Prof. David Wittenberg's '82 (COSI) scraggly beard falls almost all the way down to the tiny splotch of blood on his checkered neon shirt, adding yet another level of absurdity to the scene."It's the vampires," Wittenberg said. "You can't stop them. But just don't tell them I am playing Ultimate Frisbee in an hour."

Actually, the stain is only residue from when he gave blood earlier that day, but he wears it well.

Except for the two times a week when he can be seen on the Great Lawn playing Ultimate Frisbee with students, the unimposing Wittenberg could be one of the least athletic-looking men at Brandeis. But those who meet him on field know better.

"Have you seen him?" asked Josh Marin (GRAD), president of the Frisbee club (a less formal club than Tron, the popular club team). "When you have such a large mass with such a large beard coming at you its hard not to be afraid."

The beard is what Wittenberg is all about-a fitting physical representation of the intensity and experience that he embodies.

"I have not shaved since 1976," he says. "I stopped trimming in 1990 at the behest of my wife. She wanted me to be more religious, and since there are 613 commandments I chose one more to follow. I stopped 'rounding the corners of my face.'"

Besides being a religious reminder, the beard is also a monument to his 25 years playing Frisbee at Brandeis. He began playing in 1975, less than a year before the beard began to take root.

From those humble beginnings, it has grown to drape over nine inches below his chin and meanwhile Wittenberg has grown into one of the most colorful icons on the faculty, as well as a forceful athlete when the Frisbee is in the air.

As an undergraduate he earned two varsity letters from the sailing team. Meanwhile, he joined the Frisbee club in his first-year, kick-starting his quarter-century involvement with the sport.

"It started with all the math geeks, so I guess I was part of that," he said.

After Brandeis, Wittenberg went on to receive a master's degree in computer science from Yale. And he always indulged his love for Frisbee, all the way until returning to Brandeis in 1992 for his Ph.D. in computer science.

The next milestone was in 1995, when he and a number of faculty members founded their unofficial Frisbee association, the Geezers and Neurons Ultimate.

"Neurons of course refers to neuroscientists," he said.

Wittenberg and the Geezers compete frequently on Chapels Field with students, staff and faculty.

With the extreme disparity of ages, Wittenberg admits that he has had to adjust his game in recent years.

"Oh, sure I get winded," he says. "I'm often the slowest one on the field."

However, he also touts the edge that his 25 years of experience lends him over younger, inexperienced players.

"I might be slower, but they are often in the wrong place," Wittenberg says with a smile. "You'll often see one of them sort of running in a round about pattern, and me just walking next to them. I am always close enough that when a throw comes I can get to it. And they are running four or fives times as much as me."

His knowledge and skill sets are a perfect representation of the Geezers' motto that stands emblazoned in gold and black on their 2006 Frisbees: "Old Age and Treachery Shall Triumph over Youth and Virtue."

"People underestimate him quite a bit," Martin said. "That's a mistake because he had been playing for longer than most of us have been alive."

Kevin Hashemi, a University researcher, agrees: "He's a good player. He is wily and clever."

When not playing Frisbee, Wittenberg can usually be found tucked in his office behind a wall of over 20 coke cans, programming books and, of course, his computer.

"Hello? CPU? Are you talking to me?" Wittenberg gently prods during one of his office rants. "What's going on? You're missing commands."

More students are beginning to recognize Wittenberg as an athletic entity at Brandeis and are taking the opportunity to play before he finally decides he is too old to keep competing regularly.

Martin, for one, balks at any questioning of the fifty-year-old man's ability to keep competing long into the future.

"What?" Martin responded, "Didn't you read the [Geezers'] motto!