Dr. Roman Dial is a groundbreaking biologist, National Geographic Explorer, and wilderness adventurer whose life’s work has shaped our understanding of climate change and ecology in the planet’s most remote frontiers. For over 40 years, Roman has trekked, paddled, skied, and biked across Alaska’s Arctic, not as a conqueror, but as a witness, documenting the rapidly warming North.
His journey began in the early 1980s when he synergized math, biology, and adventure into his unique style of field science. A professor of mathematics at Alaska Pacific University, Roman research subjects spanned from glacier worms to the advancement of treeline in the Arctic.
But Roman’s story is larger than just scientific discovery. After the tragic loss of his son Cody on an expedition in Costa Rica, Roman’s pursuit of knowledge deepened into something more personal: a quest to understand both the resilience of nature and the fragility of life. His memoir, The Adventurer’s Son, is a powerful account of love, loss, and the landscapes that shape us.
Today, Roman continues to teach, write, and advocate for the Alaska’s threatened wilds. His current film project, Arctic Alchemy, captures the urgency of this work—tracing decades of personal discovery in a landscape deeply imprinted on his psyche.
