Background
Gilbert Peter Waldbauer was born on April 18, 1928 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. He is the son of George Henry and Hedwig Martha (Gribisch) Waldbauer.
educator entomologist scientist writer
Gilbert Peter Waldbauer was born on April 18, 1928 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. He is the son of George Henry and Hedwig Martha (Gribisch) Waldbauer.
Waldbauer graduated from University of Massachusetts at Amherst with Bachelor of Science degree in 1953.
He studied at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned Master of Science degree in 1956, as well as Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1960.
He studied agricultural pests, pest management, mimicry, and insect mating.
Waldbauer served in the U.S. Army, for a year from 1946.
He worked at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he began as an instructor, becoming a professor of entomology in 1953, he held that position for 42 years.
He became a full-time writer after his retirement, in 1995.
Quotations:
“Almost as long as I can remember, I have had a consuming interest in natural history. Life has been kind to me, allowing me to indulge that interest as I pursued an academic career as an entomologist in an outstanding department in one of the country’s great universities. Since my retirement from teaching and research in 1995, I have been writing full-time, inspired by the awesome beauty of nature and by the work of the many entomologists and other biologists I have known and by the work of those who came before me.
“I write because I love doing it, and because I want to open the eyes of others to the wonder of nature and communicate to them my own enthusiasm for the study of biology. I try to be scientifically accurate and to explain significant biological concepts while using language that can be understood by non-biologists. At first it wasn’t easy to write without using the jargon of the field, but I think that I have now mastered that art.”
Waldbauer is a member of American Birding Association.
Waldbauer married Stephanie Margot Stiefel on January 2, 1955. They have 2 children - Gwen Ruth and Susan Martha.