Roger Luckenbach

Roger comes from both an academic and adventure travel background. After earning a doctorate in ecology from UC Berkeley, he taught marine and environmental sciences at UC Santa Cruz for nearly a decade, along with overseeing an Alaska Field Studies Program. His research background includes pioneering work on communal feeding of humpback whales in Alaska, seal behavior, marine birds, and rare and endangered species while a curator with the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

For ten years Dr. Luckenbach directed a marine studies program in Monterey, California, as well as a SCUBA-based coral reef ecology program in the Caribbean. Additionally, for the past twenty-five years, Dr. Luckenbach has also organized and led study tours to every continent, many in conjunction with UC Extension. Skills as a licensed white water rafting guide, ocean kayaker, and SCUBA dive master have taken him to nearly every river in the Western Hemisphere and every ocean. He also is a writer/producer for a natural history film unit, Sea Studios, based in Monterey, where he pursues a special interest in interpreting the ocean and highlighting marine environmental issues. Besides receiving many awards for teaching excellence, Dr. Luckenbach is also a Keck Fellow, a Tandy Technology Scholar and, recently, a recipient of a Cold Springs Harbor Laboratories Fellowship in Human and Molecular Genetics. After receiving a National Science Foundation Grant, Dr. Luckenbach is currently establishing an Integrated Natural Resources Program focusing on wildlife management at Mt. Hood College outside of Portland, Oregon. For the past decade he has been involved in research and ecotourism cruises from the Antarctic to the Arctic. He is happiest when he can share his knowledge of the natural world and cultivate an appreciation of the complexities of science.