Lake scientist drowns

Thomas Frost, one of the university’s prominent lake researchers, drowned in Lake Superior Aug. 25 after saving his son from a strong current.

Frost was associate director of the Center for Limnology and was responsible for the university’s Trout Lake Station, a lake research outpost north of Minocqua. From the station, Frost conducted a nationally known experiment on Little Rock Lake that chronicled the effects of acid rain on lake chemistry and biology.

“All who came to Trout Lake Station will remember Tom and his personal legacy of friendship and helpfulness,” said John Magnuson, retired director of the Center for Limnology and longtime colleague of Frost. “Under his watch, the station has grown to become a busy nexus of top-flight science and outreach on local concerns and issues.”

Frost was director of Trout Lake since 1981. From 1997 to 1999, Frost served as a program director for the National Science Foundation’s Division of Environmental Biology in Washington, D.C. The post helped the foundation make important funding decisions on ecology-based research.

Frost also team-taught UW–Madison field course in limnology to about 160 undergraduates per semester, and oversaw research projects at Trout Lake for many undergraduate students.

He is survived by his wife, Susan Knight, and their sons Eliot and Peter. Memorial services will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2 at Ascension Lutheran Church on Highway 51 south of Minocqua.

In lieu of flowers, memorials should be made to the Wisconsin chapter of the Nature Conservancy, 633 W. Main St., Madison, 53703 for the Thomas Frost Memorial Fund. Proceeds will be used to help purchase a tract of land north of Minocqua that contains many pristine lakes.