The Nelson Institute Blog

Yesterday in the Dean’s Working Group we discussed the parallel processes of preparing the reaccreditation self-study and developing an new strategic plan for the university.

Theme teams for the self-study are currently meeting and they are charged with having their reports completed by April with a February Deans retreat scheduled to provide another round of input. With the completion of the theme documents, the process will bifurcate.

One line will be lead by Nancy Mathews and her team as they compile the self-study, complete the documents for the re-accreditation process, and prepare for a site visit. The other line will be the preparation of a new strategic plan based on the theme team reports of the self-study. The current schedule calls for retreats in May and June to work on the strategic plan and for the final document to be rolled out in the Sept 2008 time frame roughly contemporaneous with the re-accreditation site visit.

The conversation yesterday got me to thinking about our own planning efforts in the Nelson Institute. There are many things to consider but foremost would be the importance of being active participants in the campus process. I am interested in your thoughts regarding how we, as an Institute, might respond to the ongoing processes in the broader University… (you can comment below, he said with a smile (I know I could use an emoticon, but I can’t quite do that in this context))

Perry E. Cabot (Ph.D. in Land Resources and Agricultural Engineering, May 2006) will be leaving his postdoctoral research position at the University of Wisconsin to accept a job as Regional Extension Specialist in Water Resources Management at Colorado State University. Dr. Cabot will oversee water resources extension activities, act as liaison to the Arkansas River and Rio Grande Basin Roundtables, and conduct applied research on water quantity and quality issues pertaining to the southern Colorado region. This region stretches from the Continental Divide on the west to Kansas on the east, approximately 14.5 million acres, consisting of 10,000 farms and ranches, and the major cities of Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Alalmosa. Water in this semi-arid region is a critical resource, and agriculture and the associated rural communities are facing increasing competition for the water from the Front Range metropolitan areas north along I-25. Dr. Cabot will hold the rank of assistant professor at Colorado State University and headquartered in Pueblo, CO.

In his spare time, he expects to land a few trout and finally finish restoring that chair he bought last year at a yardsale.

Congratulations Perry!

A number of advances were made today at the meeting of the WICCI (Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts) Science Council. These include:

• Dick Lathrop and John Magnuson were elected co-chairs of the Science Council.
• A working group on Wisconsin Climate was formed. This group will begin with an assessment of the current and future state of Wisconsin’s climate and previous climate changes using exiting data sources and model projections. This group will build on ongoing work and will be guided in the future by questions that are formulated by other working groups and by the Advisory Committee.
• A decision was made to seed other working groups using specific questions that managers need to answer now, but whose impact will not be felt for a long time (e.g. “What kind of trees should foresters plant?”). DNR has compiled a list of such questions in the past and they will review that work and present a selection to the Science Council at the next meeting.

The Science Council is starting to have momentum and that is quite gratifying. We expect that the specific questions that are addressed by working groups will help us bring some structure to the wide range of applicable research that has already been done. Furthermore by starting with specific questions of interest to managers, we will establish an applications / outcomes oriented approach for WICCI early on. I expect that the focused questions will spawn a host of other questions that will provide further structure to the Science Council’s working group structure.

With the Science Council off to a good start, the Nelson Institute will turn its attention to the formation of the Advisory Committee and to the work of establishing an outreach infrastructure. Kudos to Pete Nowak, Steve Pomplun and Kevin Gibbons for their ongoing efforts.

One of our Nelson Institute alumni, Jaime Jelenchick (B.S. in Art and Certificate in Environmental Studies, May, 2004), has just produced a new film that addresses international water and gender equity issues, explored through the work of an Engineers Without Borders development project in Kenya. Produced in collaboration with the Montana State University chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB at MSU), “The Water Carriers” is a captivating 27-minute film about a university student’s journey to bring clean drinking water to more than 1,000 school children in Kenya, and her friendship with a woman she meets in the village.There are a number of ways to view this film. “The Water Carriers” is featured online in three parts, posted through the “TERRA: The Nature of Our World” video podcast. The film has logged nearly 50,000 views in just its first two weeks online. To watch “The Water Carriers” on the web, navigate to the following links:

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

In addition, an informal screening of this film will be held on Tuesday, December 11, at Noon in Room 140 Science Hall.

