The Journal

Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Lifestyle

Media Credit: Laila Wessel After having studied astronomy for 49 years, meteorology and astronomy professor Bill McConnell says one of the greatest things astronomy has taught him about is solitude. "They (the stars and planets) are like old friends. I like to check up on them," says McConnell.

Astronomy professor Bill McConnell sees life from a scientific perspective.

"You're involved in the greatest science experiment ever performed - your life," said McConnell. "When you get an interest, you just have to follow it."

McConnell's own life provides proof for his theory. The 87-year-old professor is constantly tweaking the controls and testing variables to see what will happen. A new hobby here, a foreign adventure there - McConnell's "experiment" is ever-evolving. The result has been an expansive and intriguing career. McConnell has retraced the Missouri River voyage of Lewis and Clark, tested rollercoasters across the country, hiked the Grand Canyon and explored Mayan ruins.

But for the last 42 years, McConnell's grand experiment has had one constant: Webster University.

Standing at the door of his office on the second floor of Webster Hall, one might be tempted to think it's a science experiment gone awry. Stacks of books and boxes filled with more books have taken root in the floor, thinning out just enough to allow safe passage between the door and the desk.

"I probably have too much stuff in here," McConnell said after a minor disturbance sent several textbooks over the edge of one pile and onto a nearby chair.

McConnell's sense of organization has been another constant during his tenure at WU. In 2004, when the St. Louis Academy of Science bestowed its first-ever "Outstanding Science Educator of the Year" award upon McConnell, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences David Wilson mentioned McConnell's office in the acceptance speech (McConnell was teaching at WU's Thailand campus at the time).

"Fellow faculty members describe Bill's office as a giant toy store. He never met a toy he didn't think could be used to teach some scientific principle," Wilson said. "Others, I confess, describe it as a giant junk room. He never met a piece of junk he didn't think could be rehabilitated into a

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