January, 2000 
SCAMIT Newsletter 
Vol. 18, No.9 
valuable of all the classes, though, was the one 
on invertebrate embryology. There wasn’t a 
text to speak of, but there was, again, a teacher 
with the details. We were all convinced then 
that the big phylogenetic conundrums would be 
solved with embryological help. Little did we 
know how that field would change and the 
information it would ultimately give us. 
I met him again just a few years ago. He didn’t 
seem to have changed all that much, so it was a 
big surprise to find out last year that he was ill. 
I’m sure his years at Humboldt produced many 
students with a strong appreciation for, as well 
as a thorough understanding, of the marine 
world. 
In sum, I guess I feel that most importantly, 
Gary showed “how” to teach, not just “what” 
to teach.” 
Les Watling 
Professor of Oceanography, and 
Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation 
School of Marine Sciences 
Darling Marine Center 
University of Maine 
[reprinted with the author’s permission from 
the CrustL list server] 
“I would also like to express my deepest 
sorrow on the passing of Gary Brusca and offer 
a brief personal perspective on a remarkable 
individual. Gary was one of my graduate 
advisors at Humboldt State University, a 
mentor and a good friend. He was without 
exception one of the finest instructors and 
finest people I have had the privilege to know. 
Gary was a first-rate scientist, a first-rate 
instructor, and a first-rate writer and editor. It 
was Gary who first introduced me to the joys 
of crustaceans, and it was Gary that ingrained 
in me a respect for ‘natural history’ in the 
tradition of the great naturalists. 
It is impossible here to truly capture who Gary 
was. Those of us who were fortunate to be his 
students can only express a sense of awe at his 
contributions to our education. As Les Watling 
has already pointed out, the detail of Gary’s 
courses was truly amazing. In fact, I think his 
graduate courses in invertebrate embryology 
and crustacean biology were two of the most 
challenging and rewarding classes I ever took. 
They certainly made you think, and discuss, 
and argue, and....You never saw so many worn 
out graduate students after a Gary Brusca 2- 
week take-home midterm. Gary had an ability 
to make you think beyond what you knew, or at 
least try to. Perhaps what stood out even more 
in terms of classroom experience was simply 
watching Gary teach undergraduate 
invertebrate zoology (what a learning 
experience it was to be his assistant). Although 
he was remarkable in the laboratory, his 
lectures were even more so. He had an 
eloquence about the way he spoke that made 
every lecture seem like a story, inspiring and 
never boring. I will never forget watching him 
‘tell his stories’ with his eyes on the students, 
while at the same time drawing the most 
exquisite and detailed illustrations on the 
board. I was never able to figure out when (or 
if) he looked at his notes, and hours later I was 
still unable to duplicate his drawings. Perhaps 
Gary was a magician of sorts. Anyway, I still 
have those notes today. 
Gary’s contributions were certainly not limited 
to the classroom. In fact, I always felt the field 
was his true laboratory and lecture hall. Some 
of my fondest memories are the two summers 
that I worked with Gary as part of a NSF 
Summer Institute in Marine Biology for 
advanced high school students. It was those 
countless field trips with all those inquisitive 
young minds in tow that really showed Gary at 
his best. He didn’t seem to mind that I had 
little idea how to drive, or double-shift, that 
rickety old bus along the frontage roads 
overlooking the Humboldt coast. It was an 
adventure, and we were heading to the 
tidepools where we (or usually the students) 
never failed to discover something new. 
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