Pat Halpin Traveled the Path from Landscape to Marine
Ecology
by Tinker Ready
Pat Halpin guesses he may be one of the only researchers
working in the field of marine ecology who did his Ph.D. on
trees. He may also rank as one of the few who got to live
out his childhood fantasy of being a soldier before turning
to science. Not many travel the path from the Green Berets
to halls of Duke. But some people take on a challenge, meet
it to their satisfaction and move on to something new. Halpin
is one of them.
“Every five or six years, I decide to reinvent myself
as something completely different,” said Halpin, an
assistant professor jointly serving in the Environmental
Sciences and Policy division and the Coastal
Systems Science and Policy divisions. “I’m
one of those eccentric people with a very eclectic background.”
In his latest incarnation, Halpin is a rising star in the
world of geospatial technology. By working to bring the tools
of landscape ecology and spatial analysis to the sea, Halpin
has found himself on the forefront of this scientific frontier.
It is a life he envisioned as a child when he developed an
interest in the science of complex settings, like mountains
and the Antarctic sea.
But first, he had another dream to fulfill. He wanted to
be a soldier, but not just any soldier. Before moving towards
an academic career, Halpin spent six years in US Army Special
Forces. All he can say about that part of his life is that
he was involved in some “interesting missions.”
His academic career began when he left the military and enrolled
in the international studies program at the George Mason University
, where he went on to earn a master’s in public administration
and international environmental management. By then, he began
feeling the pull of science.
“I was kind of a weird kid,” Halpin said. “I
was very interested in being a research scientist at a very
early age. When I was 10 or 11 years old I would have my parents
drive me down to lectures at the National Academy of Sciences.
I was really interested in Antarctic marine research and mountain
environments.” Halpin tried to sign up for a National
Science Foundation research cruise to Antarctica before he
turned twelve years old.
So, when he was recruited by the University of Virginia to
work on some of the early studies of climate change, he pulled
one of his flip-flops on them.
“They thought that I was going to finish a Ph.D. on
international policy,” he said. “I showed up there
and said ‘No, I want to do the science part.’”
He spent the next three years studying the impact of climate
change on the developing world, teaching himself how to do
GIS research and earning a doctorate in environmental science.
There, Halpin worked under Herman “Hank” Shugart
Jr., professor of environmental sciences at UVA, who described
his former student as “sort of hyper-capable.”
In his grad school days, Halpin was known for scaling the
Giant Sequoias he studied and tackling complex statistical
problems related to climate change.
“I trust the results of his work without a doubt,”
Shugart said. “He’s one of those guys you can
always depend on.”
Apparently, his dependability applies on a personal as well
as a scientific level. A somewhat soft-spoken man with more
than a touch of gray in his beard, Halpin seems to have earned
his colleagues’ affection as well as their respect.
Andy Read, who is working with Halpin on the OBIS-SEAMAP project,
describes him as “focused, driven, and innovative,”
as well as “ a sweetheart.” Halpin carries the
academic load of two or three faculty members and spends a
lot of time with students, serving as a mentor to many, Read
said. And, then there’s another role he took on later
in life — father. When not trying to squeeze in a little
scuba diving, 46-year-old Halpin is chasing his toddler son,
Aidan.
There is always a long line of students outside Halpin’s
door and his colleagues often worry that Halpin spreads himself
a bit too thin. But, if need be, they get in the queue too.
Halpin brings energy to the SEAMAP project that is worth waiting
for.
“He’s one of the few people creating new tools”
for marine ecologists,” Read said. “We’re
lucky we can harness his energy.”
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