This film is also available on DVD (Partnership Productions, 2007). Please contact Engineers Without Borders for information about obtaining the DVD version. A copy will be available on a loan basis from the Nelson Institute following the film’s initial screening on December 11. Please drop by or contact the Academic Programs Office (APO) in 70 Science Hall if you would like to borrow the APO’s copy of this DVD.

I hope that everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving. My daughter and I visited her Mom’s side of the family on “the farm” in Plymouth, WI. The food was lovely and very local and the gathering was comfortable and free flowing.

On the drive up, we cut over through the Horicon Marsh on rte 49 and as we turned north on County Y (or YY?), we noticed lots of windmills going up. Maybe 1/2 dozen with rotors in place to the south and another dozen or so with just the bases in place to the north. I expect the folks in Byron are none too pleased - I would really like to understand their objections better.

On the Nelson Institute front, we have had a busy month. The Governance faculty met last week and discussed the re-animation of the Environmental Monitoring program. The gist of the discussion is that we should continue to develop a redesign that is much broader than its original remote sensing focus. There was also discussion regarding how best to organize our degree offerings around this topic in light of the recent renaming of Environment and Resources (hmm seems I didn’t blog that…) and the existence of our clear MS / professionally CBSD and WRM programs. One idea that has been floated is to create a profession EM masters and to funnel interested Ph.D. students into E&R.

Also at the Governance meeting we had the first reports of discussions to create a joint Nelson / MPH degree. Each of the graduate program committees will be discussing the possibilities for their own program. If all of the graduate programs and the Nelson Institute APC agree to move forward with this option then we will contact the Medical School APC and start the formal dual degree process.

The search for the next Director is ongoing. Fairly well established rumor has it that the committee is close to a short list that could be forwarded to the Chancellor’s office. More than that I will not say…

The WICCI (Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts) Science Council meets tomorrow and I hope to be able to report on decisions regarding the governance of the Science Council after that meeting. We have a small amount of seed money on the table to get some science going and are in the process of gathering more.

We submitted 3 excellent Baldwin pre-proposals this year: 1) Support for the launch of WICCI; 2) Support for the WRM practicum; and 3) Support for an “inreach” internship program organized by LTC and coordinated with the Business, Enviroment and Social Responsibility effort. While we were not invited to submit full proposals, we will continue to look for avenues to develop these ideas.

Effort reporting implementation is in full swing. Kim Moreland and Diane Barrett visited the Nelson Institute to provide a well-attended training session and answer questions. Hope Simon has been working with our staff scientists to address the details of our current implementation period. We have an estimates of our current costs and we will be developing policies to ensure that our budgeting continues to support the full range of their activities in the Nelson Institute.

Finally (although I am sure I am forgetting many things), the Nelson Institute Holiday gathering is coming up on 6 December. At that gathering we will acknowledge the passing of another year and the graduation of another lot of our talented students. I look forward to seeing you there.

Overview

The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program is designed to attract to the Federal service outstanding men and women from a variety of academic disciplines and career paths who have a clear interest in, and commitment to, excellence in the leadership and management of public policies and programs. The PMF Program, under the auspices of U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), is an integral component of succession planning strategies to meet the Federal Government’s urgent human capital needs.

Since 1977, the PMF Program has helped agencies meet their workforce and succession planning needs by attracting outstanding master’s, law, and doctoral-level students to the Federal service. Students can use this fellowship as a stepping stone to highly visible and respected leadership positions in the Federal Government. This rigorous two-year paid program includes 80-hours of formal classroom training each year, challenging assignments, potential for accelerated promotions, and opportunities to network between agencies. Fellows are hired by agencies and given exposure to domestic and international issues including, but not limited to, areas such as public administration, technology, science, criminal justice, health, and financial management.

(more…)

As many of you already know, Peter Bosscher passed away over the weekend. I met Peter only a few times but carry a strong image of enthusiasm and joyous strength. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

With thanks to Tracey Holloway, I pass along further information below:

First, a letter from Dean Paul Peercy:

Dear Colleagues,

I am saddened to report the passing of Professor Peter Bosscher. As you know, Peter was in a battle with cancer to which he succumbed over the weekend. Peter was an active faculty member in the college for about 25 years and touched students and staff in countless ways. While his professional expertise was in geotechnical engineering and civil engineering materials, his career was defined by a passionate interest in helping people. His extraordinary service was exemplified by organizing and traveling with a student team to Rwanda on a service project, or his term as the first director of the Wisconsin Highway Research Program to provide research opportunities for other faculty, or even service as simple as an afternoon given freely to a colleague to solve a complex technical instrumentation problem.

