National Research Program Program News

NRP Scientist recepient of the 2008 IAGC Hitchon Award: The International Association of GeoChemistry (IAGC) Hitchon Award is awarded annually to the most distinguished paper published in the IAGC journal, Applied Geochemistry during the last three years as determined by the journal Executive Editor and IAGC Publications Committee. The paper, “Factors Controlling Tungsten Concentrations in Ground Water, Carson Desert, Nevada” (Applied Geochemistry 2005, v. 20, no. 2, p. 423-441, by NRP scientist, Ken Stollenwerk, and his USGS colleagues Ralph Seiler and John Garbarino received the IAGC Hitchon Award for 2008.

NRP scientist named Geological Society of America Fellow: William C. Evans was named a 2008 GSA Fellow. Other USGS Fellows named were, Lisa A. Morgan (GD, Denver, CO), Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki (GD, Menlo Park, CA), William E. Scott (GD, Vancouver, WA), and Thomas Sisson (GD, Menlo Park, CA).

NRP scientists win 3rd place in the international Reynolds Cup competition: This contest, held once every two years, is a test of accuracy in quantitative mineral analysis. Each participant received three samples composed of complex mineral mixtures that could be analyzed by any method. Dennis Eberl and Alex Blum used x-ray diffraction techniques, combined with x-ray data analysis using the RockJock computer program.

New species of bacterium named after NRP scientist: Alkaliphilus oremlandii, an anaerobic bacteria that is able to use arsenate and thiosulfate as terminal electron acceptors, was named after NRP scientist Ron Oremland. See articles in Environmental Biology and in the Annals of the NY Academy of Science, v. 1125, p. 230-241.

NRP scientists honored by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA): Allen Moench (USGS Scientist Emeritus) received the NGWA's Life Member award for 2007. Tom Winter (USGS Scientist Emeritus) received the NGWA's Life Member award for 2006. Life Member Awards are presented to retired members, or members of retirement age, who have contributed a special service in the furtherance of the ground water industry or to NGWA.

NRP scientist cited for "Excellence in Refereeing" by the American Geophysical Union (AGU): NRP scientist Kim Wickland was among the recipients of the AGU's 2007 Editors' Citation for Excellence in Refereeing. She was recognized for her service to Water Resources Research. Other USGS scientists recognized were Frederick Day-Lewis (Storrs), John Langbein (Menlo Park), Michael Poland (Hawaiian Volcano Observatory), and Laszlo Keszthelyi (Flagstaff).

NRP scientist named 2007 Geochemistry Fellow: Art White has been elected a Geochemistry Fellow by the Geochemical Society and the European Association for geochemistry. The two societies bestow this title on outstanding scientists who have made a major contribution to the field of geochemistry. The number of Fellows elected each year is limited to less than 1% of the membership of the combined societies and is typically significantly fewer.

NRP scientist receives 2007 Wetzel Award: The American Institute of Hydrology (AIH) R.G. Wetzel Award Committee awarded the 2007 Wetzel Award to Robert H. Meade (USGS Scientist Emeritus) for his contributions to the science of sediment transport in large rivers, and for his lengthy career of dedicated professional service.

NRP scientist receives 2007 Pritchard Award from Estuarine Research Federation: Lisa Lucas is the recipient of the Estuarine Research Federation's (ERF) Donald W. Pritchard Award for 2007. This Award is for the best paper in the physical sciences published in Estuaries and Coasts during the two calendar years (2005 and 2006) preceding ERF's biennial conference. The Award committee cited Lisa's excellent research, effective communication of the results, and the paper's significance to our understanding of physical processes in estuaries. The award-winning paper is: Lucas, L. V., Sereno, D.M., Burau, J.R., Schraga, T.S., Lopez, C.B., Stacey, M.T., Parchevsky, K.V., and Parchevsky, V.P., 2006, Intra-daily variability of water quality in a shallow tidal lagoon: Mechanisms and implications: Estuaries and Coasts, v. 29, p. 711-730.

NRP scientist receives 2007 Hans Albert Einstein Award: The Hans Albert Einstein Award was presented to NRP scientist Jim Dungan Smith at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Annual Business Meeting in Orlando, Florida, on November 3. The award recognized his outstanding achievement in the rigorous application of the principles of fluid mechanics to sediment transport problems on the continental shelf and in the near-shore zone, estuaries, and rivers.

NRP scientists honored by the California Department of Water Resources' (DWR): Mike Dettinger and Dan Cayan were among the recipients of the California Department of Water Resources' (DWR) first-ever "Climate Science Service Awards". They were among five scientists recognized by DWR Director Lester Snow on October 3 2007 for their ongoing assistance on planning for climate variability and change. The other awardees were Gregg Garfin and Connie Woodhouse of the University of Arizona and Brad Udall of the University of Colorado.

NRP scientist receives Department of the Interior's Distinguished Service Award (DSA): Ralph Cheng (USGS Scientist Emeritus) was recognized with a DSA for his exceptional achievements in the realm of surface-water hydrology, including measurement, modeling, and technology transfer on May 9 2007, at the 64th Department of the Interior Honor Awards Convocation in Washington, D.C. The DSA was established in 1948 and is the highest Departmental award that can be granted to a career employee.

NRP scientists recognized as having one of the most cited papers in the journal Geomorphology: An article co-authored by NRP scientists Cliff Hupp and Waite Osterkamp was recently recognized as one of the five most highly cited papers in the 25-year history of the peer-reviewed journal Geomorphology(at #3) for their paper "Hupp, C.R., and Osterkamp, W.R.", 1996, Riparian vegetation and fluvial geomorphic processes: Geomorphology, v. 14, no. 4, p. 277-295." Also cited are National Biological Service (now part of USGS) scientists Michael Scott, Jonathan Friedman, and Gregor Auble for their paper (at #4) "Scott, M.L., Friedman, J.M., Auble, G.T., 1996, Fluvial process and the establishment of bottomland trees: Geomorphology, v. 14, no. 4, p. 341-351."

NRP scientist cited for "Excellence in Refereeing" by the American Geophysical Union (AGU): NRP scientist Hedeff Essaid was among the recipients of the AGU's 2006 Editors' Citation for Excellence in Refereeing. She was recognized for her service to Water Resources Research. Other USGS scientists recognized were Gerald Bawden (California Water Science Center), Jim O'Connor (Oregon Water Science Center), and Renee Takesue (USGS Pacific Science Center; Renee was formerly a postdoc in NRP).

NRP scientists receive "Best Paper" award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): NRP scientists Mike Dettinger and Dan Cayan are among the coauthors of a Geophysical Research Letters paper that recently received the "NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Outstanding Scientific Paper Award." The paper was judged by an OAR-wide team of reviewers on its "originality, importance, usefulness and quality of writing." The awards are for research sponsored by OAR and led or contributed to by OAR Federal employees or Cooperative Institute scientists. The award-winning paper is: Ralph, F.M., Neiman, P.J., Wick, G., Gutman, S., Dettinger, M., Cayan, D., and White, A.B., 2006, Flooding on California's Russian River -- Role of atmospheric rivers: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 33, L13801, doi:10.1029/2006GL026689. See NOAA Research 2007 Outstanding Scientific Paper Awards.

NRP scientist paper one of the most downloaded in Bioremediation Journal in 2006: The paper by NRP scientist Liz Jones, “Characterization of Microbial Consortium Capable of Rapid and Simultaneous Dechlorination of 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloraethane and Chlorinated Ethane and Ethene Intermediates”, was the 7th most-downloaded paper published in Bioremediation Journal in 2006.