FIYou: Steve Oberbauer

Name: Steve Oberbauer

Hometown: El Cajon, Calif.

Job Title/Department: Professor, Biological Sciences

Campus: Modesto A. Maidique Campus

In a nutshell: I am a plant physiological ecologist. (Ed. note: Click here to find out more about Oberbauer’s research, which takes him to the Alaskan tundra, the Costa Rican rainforest and the Florida Everglades.)

Number of years at FIU: 23

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Sharing science discovery and research with graduate students.

What do you think students and your fellow faculty/staff should know about your department?

Biology rocks!

Where is your favorite spot on campus? Why?

The Wertheim Conservatory Glasshouse. It is a mini-tropical paradise.

What is one thing you wish everyone knew about FIU?

The Frost Art Museum is fabulous.

How is FIU “Worlds Ahead”?

We have a great faculty with a can-do attitude.

Family snapshot:

My spouse, Associate Dean Maureen Donnelly; my mother; two brothers and three sisters; and two nieces and five nephews.

Word that best describes you: Tall.

First paying job: I was a maintenance man at a retirement home.

Favorite TV show: The X-Files.

What is playing on your iPod?

U2, Dave Matthews, Gypsy Kings.

Your proudest accomplishment:

Winning the Torch Award for Outstanding Professor this year.

What do you do when you are not working at FIU?

Gardening, sitting at the beach, fishing.