Limnology course alumni to celebrate the legacy of Castle Lake research with a 50-year reunion

University of California, Davis
June 18, 2007

When Professor Charles Goldman first cracked through the ice on Castle Lake in the early spring of 1959, he never imagined that his limnology research – the study of freshwater lakes — would inspire UC Davis students for nearly half a century. This July, he’s inviting them all back for a once-in-a-lifetime reunion to celebrate the exciting milestone in Castle Lake’s history.

Located in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Castle Lake is known to many as the garden spot of the Siskiyou Mountains for its glittering water and lush surroundings. Amid the beauty of its natural environment, the lake is home to the Castle Lake Limnological Research Station, a nationally acclaimed UC Davis research laboratory established by Goldman in the late 1950s to study the lake’s food webs and aquatic ecosystem.

Goldman began his teaching career at UC Davis in 1958. He is highly regarded as both a teacher and researcher within and beyond the university. Goldman is perhaps best known for his work to preserve water quality at Lake Tahoe. He established the first limnology course offered in the University of California system, and his limnological research at Castle Lake and Lake Tahoe earned him the Albert Einstein World Award for Science, and the attention of former President Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore, who visited Lake Tahoe to recognize the Tahoe Research Group's valuable contributions to science.

Goldman’s limnology courses are nothing short of a remarkable legacy within the University of California, as more than 2,500 students have participated in his Limnology 151 course during the past 48 years. Nearly 100 students have earned their doctoral or master’s degrees through his research programs.

The course is offered every spring quarter through the Department of Environmental Science and Policy. Students in Goldman’s course “incorporate an equal mix of physics, chemistry, and biology to gain a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective on aquatic ecosystems,” he said.

This year, for the first time the summer research course will be held as a joint venture of UC Davis and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), the result of a partnership created in 2006 to expand the range of research at the lake and to draw more students into the program. The cooperative agreement was spearheaded by one of Professor Goldman’s former doctoral students, UNR Assistant Professor Sudeep Chandra.

This July 20—22, after nearly five decades of teaching, researching, and creating memories at Castle Lake, Goldman has decided to invite all of his former students and colleagues back to the lake for a 50-year reunion.

“The purpose for this,” he said, “is to recall the science that was done, the camaraderie that Castle Lake has always provided, and to help revitalize our research program as we enter a new and exciting phase of research.”

As one of the most extensively studied lakes in the western United States, Castle Lake has quite a history to review. Many traditions have been fostered at the lake, and Goldman plans to “bring together all the ideas, perspectives, and stories from over the years to celebrate this exciting landmark with the science, food, and leisure we’ve all grown to love.”

Course alumni and Castle Lake veterans will discuss discoveries and progress made at Castle Lake, and what has been accomplished in five decades of research. The bringing together of nearly half a century of research will provide many unique perspectives, and the meeting will likely catalyze discussion on the future of the lake and its research.

After the review, Goldman has plans to prepare a “gourmet feast” with food that students will recognize from their days at the lake. “I have somehow earned myself a reputation as a gourmet chef,” he said with a laugh. “I plan on using my own recipes and preparing the dishes myself.”

Over the course of the weekend, alumni and their families will also be able to enjoy music, swimming, camping, and more discussion to reflect on the importance of Castle Lake as a place of discovery, shared history, and exquisite beauty.

“It is important to get together while we are all still young enough to enjoy the memories and the outdoors, and to tell the best stories from the past and enjoy seeing old friends from years that have flown past so fast since graduation,” Goldman said. “There is no better time than now to share the beauty of the lake and to relive the Castle Lake experience of your youth.”

To RSVP for the reunion or to learn more about the Castle Lake Limnological Research Station, visit its Web site at castlelake.ucdavis.edu.

(Written by Michelle Immel, student intern, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

Media contact(s):

• Charles Goldman, Environmental Science and Policy, crgoldman@ucdavis.edu, (530) 752-1557
• Sylvia Wright, UC Davis News Service, swright@ucdavis.edu, (530) 752-7704
• John Stumbos, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, (530) 754-4979, jdstumbos@ucdavis.edu