CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, the name of the minor Charlie Hall created was misstated. The minor is biophysical and ecological economics. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Although Charlie Hall will retire at the end of this semester, students and faculty agree that his influence at SUNY-ESF and the scientific community is far from finished.                                                                             

Hall, who will retire with his wife and fellow professor at the end of the semester, has worked as a professor in the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry for more than 20 years.

“This is a place I really love,” Hall said. “The students here want to learn what I want to teach.”

Both professors have shown their dedication to helping students in any way they can throughout their time at the ESF, said Rigoberto Melgar, a senior environmental policy major.

Melgar said Hall gave him opportunities he had never imagined, especially since Melgar was the first member of his family to attend a four-year college. Specifically, Hall assisted him in writing a book that is now published.

“I consider Charlie my friend, my mentor and my scientific father,” Melgar said. “He’s been there and he’s believed in me, which is what I respect the most.”

Hall’s interests in systems ecology and biophysical economics are the result of encouragement from his idol, the famous systems ecologist Howard Thomas Odum. In particular, Hall has studied the economic efficiency of extracting oil. His work was recently published in Scientific American in April, he said.

The current perception of economics as a social science is too focused on the way people spend money instead of the energy and resources that are associated with this money, he said.

“The idea is this: Can we integrate economics with the natural sciences?” Hall said.

Based on this, Hall has also developed a systems ecology program at ESF consisting of five courses ranging from a freshman to doctorate level. He has also created the biophysical and ecological economics undergraduate minor, effective next fall, which will focus specifically on biophysical economics.

Alexandre Poisson, a teacher’s aide in Hall’s systems ecology class, said he is very good at keeping the class lively.

“It’s fun because he has a lot of presence,” Poisson said. “We never have to worry about the students losing focus.”

Hall will continue to help Poisson with his research on the efficiency of nuclear reactors after his retirement, which shows he cares about his students outside of the classroom as well, Poisson said.

He also strives to make his students apply their classwork to the real world by encouraging them to publish their work or present at biophysical economics conferences, such as one this June in Vermont, Poisson said.

His wife, Myrna Hall, first started working at ESF in 1993 after creating an influential simulation model of the melting glaciers at Glacier National Park in Montana. This model has been used in multiple publications about climate change, including National Geographic, she said.

Since she started teaching at ESF, the most rewarding experience has been working with the students.

“They are very curious and concerned about the Earth,” Myrna Hall said, adding that students have a very high standard of ethics.

After retirement, the Halls will live in Montana. She said hopes to continue doing research on the melting glaciers in Glacier National Park.

Adrian Wiegman, a senior environmental studies major, said that both professors will be missed for their collective wit and their ability to motivate their students.

“They both force you to think critically and never take the simply satisfied solution,” he said. “This way they got about solving problems creates individuals who are willing to push the envelope.”

Published on April 22, 2013 at 12:30 am

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