Why do you suppose there are so many places in Nevada named “Humboldt”? They honor the famous 19th century scientist Alexander von Humboldt, who did not travel in Nevada but did travel in the Americas. Learn about the exploits and accomplishments of this great general scientist, how revered he was in his day, and why his memory has largely disappeared. Today, he is often called the father of ecology and his work influenced many famous scientists: Darwin, Thoreau, Jefferson, Muir, Goethe, de Bolivar, and Gauss.

Dr. vonSeggern worked in geophysics research at Phillips Petroleum Co. to enhance 2-D and 3-D images of the subsurface. In 1992, he became Seismic Network Manager at U. Nevada for the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) seismic studies. In retirement, he continued his seismological studies as emeritus at the Nevada Seismological Laboratory.