William "Bill" Stringer

William "Bill" Stringer was born in St. Louis, Missouri and mostly grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He earned his undergraduate degree in physics from New Mexico State University, and in 1962 came to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) to work on a masters in auroral dynamics and a Ph.D. on protons in the auroral display. He began to work for the Geophysical Institute at UAF as a student, and in 1967 became research faculty and an associate professor of geophysics. He worked on remote sensing projects, conducted fieldwork, and used satellite imagery to study nearshore sea ice behavior. Due to his expertise, Bill helped track the Exxon Valdez oil spill with the use of satellite and landsat imagery and implement the use of daily satellite data to track the ash flow from volcanic eruptions. He retired in 1999 and is currently Emeritus Associate Professor of Geophysics at UAF. In 2000, he participated in the afternoon storytelling session at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and shared some of his memories of working there in the early years.