The College has had many students with both singular drive and intensity of spirit, but few are as prominent in their fields as Dr. Kirk Johnson '82. Johnson spends his time immersed in paleobotany, the science of prehistoric plants. He is more likely to be found travelling the world doing research in the rainforest or studying the fossils under Denver than he is at his desk as the chief curator in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, Co.

Paleobotanist extraordinaire

Recently appointed the new chief curator of the Museum, which boasts a fossil collection of over 40,000 plants, 30,000 vertebrate specimens and about 30,000 invertebrate fossils, Dr. Johnson supervises all scientific research. He frequently performs his own research as well. His extensive knowledge of fossil plants and paleontology in general has enabled him to publish a number of articles in scientific journals and magazines, spanning subjects from the modern rainforests to ocean ecology.

Johnson is happiest when exploring fossilized vegetation and the history of rainforests, but his necessary cooperation with fellow scientists affiliated with the museum and in the field of paleontology have required more than a cursory grasp of other disciplines.

"I'm mainly a paleobotanist, but I work a lot with paleontologists, too," he said. "You become a generalist most of the time, especially when working on large projects."

Johnson's largest project is entitled Prehistoric Journey and is now a permanent exhibit in the museum. The exhibit features prehistoric habitats, dinosaurs, early mammals and ancient plants.

This particular project has allowed Johnson to travel across the world. "For Prehistoric Journey, we went all around the world on expeditions, to Asia and South America, [among other areas], to explore the rainforests in these places and how old they are," he said. "We spent one-and-a-half years on the dioramas, using fossil records and taxidermy to reconstruct scenes from millions of years ago."

The dioramas of these ancient environments were an extremely involved and difficult task. Johnson and his colleagues first researched artists with experience in the field of paleontologic image replication. They then hired artists for the project, and each diorama had to be painstakingly created by the artists with the the help and expertise of Johnson and his colleagues. "I helped with the painting, but [the artists] were so skillful that sometimes we just watched them work."

Of professors and classes

Johnson has many fond memories of his four years at the College. "There were so many memorable things," he said. "I think the combination of working at the Pratt [Natural History] Museum and playing on the rugby team [were] the most enjoyable, though."

In fact, for Johnson, returning to the College a few years ago to advise the museum staff about the fossil collection in the museum was a return to the site of many memories. He expressed regret that the museum is now closed for relocation to the new geology building, which will house classrooms, laboratories and a new space for the natural history museum, and will open in the spring of 2006. However, he asserts that the new building for the geology department is a major step forward for the College.

During his last visit to the College two years ago, Johnson noticed several changes to the campus, some for the better and some potentially less welcome. "I like the idea of putting the freshmen in the Quad," he said. "But if you get to a certain point, there are too many buildings on campus, which will spoil it a bit."

His love for the College remains undimmed; looking back he recognizes that his time here has contributed to his professional success. "I liked the collegiality and the access to interesting people [at Amherst], the sense that you could know most people on the campus no matter what they did," he said. "The concept of 1,400 potential friends is a good one. This is a good worldview to have as a scientist since we have colleagues around the world."

Among the faculty, professors Pete Foose and Ed Belt, both of the geology department, left particularly deep impressions on Johnson. "I loved Ed Belt because he gave such animated lectures that it was impossible to take any notes whatsoever," Johnson recalled. "I had one notebook from one of his classes that listed nothing but dates, not a single note."

Johnson explained that the five-college consortium also played an integral role on his experiences at the College. Johnson said he found the selection of five-college courses very wide-ranging, and generally worthy of pursuit. "I took advantage of the five-college system a lot," he said. "I took many classes at Mt. Holyoke [College] and UMass."

However, the center of his time here was this campus, not any of the others. "My experience was very positive and very focused," he said. "I remember that I spent a lot of time on campus. I didn't leave it much other than for classes in the other [four] colleges."

Globe-trotter

Now, staying in one place for long is not part of Johnson's job description. "Now, I can't really imagine staying in the same place for more than two weeks," he said. "I'm traveling all the time."

When Johnson chose to matriculate at the College because of its distance from his Seattle, Wash. home, he had no idea his studies would ultimately take him around the world. Following his graduation from Amherst, Johnson travelled to the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Masters degree. He then went to New Haven, Conn., where he received a doctorate in geology and paleobotany from Yale University.

His work took him far beyond the Northeast. "After graduate school, I went to Australia for a year to study the tropical rainforests on the northern tip of the Cape York Peninsula, close to New Guinea," he said. "We were mainly mapping and identifying the rainforests to determine their composition."

In 1991, Johnson's dedication to his work at the University of Australia led him to apply for and ultimately receive a job as the curator of paleobotany at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Since then, a thirst for knowledge and the calling of science have conspired to send him to the ends of the earth. Johnson has left his footprints in the Indian subcontinent, the Canadian High Arctic, the Gobi desert and Patagonia, but the place dearest to his heart remains the Amazon rainforest.

"I've been to the Amazon every year for the past 10 years," he said, adding that he realizes that the spot would not be most people's idea of the perfect vacation. Johnson truly loves his work and the places it has taken him. "I would say the most rewarding part has to be the ability to pursue a career where curiosity and my interests play a large part, and being able to travel and to see a lot of the world as part of the work."

Currently, Johnson is studying the fossil history beneath Denver and oversees the Denver Basin Project. He believes that Denver lies on what used to be an ancient rainforest. "[My colleagues and I] began studying the literature to find out when the tropical rainforests worldwide first grew, and found that the Denver Basin was actually one of the oldest tropical rainforests in the world," he explained. "I'm currently doing work on the origins and time periods of the rainforests in the Basin, which are [estimated to be] around 64 million years old."

His research has already resulted in an enhanced understanding of Colorado's ancient landscapes and the formation of the Rocky Mountains. When completed, the Denver Basin Project promises to unveil many mysteries to early tertiary paleobiology.