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Dr. Robert Boomsma '77 has a simple reason for studying biology. He believes that understanding living things brings us closer to God.

"We are called to study God's creation," says the chair of Trinity's biology department. "We can understand more of God's nature because He reveals Himself to us through creation. What we learn by studying creation doesn't contradict what He has revealed in the Bible."

After graduating from Trinity, he earned his doctorate in anatomy from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1981. He then spent a year of post-doctorate research at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Massachusetts. After a two-year teaching stint at St. Xavier University ended in 1984, Boomsma, a native of Palos Heights, returned to his alma mater as an associate professor of biology. 

To divert his attention from the study of life, Boomsma spends his spare time strumming the strings of his guitar. A boyhood dream to play rock music fueled a passion for the guitar. His parents nudged him into a different direction (chemical engineering), but he did spend a few years playing Christian rock music. In the mid '90s, he began playing a different tune with a couple of friends.

"I'm part of a Christian bluegrass music band, and we call ourselves the Gloryland Band. Christian bluegrass is sort of a mix of country gospel and bluegrass that usually includes instruments like a banjo and a fiddle, but we don't have either one. We've been playing together for about six years."

Boomsma also enjoys water sports, particularly water skiing. He has skied a variety of lakes and rivers in the Midwest, with his wife driving the boat. Like most other water skiers, he has suffered his share of wipeouts.

"One time I tried to go barefoot, so I took one foot out of the ski, then the other. I think I was barefooting for about 30 milliseconds, then.Boom! Now I have a little bit more concern for my body."

Just as you are not likely to find Boomsma skiing on water, you will not see him walking on eggshells. During his childhood, he helped his father and uncles operate an egg distribution company by packing eggs onto a truck. When he was old enough to drive, he delivered them to various grocery stores and other merchants in the area. One would think he would tire of eggs, but he tells otherwise.

"We used to eat eggs every day of the week," he recalls, "but that was before people were worried about cholesterol."