World-renowned ecologist, explorer, and photojournalist Mark Moffett -- "the Indiana Jones of entomology -- returns to his home town of Beloit, Wisconsin, on Thursday, February 21, 2008, to receive the sixth annual Roy Chapman Andrews Society Distinguished Explorer Award. Download the full flyer here.

     Moffett is recognized as one of the world's most daring and adventurous scientist-explorers, with popular books, articles, TV segments, and over 500 published photos to his credit. He returns to Beloit to receive the award named for another Beloit-bred explorer-scientist, Roy Chapman Andrews.

     Moffett's visit will include a presentation to area students at Beloit Memorial High School. The award ceremony and his public lecture, "High Drama in Hidden Worlds," will take place in Eaton Chapel on the Beloit College campus at 4 p.m., followed by a dinner with members and friends of the Roy Chapman Andrews Society. During the ceremony, Moffett will receive the Society's $5,000 prize and a bronze statue.

     The visit also constitutes the second annual "Beloit Originals" program, recognizing distinguished graduates of Beloit College. Like last year's visit by internationally acclaimed designer and 1969 graduate Robert Lee Morris, Moffett will engage with Beloit College students and faculty in classes and informally during his stay, helping to celebrate the academic program that set him on a career of distinction.

     Mark Moffett -- "Dr. Bugs" -- grew up in Beloit and graduated from Beloit College in 1979. His explorations of tropical forests and ecology have taken him around the world, from the top of the world's tallest tree to deep in unexplored caves. He has discovered new plant and animal species while risking life and limb to find stories that make people fall in love with the unexpected in nature.

     Moffett captivates audiences with first-hand stories of tropical ecology, treetop exploration, teamwork and goal accomplishment under extreme conditions, adventures under a rock (wonderful and weird stories of ants and spiders), and the love of nature and conservation. Television's Stephen Colbert calls him "Ant-Man" and Conan O'Brien calls him a "frog-licker," but Moffett calls himself a storyteller.

     "I believe life is about telling stories," he says. "Many of my favorite stories are my own research discoveries. Because I pick stories from remote parts of the earth that often have not been told before, I've often had to use my wits to survive, eating grubs, scorpions, and spiders with the native peoples on five continents... ascending trees to escape bull elephants... discovering Aztec burial chambers populated with giant blind cave tarantulas... tracking down a frog so lethal a mere touch can kill you... using blowguns in defense against Colombian drug lords... accidentally sitting on one of the world's most deadly snakes."

     The Distinguished Explorer Award program is a principal focus of the Roy Chapman Andrews Society. Founded in 1998, the Society's mission is to honor the legacy of one of the most celebrated explorers of the 20th century by educating the public about Andrews's life, work, and adventures; promoting the value of scientific exploration and discovery; and emphasizing Andrews's lifetime ties to Beloit. Previous award recipients are:

• Dr. Michael J. Novacek, leader of the first Western expedition to the Gobi Desert since Andrews' discovery of the first dinosaur egg fossil there in 1922
• Dr. Mark Plotkin, ethnobotanist and bio-prospector for new medicines developed from the plants and practices of traditional healers of the Amazon jungle
• Dr. Robert Ballard, discoverer of the RMS Titanic and founder of the Jason Project, an educational tool enabling students to watch live transmissions from underwater robot explorers
• Dr. Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover mission whose presentations included live, televised transmissions from Mars
• Drs. Lonnie and Ellen Mosley-Thompson, scientific "ice hunters" who examine the climate and environmental history of the Earth through the analysis of glacial core samples

For information about tickets for the dinner and reserved seating at the award ceremony, contact the Roy Chapman Andrews Society c/o Visit Beloit, 608-365-4838.

Mark W. Moffett
From the top of the world's tallest tree, to deep in unexplored caves, Mark Moffett has discovered new species and behavior while risking life and limb to find stories that make people fall in love with the unexpected in the nature. He's a real-life adventurer with awards for writing and photography.


CLICK HERE to learn about the award's selection criteria.