Early Years 



Riggs grew up in Green Bay, Wis., close 

 to the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. 

 "As early as I can remember, I had a canoe paddle 

 in my hand or rode my bike and explored the 

 waters and shores of the Green Bay and Fox 

 rivers," he says. 



"I never knew a time when I wasn't interested 

 in geology, biology and the natural history of what 

 was around me," adds Riggs. "When I was out on 

 a lake or river, the whole business of water and its 

 dynamics fascinated me." 



So Riggs pursued a major in geology while 

 at Beloit College. As a freshman, he helped to 

 organize a geologic field trip to the Appalachian 

 Mountains in North Carolina. 



"This was my introduction to North Caro- 

 lina," he says. "I clearly remember the Spruce Pine 

 pegmatites and the Webster olivine ring dike, both 

 world-class rock structures." 



The Appalachian Mountains were "warm, 

 green and friendly compared to the raw, rugged 

 and hostile Rocky Mountains," recalls Riggs. 

 "I thought then that North Carolina would be 

 an awesome place to live." 



Riggs pursued a master's in geology from 

 Dartmouth College and then a doctorate in 

 geology from the University of Montana. 



After working in Alaska, New Mexico, 

 Colorado and Florida, Riggs moved to Raleigh in 

 1 964. Three years later, he relocated to ECU in 

 Greenville, where he helped to start new geology 

 and marine science programs. 



During the late 1 960s and early 1 970s, Riggs 

 lived on the Outer Banks and taught an interdisci- 

 plinary geology and biology program, "ECU by the 

 Sea," for senior geology and biology majors. 



As part of the course, Riggs and his students 

 conducted "soggy-groggies" or intensive field 

 studies from Maine to Florida. To leam about 

 coastal system dynamics, they spent days on the 

 hot sand at Jockey's Ridge — where they studied 

 how the winds erode and deposit sand — and 

 monitored the impacts of nor'easters and 

 hurricanes on North Carolina beaches and inlets. 



United Nations Project 



From the late 1 970s to early 1 990s, Riggs 

 conducted extensive studies on various types of 

 mineral resources around the world. 



As part of this effort, he served as co-direc- 

 tor of a United Nations project involving resource 

 utilization in developing countries. One of the 

 program's workshops was held at ECU, where 



Riggs brought together geologists from more than 

 40 countries. 



"Stan helped geologists provide resources 

 for people in developing countries," says Scott 

 Snyder, senior associate dean of ECU's Thomas 

 Harriot College of Arts and Sciences. 



Because of his coastal work and worldwide 

 resource project, Riggs received the O. Max 

 Gardner Award in 1 983. The Board of Governors 

 of the University of North Carolina System gives 

 the award annually to a faculty 

 member who has made "the greatest 

 contribution to the welfare of the H 

 human race." ^ 



Riggs also has conducted 

 extensive studies on the geologic 

 framework and sediment dynamics 

 associated with the North Carolina 

 continental shelf and its rock hard 

 bottoms. His work has provided 

 critical information about potential 

 sediment supplies for the barrier 

 islands, as well as habitat data for 

 marine ecosystems and associated 

 fisheries. 



Presently, Riggs is spearhead- 

 ing the ECU/U.S. Geological Survey 

 (USGS)/N.C. Geological Survey 

 (NCGS) Coastal Geology Cooperative Research 

 Program that focuses on the geomorphic and 

 ecologic dynamics and evolution of the northern 

 Outer Banks and associated estuarine system. 



This summer, Riggs and a team of research- 

 ers and graduate students are doing field work 

 in the southern Pamlico and Core sounds, the 

 Neuse and Pamlico rivers, the barrier islands from 

 Ocracoke to Cape Lookout and the nearshore 

 continental shelf. 



Throughout his career, Riggs has spent a 

 lot of time educating teachers and other public 

 groups about the dynamics of North Carolina's 

 coastal system. Riggs' workshops are a favorite 

 with science educators. 



Terri Kirby Hathaway, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant marine education specialist, says that she 

 has learned so much from Riggs over the years. 

 When Riggs led a marine education field trip in the 

 summer of 2000 to sites in eastern North Carolina 

 hit by Hurricane Hoyd, Hathaway says that the 

 group was exhausted by the end of the afternoon. 



"But Stan kept yelling: 'Come on, let's get 

 going. We're burning daylight,' " Hathaway recalls. 



Marine educator Lundie Spence, who also 

 has coordinated numerous field trips with Riggs, 



TOP: Stun Riggs is 

 known for his extensive 

 field trips along the 

 Outer Banks. 

 BOTTOM: 

 Co-author Dorothea 

 Ames, right, 

 accompanies Riggs as 

 he explains soundfront 

 shoreline erosion rates. 



says that he brings the North Carolina islands to 

 life by helping people visualize their dynamic and 

 mobile nature. 



"Stan makes people laugh with the joy of 

 wind carrying sand," adds Spence, director of the 

 South East Center for Ocean Sciences Education 

 Excellence. 



Field Trip 



On a recent field trip for ECU/USGS/NCGS 

 geologists, Riggs welcomes participants while 

 standing on the estuarine shoreline atjocke/s 

 Ridge State Park in Nags Head. 



"I hope you enjoy the stops and get a flavor 

 of North Carolina's barrier island system," he says. 



In the years before the Civil War, Riggs says 

 Nags Head residents lived primarily within the 

 maritime forest of Nags Head Woods. 



Gradually, after the war, they began to move 

 out of the woods to Old Nags Head along the 

 estuarine shoreline and sell the ocean shoreline to 

 vacationers, according to Riggs. 'The 1 932 map 

 shows the recently paved coastal Hwy. 1 2 and the 

 largejocke/s Ridge and Seven Sisters dune fields," 

 he adds, holding up photos showing changes over 

 seven decades. "Also notice the few oceanfront 



14 HIGH SEASON 2004 



