continually on the lookout for new and exciting trees.