The Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Project

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Dick Waring Oral History Interview. December 18, 2015

Dick Waring Oral History Interview

Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.

December 18, 2015

Location:  Valley Library, Oregon State University.

Dick Waring (b. 1935) is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Forest Science who was an active member of the OSU Forestry faculty from 1963 to his retirement in 2001. Waring's career at OSU was characterized by influential research on a number of topics in forest science, from building models of the flow of carbon and water through forest systems, to investigations of trees' defenses against bark beetles and spruce budworm. In the 1980s, he developed a relationship with NASA that led to multiple projects utilizing remote sensing technology to better understand forest systems. More recently, he has turned his attention to climate change and the future of the world's forests, co-authoring a 2014 book on the subject titled Forests in Our Changing World. Waring's interview details his wide range of research interests over the decades, and includes commentary on the evolution of the OSU College of Forestry as well.