11/03/2014
Valerie and all my “old” classmates,
I am sorry to have missed the gathering. I’ll get a look at the pics on Valerie’s page.
I hope you all had a great visit. Some of the names here I have not thought of for quite some time and just seeing them has brought back some good memories.
To get you up to date, I moved around getting in my education (University of Akron, University of North Texas in Denton), taught at LSU for several years, then ended up moving to Illinois in 1996 where I have been ever since. There I met a wonderful woman, Sandi, and we have been together for nearly 20 yr. He children are grown and prosperous now, one of which has provided us with our first grandchild. At first, I had a hard time thinking of myself as a grandfather, but little boy has been a lot of fun.
I am employed at the Illinois Natural History Survey as an aquatic entomologist. The INHS is a department at the University of Illinois. I have graduate students and have taught a little, but mostly I conduct research on a wide range of topics related to the taxonomy, ecology, and conservation of aquatic insects. I love the work I do and am able to travel quite a lot. I have recently conducted sampling at a number of upper Great Lakes national parks (Sleeping Bear Dunes, Isle Royale, Voyageurs, Indiana Dunes) and been able to travel to several locations in Europe, Korea, and Japan for conferences.
I hope that all of you have good holidays.
Best regards,
Ed DeWalt
