Christopher P.  Cirmo 

  August 2006 

He faces 115 requests for a total of $35 million in funding from over one hundred universities and institutions from around the world.   Identifying the most deserving projects in water research is the task assigned to the Program Director of Hydrologic Sciences, in the National Science Foundation's Directorate of Geosciences.  SUNY Cortland's Dr. Chris Cirmo, on a leave-of-absence from his position as professor and chair of the Geology Department, enjoys this remarkable challenge.    “I have been in this position since May 2005, and can honestly say that at times it is overwhelming,” says Dr. Cirmo at his office in Arlington, Virginia.  “But the excitement of being privy to the cutting edge of this science, and being involved in the distribution of funds for doing new research, is an opportunity I could not pass by.”  A combination of events led to his taking this position, including funding success, conference presentations and papers, and a commanding reputation within the hydrology “community of scientists” in the US and the world.  Dr. Cirmo describes himself as something of a “Joseph” with his “amazing technicolor dreamcoat” in terms of his interests and preparation as an “interdisciplinary physical and environmental scientist.”  His own work in water quality and quantity, biogeochemistry, and water resources management, has given him a scientific perspective across the sciences, which is unique, and in some demand.  This was what appealed most to the NSF Program in Hydrologic Sciences when he was invited to join as program director.  He works with approximately 25 other scientists  in the Division of Earth Sciences,  fielding questions and proposals from both scientists and the general public. In addition he oversees a program which has discretionary funds totaling some $10 million per year.  “I am convinced that it is my experience on the ‘road less taken’ which has led me to this position” he says.

Dr. Cirmo seems to be somewhat out of his element sitting in front of the computer screen, as students and colleagues are used to seeing him either buried waste deep in mud, falling out of a boat, or smoking a cigar to keep the black flies away at his remote Adirondack research sites.  He admits that “the worst day in the field is better than the best day in the office,” and makes a point of emphasizing his dedication to being in the field over anything else.  So why work for the NSF?  “I believe this time at the NSF is an opportunity for me to give back something to a field which has treated me very well over the past 20 years” he replies.  Dr. Cirmo attributes his  interests in the environment and the outdoors to a combination of experiences, far beyond  the typical “academic track."  After completing a BS in chemistry and biology (summa cum laude), he confused his advisors by taking a year off school to travel, work in a lab, and take some time to himself building houses!  This was followed by a Master’s degree in environmental geology at Indiana University, a stint as a high school chemistry/physics teacher in rural Indiana, a construction worker (building houses out of authentic logs taken from old barns), a camp counselor, and time at the Oak Ridge National Labs in Tennessee studying exotic organic compound accumulation in fish!  He then worked for British Petroleum for two years as a project scientist,  before becoming a community college professor in the Hudson Valley of New York. 

It was during his 5 years at the community college, designing a new curriculum in Environmental Management, and consulting with local engineers and scientists on a natural gas pipeline project, that he decided to complete his PhD.  “I must say that if I had been on a straight academic track, I never would have had the wealth of work and life experiences which I believe have made me a more empathetic teacher and scientist,” he says.  “I was, and am, just too interested in too much of life to have gone that straight road.”  He completed his PhD at Syracuse University working with Dr. Charles Driscoll and Dr. Donald Siegel (an engineer and a geologist) on water quality and watershed biogeochemistry in the Adirondacks, publishing a critical piece of research on the potential for remediating acid rain effects in lakes, wetlands and streams of the region.  This work concerned mostly geochemistry and water quality, but a post-doctoral experience, immediately after receiving his PhD in 1994, changed his perspective again.  He worked with a physical hydrologist and became interested in just how water moves around in the ground and at or near the surface.  This was how he came to his fundamental interest in “hydrology.” 

After completing his “post-doc,” he worked as a assistant professor in Pennsylvania, and took his current position with Cortland in 1998.  It was the experience of working at a small college where teaching and research could be fairly balanced that enticed him away from the allure of   a large research university. This was the attraction of Cortland, along with proximity to his research interests in the Adirondacks and Catskill Mountains.  “Living in and around my dear North Woods, with so many opportunities to interact with students and regular folks doing work focusing on wetlands, streams, lakes and groundwater, were my main draw to Cortland,” he states.  Cortland is ideally located for a researcher with colleagues at Syracuse University, Cornell University, SUNY ESF and Penn State University.

Since coming to Cortland, he has received nearly $500,000 in research grants, published numerous papers, given many presentations, and developed the successful concentration in Water Resources in the Geology Department. Promoted to  full professor, and elected department chair, he was the first Cortland recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Recognition Award for Exemplary Contributions to Research and Scholarship (2002). He has also received a SUNY Cortland Excellence in Research Award in 2003.  He has involved Cortland students in all of his field and laboratory work and this is reflected in pictures of students which plaster his walls.   His students  have spent weeks slogging down old logging roads in the Adirondacks putting pipes in the ground, been trapped in muddy wetlands near Freeville in an effort to determine groundwater flow, and hauled a 200 pound electronic box down a slippery slope at the Hoxie Gorge field station, to install a water level monitoring station. 

Devotion to his students is another well recognized Cirmo trait.  If students have personal, academic, or campus problems, they always know that Dr. Cirmo will listen to them with empathy.  “It seems that Dr. Cirmo always has a way of making us feel better about what we think is a dire situation” say his students, “and he always seems to have an example of something he did, on that road less traveled, to help us put things in perspective.”  The student who has a different way of looking at things will find a kindred spirit in Dr. Cirmo.  “I followed a road which gave me experiences in many non-academic situations, and it may have taken me many more years to land in the position I am now in, but I doubt I would be as interested, or as interesting, if I had not had those experiences.”  So it is not hard to understand how he seems to always be doing something new, and seeking out  new places.  This is reflected in his office at the NSF, where his door is covered with pictures of the Adirondacks, and of students in "compromising situations" in the field!  “I may seem far from my roots and passions here, but I just look at this as just another ‘stone in the road’ on my life’s path, and each stone begs me to stoop, study and wonder at just how it got there.”