Larry Curtis is a legend in the ecotoxicology field. His career spans almost as long as the subdiscipline has been around, and he has been a leader not only at Oregon State University, but also for the Society of Toxicology and the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. While he is best known for his research on the effects of chemicals on rainbow trout, his work is as varied as the number of PhD students he has mentored over the years; I am one of them. I started my PhD as one of Larry’s students in 1990 and am eternally grateful for his guidance on the projects we did on mercury in Oregon reservoirs, and on the long-range transport of persistent organic pollutants to the Arctic.
It was wonderful to have a chance to reminisce about the old days playing volleyball at the Oak Creek Laboratory and catch up on what my cohort of graduate students are working on now.
I was not aware until just recently that Larry is now also involved in microplastics research and was pivotal in the study of the effects on mice that were fed microplastics. He is supposed to be retired, but he loves his work so much, and is so good at it, that he keeps contributing to our field. I look forward to seeing you at SETAC Europe Larry!