New planetary geoscience professor bikes to Alaska

Submitted by Amy Hartley
Phone: (907) 474-5823
06/04/04

People will go to great lengths in the name of science. One decided to hop on a bicycle and crisscross the continent for weeks. After accepting a position with the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Robbie Herrick, 39, set out on a 4,500-mile journey with nothing more than two bags and a bicycle.

He left Houston, Texas on April 2 and, so far, has biked as much as 131 miles in a single day. Along his route, Herrick has biked through national parks, visited a number of landmarks and repaired a few flat tires.

Herrick was hired as a research associate professor of Planetary Geoscience and is scheduled to begin work July 1, 2004. He is the second person to be hired for the growing Planetary Geoscience program at the Geophysical Institute. He will use information about Alaska and the arctic to better understand planets and their satellites with cold, ice-bearing surfaces.

Herrick is currently biking through Canada. You can read his daily journal entries, view trip photos, or email a message of encouragement by logging onto his Web site at http://www.ghg.net/herrick/ .

Contact: Amy Hartley at (907) 474-5823 or amy.hartley@gi.alaska.edu .