In the spring term of my second year, I took a general entomology course as a part of my major in biology. I became fascinated with insects, their diversity of form, behavior, and life style, and with their sheer numbers. The collection I submitted for the class was many times more than the required number of specimens and groups represented. Very soon, I came under the influence of Terry Erwin, now curator at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. who at the time was working on his Master's degree at San Jose State University. I focused my interest and efforts on the beetle family Carabidae, which was also Terry's area of interest.
Carabid beetles are relatively abundant and occur worldwide.
These beetles are often considered to be helpful to agriculture because they prey on other insects, including pests that destroy crops. Although I graduated and went on to complete two years at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, my interest in systematic entomology continued and even expanded. During the summer after my second year I went mountain climbing with friends from the medical school in the Front Range of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. It turned out to be just the third known specimen of a species last collected in the 19th century. Later that summer, I discovered my first new species of carabid beetle, which I named Nebria desolata , in reference to the desolate spot in which I found it in southern Utah.