Lars Anderson - SSC Exhibits Lead

Two years ago, Lars Anderson reached out to the SSC after reading about us in Latitude 38. Today he is leading our Exhibits Team and we couldn’t be happier. Lars was born in Pasadena, the third of four children. As a youth he was transfixed by a fishpond in his family’s backyard, fascinated by the fish, the water hyacinth, the frogs, and other plants. While not obvious at the time, the fishpond foretold his future.

Lars also spent much of his youth at the ocean, where he liked the tide pools. His mother enjoyed sailing and passed that joy on to her husband and to Lars and his siblings. At age 6, that joy was almost extinguished during a stormy sail that scared the heck out of him. He got over it, and by age eight was skippering an 8’ Sabot dinghy. Meanwhile, his parents bought a 17’ Thistle planing dinghy. Today, Lars has his own Thistle and a Ranger 26 he keeps in Benicia. He tells a harrowing story involving the Thistle, a non-sailing couple, strong wind, a jibe gone bad, a capsize near Martinez, and a rescue by the Coast Guard. The story ends happily, thanks to Lars’ insistence on everyone wearing lifejackets.

Lars went to San Diego State as a biology major, where he studied for two years before transferring to UC Irvine during the school’s first year of operation. He continued his study of biology, earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, benefiting from the sharp young scientists he had as professors. His area of study was the buoyancy of diatoms, a form of microscopic phytoplankton. This last tidbit gives background to the Water Column Density Drop exhibit Lars created for the SSC (see the January newsletter). Lars completed his academic studies at UC Santa Barbara, where he received his PhD in 1974.

Leaving Santa Barbara, with a wife, a son, and a daughter, Lars was ready for work. The EPA had just been formed, and after two phone interviews he and his family were on their way to Washington DC. Lars was promoted three times in his first two years but was looking to get into a lab. That chance came when a lab opened in Denver that was dedicated to controlling aquatic weeds. Lars ran that lab from 1976 to 1980 before moving to UC Davis to run the USDA Agricultural Research Service Aquatic and Invasive Weed Laboratory, which he did until retirement in 2012.

Two years into his position at UC Davis, Lars was invited to a board meeting of a new science museum called the Davis Science Center (now the Explorit Science Center). Within an hour he knew he wanted to get involved. He joined the board in 1983 and served as its president on three occasions, eventually serving as the volunteer Executive Director until he left in 2017. Today, Lars brings that 30+ years of experience, plus a gentle and humble nature, to the SSC; and as I said in the beginning, we couldn’t be happier.

Our social media czar, Charlie Deist, shared this 1966 video from the MIT archives. It's all about the science of sailing, and how they were using computers to design better boats. The only thing is, in those days computers took up entire rooms, required elaborate cooling systems, and stored data on reels of magnetic tape. This is a great video if you want a little retro nostalgia.

In last month's newsletter we announced that we would be starting a speaker series. Unfortunately, due to staffing issues, and a need to stay focused on our primary vision of creating great exhibits, we are temporarily pressing the pause button on this initiative. We apologize for the change in course. We will be back to you when this is ready to go.

Sailors focusing intensely on a mark as they round it in the 2015 Moseley Regatta. Whether in sailing, in baseball, or in business, keeping your eye on the ball is essential for success.