The sign outside Fred Caporaso's door lists his official title: professor of food science. And it's true that his research area is sensory evaluation, the science of how food tastes. But step inside, and it's clear that his heart never strays far from the Galapagos Islands.

His cluttered desk and shelves are lined with tortoise trinkets and photos with him and his students, mementos from the 18 trips he has taken to the islands.

The professor has become enamored with the islands made famous by Charles Darwin, and he has emerged as something of an authority taking students each year and giving lectures nationwide about the creatures inhabiting the islands.

It's a breathtaking place, remote and almost untouched by mankind, where many of the animals have little fear of humans.

"A bird will land on you as easily as [it would] somewhere else.... You can snorkel with penguins, and sea lions will swim up to your face," Caporaso said. "You can walk the same path 18 times and see 18 different things happen."

Of all the animals he's encountered over the years, none of them had as much of an effect as a tortoise named Lonesome George. The massive reptile had become an icon for the islands, with a reputation for being finicky and quirky.

Lonesome George died in June, marking the end of his subspecies named after Pinta Island in the Galapagos, where he lived.

Caporaso talks about George like an old friend and slips into the present tense when talking about him, even though he's been gone for a while.

George was notorious for not reproducing, despite having two female tortoises with him in his protected habitat for nearly 40 years. One laid eggs a couple years ago, but they were infertile; the other one drowned.

Caporaso admitted that his pal had gotten overweight in the last few years of his life, weighing in at well over 300 pounds.

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Chapman professor shares his love of Galapagos Islands