About the Author

Richard L. Phipps received his B.S. in Botany from Eastern Illinois University, a M.S. in Botany from The Ohio State University (OSU), and his Ph.D. in botany, with a specialization in ecology, from OSU. He worked as a research botanist for the U.S. Geological Survey for over 30 years, establishing and operating a tree-ring laboratory as a project chief in the National Research Program of the Water Resources Division. Additionally, he taught special courses in dendrochronology and forest ecology at George Washington University (GWU), George Mason University (GMU) (adjunct professor), and the University of Illinois (visiting professor). He was a major research advisor for Ph.D. candidates and numerous M.S. candidates while at GWU and GMU. His research interests included tree growth, tree physiology, and development and general forest ecology. Outside interests include beekeeping, apitherapy and small engine mechanics. He now divides his time between Fairfax, Virginia and Nags Head, North Carolina.

Thomas M. Yanosky received a B.S. in Biology from Cornell University, an M.S. in Biology from George Mason University, and a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology and Anatomy from George Washington University. For 32 years Tom worked as a Research Botanist at the U.S. Geological Survey where he conducted research on the growth responses of riparian trees to flooding in order to estimate the frequency and magnitude of floods where hydrologic records are incomplete or lacking. In addition, he conducted some of the first studies using the multi-element concentrations within tree rings to estimate the spatial extent and historical onset of contaminated ground water and soils. As an adjunct professor at George Mason University, he taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in the Department of Biology. Tom was also an associate editor for the International Association of Wood Anatomists Bulletin. Lepidoptery, art, and 19th century English and American literature are among his other interests and he resides in Canyon Lake, Texas, with his wife, Rhonda.