Todd Rimkus

Todd Rimkus (no photo)

Professor

Academic Credentials

B.S. , University of Illinois
M.S., Ph.D., Iowa State University

Biography

Other Information

A Commitment to Service

  • Turtles to Classrooms
  • Belize – Giving Back Program
  • Belize – Hawksbill Hope Scholars

Dr. Todd Rimkus is the faculty advisor for the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society and the Belize Service Club. He also works closely with local elementary through high schools in an outreach program designed to generate further interest in the sciences. He has a program that allows freshwater turtles to be maintained in classrooms in Virginia, DC, and Maryland whereby the students and teachers contribute to the research by taking the growth measurements of their animals and uploading them to the central database back at Marymount University. In addition to these animals being housed in the schools, Dr. Todd Rimkus often visits the schools with his reptilian ontourage.  Children getting the opportunity to interact with these animals up close might just turn a few into future research scientists. 

Dr. Todd Rimkus has made a commitment to the small community of Gales Point Belize.  In 2009, Dr. Todd Rimkus along with a group of Marymount Study Abroad Students founded the charity Hawksbill Hope.  Hawksbill Hope accepts donations to further the turtle research in Belize and has expanded to fund projects in the community and even more recently to ensure that children in Gales Point Belize have the opportunity to have their high school tuition covered as they become Hawksbill Hope Scholars.

Teaching Area

  • Marine Biology and Tropical Ecology in Belize
  • Introduction to the Biological World
  • Anatomy and Physiology II

Dr. Todd Rimkus was honored by the class of 2017 with the Robert A. Draghi Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.  His goal in teaching is to engage and bring the subject to life for his students.  Dr. Todd Rimkus was trained as a physiologist so he always wants his students to inquire about how the systems accomplish their amazing feats.  Finally, Dr. Todd Rimkus has been teaching a hands-on course in Belize each summer since 2007.  In 2011, the group started satellite tagging sea turtles.  The interaction with a sea turtle and getting an up-close look at these fascinating creatures is an experience of a lifetime.   

Research Interests

  • Turtle Egg Physiology – Water Exchange in Turtle Eggs
  • Growth Rates in Turtles and effects of Invasive Species
  • Satellite Tracking of Hakwsbill Sea Turtles in Belize
  • Sea Turtle Cultural Effects

Dr. Todd Rimkus has served Marymount University as a faculty member since 1996. He has chaired the Biology & Physical Science Program since 2000.  Dr. Todd Rimkus was trained in animal physiology at Iowa State University. He is actively involved with undergraduate research at Marymount University, engaging the students in research in the areas of growth and development of turtles. Dr. Todd Rimkus contributed a chapter on water exchange to a snapping turtle book and has also presented at local and national conferences on a variety of topics related to turtle growth and development.  Dr. Todd Rimkus has presented at the International Sea Turtle Symposium with students several times.

Publications

Contact

Phone: 703-284-1559

Email: todd.rimkus@marymount.edu