Services to honor Peter will be announced shortly. You may choose to honor him through the “Peter J. Bosscher Engineers Without Borders (EWB)” fund established at the University of Wisconsin Foundation. Contributions should be designated to the fund and sent to UW Foundation, 1848 University Ave., Madison, WI 53708-8860. The fund will assist disadvantaged communities to improve their quality of life through implementation of environmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects, while developing internationally responsible engineering students.

Paul Peercy

And now the funeral arrangements:

Peter Bosscher’s funeral service will be held Tuesday, November 27, 1
p.m., at Christ Presbyterian Church, 944 E. Gorham St., Madison.
Visitation with the family will be at Cress Funeral Home, 3610
Speedway Dr., Madison, 5-8 p.m. Monday, November 26, and at Christ
Presbyterian 11 a.m.-1 p.m Tuesday, Nov. 27, prior to the service.

Because parking at the church is limited, any efforts to car pool or
take alternative transportation would be appreciated to preserve
parking for out-of-town guests and those less mobile.

EPA’s National Network for Environmental Management Studies (NNEMS) Fellowship Program

Each year, the NNEMS program offers research projects developed and sponsored by EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and in EPA’s regional offices throughout the U.S. The program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Opportunities exist for all levels, from freshmen through Ph.D. students. Recipients of NNEMS fellowships receive a stipend based on the student’s level of education and the duration and location of the project.

The application deadline is Tuesday, January 22, 2008.

The purpose of the NNEMS program is to

• provide students with practical research opportunities and experiences in an EPA office or laboratory;
• increase public awareness of and involvement in environmental issues;
• encourage qualified individuals to pursue environmental careers; and
• help defray the costs associated with the pursuit of academic programs related to the field of environmental protection, such as pollution control, science, engineering, technology, social science, and specialty areas.

Although these awards are labeled as fellowships, the appointments might be more accurately described as research internships. In 2008 it is anticipated that approximately 20-30 research projects will be offered in the following categories:

• environmental policy, regulation, and law;
• environmental management and administration;
• environmental science;
• public relations and communications; and
• computer programming and development.

For more detailed information, including links to the program catalog, the list of research projects, FAQs, and the application form, see the website.

For Additional Information:

If you have project-specific questions, please check the website for contact information regarding those research projects.

For more general questions, send an email message to EPA-NNEMS advisor, Carolyn Pitera, or call the EPA-NNEMS toll-free phone number at 1-800-358-8769.

You may not be aware that the Nelson Institute provides campuswide membership to the the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE). The Council specializes in programs that foster collaboration between diverse institutions, communities and individuals. The Council works closely with those creating and using environmental knowledge, including research, education, environmental, and business organizations, as well as governmental bodies at all levels.

Among the benefits of this membership is campus access to leading information sources for comprehensive coverage of environment and energy policy issues. These publications can be accessed online through our university network (there is no need for a password):

Environment and Energy Daily (E & E Daily) provides timely and original coverage of environmental and energy issues in Congress, tracking action from federal agency appropriations to comprehensive energy legislation and public lands policy.

Greenwire is a leading source for comprehensive daily coverage of environmental and energy policy and politics in the administration, federal agencies, the states, the courts and Congress. Greenwire provides original reporting and also summarizes the most important environmental coverage from hundreds of print, broadcast and online sources.

Land Letter is a weekly report on natural resource policy issues. It takes an in-depth look at regulation, litigation and legislation surrounding a wide range of natural resource development and conservation issues.

E&E News PM provides readers with all the late-breaking news from Capitol Hill, including schedule changes, markup and floor vote results, new bills and amendments and insight into emerging political issues.

You also can sign up for daily e-mail alerts from Greenwire, Environment & Energy Daily or Land Letter.

Nelson Institute students conduct research and work in a variety of areas that related to interdisciplinary environmental studies. To see outstanding examples of some of projects that our students are working on we have created a student profiles website available at http://www.nelson.wisc.edu/people/students/.