Fred Paillet is Adjunct Professor of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas and Emeritus Research Scientist with the US Geological Survey.   He developed an interest in reconstructing the ecology of American chestnut as part of the project to use the ecological tolerances of forest tree species to reconstruct prehistoric climate regimes in New England.  A major boost was given to this work by the discovery of outlying naturalized chestnut stands in Michigan and Wisconsin where the ecology of the tree could be studied without recourse to pollen analysis or searching through early forestry archives.  Extension of these studies to Ozark chinquapin were a natural byproduct of the selection of NW Arkansas as his retirement home.