by Jacob Fuhrer |
When it comes to understanding earth sciences, the academic community agrees: Robert Butler is your guy. The professor of Geophysics, better known as Coach Bob, has been helping students at UP understand complex natural processes since 2004, when he joined UP after 27 years at the University of Arizona.
This year, Butler received the Neil Miner Award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) after a nomination by his colleagues.
According to the NAGT, the award recognizes an “individual for exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth sciences.”
Roger Groom, a teacher at Mt. Tabor Middle School in Portland, said he was excited to hear Butler received the award.
“He is so deserving of it,” Groom said. “He transformed my entire teaching career in one two-week teaching stint.”
Groom met Butler in 2005 on an excursion for professional development where Butler was one of the leaders.
“He has this presence about him,” Groom said. “He is just incredible and so calm and funny.”
It was partly Butler’s personality and energy that led Groom and others to write letters to the NAGT nominating Butler for the Miner Award.
Butler says part of the key to teaching is getting people excited about science.
“I get a lot of energy from teaching. I get excited about it. And I think people can get energized by that energy,” Butler said. “And I don’t mind doing goofy kinds of things if that’s a way to help somebody learn something.”
But don’t let that goofiness fool you. Groom says Butler works tirelessly to make his presentations perfect and informative.
“When you see him preparing for the class, he will go over the same presentation three, four, five or six times, just rehearsing so that when he delivers it, it’s perfect,” Groom said.
Senior English major Hope Dorman took Butler’s Northwest Natural Hazards class during her freshman year and appreciated Butler’s teaching style.
“He focuses on students getting the concepts and making the connections rather than memorization,” Dorman said.
Dorman recalled a time when Butler lit a large match in class to illustrate the spread of wildfires.
He joked that the visual demonstration may have broken fire code, but it was an effective way to teach about the uphill nature of wildfires.
“I got the concept in addition to it being funny,” Dorman said. “He is one of the best professors I’ve had.”
Notably, Butler’s reach goes far beyond The Bluff. Jenda Johnson, a geologist and animator who contracts with the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), said Butler makes a much broader impact on the educational community.
“He was not content with teaching students in geology class, he wanted to reach middle school and high school teachers to get the most bang for the buck,” Johnson said.
To do this, Butler works with the Cascadia Earthscope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program (CEETEP) which educates teachers, park interpreters and natural disaster and emergency preparedness workers.
Butler and Johnson also collaborate on taking complex earth processes and breaking them down into easily understood animations that are used in the classroom and online. Some of these animations have millions of views on YouTube, Johnson says.
Butler is thankful for the support from the University to reach beyond campus.
“UP provided me an academic home from which to be able to build these programs,” he said.
Butler’s work is sure to have a lasting impact in the academic community.
“I consider myself very very lucky to work with Bob both as a student and working as a colleague,” Groom said. “He literally changed what I do in my classroom.”
Jacob Fuhrer is a reporter for The Beacon. He can be reached at fuhrer17@up.edu or on Twitter @jacobfuhrer.
