Director’s Report 5 (March 31, 2006)
Reid Bryson, founding director of the Nelson Institute, gave a very interesting presentation at the Conference on Interdisciplinarity held this Thursday and Friday. He described the origins of the Nelson Institute and its evolving role in the university. His talk is posted to the blog.
One of the Nelson Institute’s veteran staff members, Melanie Woodworth, is retiring this week. Melanie has provided a wide range of administrative support for the Center for Climatic Research since 1974, and she has done a superb job. (Another able member of our staff, Marcia Verhage, will assume her responsibilities.) Thank you, Melanie. We wish you the very best!
We heard the good news that the divisional committee has approved Clark Miller’s tenure. Clark serves on our governance faculty as well as the Academic Planning Council, played a key role in the recent successful IGERT proposal, and has played an increasingly large role in helping think through a new template for our Ph.D. program. We are delighted at this news. Congratulations, Clark!
Several other members of the Nelson Institute community deserve congratulations for recent distinctions:
Faculty Honors
Emeritus Professor John Kutzbach, associate director (and former director) of the Nelson Institute’s Center for Climatic Research, has been selected to receive the American Geophysical Union’s Roger Revelle Medal for “outstanding contributions in atmospheric sciences, atmosphere-ocean coupling, atmosphere-land coupling, biogeochemical cycles, climate, or related aspects of the Earth system.” The award will be given at the AGU’s annual meeting in San Francisco next December. John uses computer models of earth’s climate to investigate the causes of climate change in the geologic past as well as the role of humans in causing climate change. His studies also have helped clarify the interactions and feedback links between atmosphere, ocean, land, and vegetation.
Student Awards
- Julie Curti, a double-major undergraduate earning a certificate in environmental studies, has received a prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship to pursue graduate work related to public service. The scholarship provides a total of $30,000 plus significant networking and career support.
- Six land resources graduate students have been awarded Doris Duke Conservation Fellowships for 2006-07. Our next group of Duke Fellows will be Peter Boger, Leif Brottem, Ariana Hauck, Erin Heidtke LaFaive, Andrew Stuhl, and Katy Warner. Each will receive an assistantship for the academic year, a generous stipend for a summer internship at a nonprofit conservation organization or government agency, and funds to participate in an annual fall fellowship retreat.
- Another undergraduate in our Environmental Studies Certificate Program, Kaitlyn Flick, has been awarded a Holstrom Environmental Scholarship to conduct a sociological case study of Native Americans, corporations, and the environment in Crandon, Wisconsin. The scholarship provides $4,000 to Kaitlyn and $1,000 to her faculty adviser, Samar Alatout, to help defray the costs of her research.
- Finally, two of our land resources graduate students, Dawn Burgardt and Maggie Grabow, received Zieve Awards this semester. The awards, named for land resources alumna Charlotte Zieve, whose generous support makes them possible, cover their tuition for the spring term.
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