Weber State University, Department of Physics

Dr. John E. SohlJohn and Ian (then 5) at the climbing gym

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Personal Interests (Click on the images for larger versions.)

Family:

We are interested in many things: camping, climbing, hiking, mountain biking, astronomy, visiting museums, etc. Here on this page are a few of the things we like to do. 

I have a wife (Sheri) and one son (Ian). Sheri is the development director of a private foundation that is dedicated to improving science education. Ian is 9 years old and attends the gifted and talented program at a local elementary school. 

 

   

Mountain Rescue

I am the commander of the local mountain rescue team, the Weber County Sheriff's Search and Rescue. I specialize in vertical and other hazardous terrain rescue such as swift water rescue, avalanche terrain, blizzards, etc. We are an all weather and all season team.  I personally enjoy telemark skiing, rock climbing, mountain climbing, ice climbing, ski backpacking, kayaking, camping, etc. In the pictures below I am helping to run a rappelling station for our annual Safe Climbing Seminar and am doing a training session on swift water rescue (I'm the one in the yellow helmet). 

In what was one of the coolest things we've ever done, Sheri and I were selected as Olympic torchbearers. We ran in Ogden just a few days before the start of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. 

  Swiftwater search and rescue training. (With Mark Miller.)  

Rockets

I have been flying model rockets since the late 1960's  and I grew up within eyesight of the NASA Gemini and Apollo launches in Florida. (I was on the other coast of Florida, but once the rocket was up a short ways, you could see it from our backyard.) While at Honeywell, I worked on part of the Space Shuttle. Lately I've gotten into high-power model rockets and am certified to Level I by the National Association of Rocketry. I've got two rockets that can break the speed of sound. 

Astronomy

I enjoy giving and going to public and private star parties. I built my first telescope when I was 14 and have been hooked ever since. I am reasonably active with the Ogden Astronomical Society and invite anyone with an interest in astronomy to join their local astronomical society. John and Ian at our 4 inch Unitron Refractor

 

 

 

 

 

All pictures taken by Sheri Trbovich (my wife, who also hates to be in pictures).

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Dr. John Sohl

This page was last updated on May 6, 2003. Hit Counter since 4/17/02.

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