College of the Environment

E-Newsletter

February 26, 2010
Vol. 2, No. 3


Announcements

UW Conservation Colloquium - Join us for ‘Conservation in Practice’, a university-wide colloquium to be held in the HUB Ballroom on March 3, 2010, from 1:00 to 5:00pm with reception to follow. The intent is to acknowledge the conservation-related problems we face, but to move beyond them to highlight practical solutions that we have developed or are beginning to evaluate in our work across the globe. The colloquium will feature outstanding faculty, graduate students, and staff who are contributing to the conservation of healthy species and intact ecosystems through their research, scholarship, practice and teaching. Registration and the agenda can be found at the Conservation Colloquium website.

Dean’s Winter Lecture - The inaugural College of the Environment's Dean’s Winter Lecture, offered in partnership with the School of Forest Resources, and featuring Professor Dave Peterson, will take place on Thursday, March 11th at 7 p.m., in Kane Hall 120. Dr. Peterson, professor of forest ecology and Team Leader and Biological Scientist for the USDA Forest Service, will present his view from the tree line and explore how interdisciplinary science can help us prepare for climate change. The lecture is free and open to the public, but advance registration is requested.

Dean Search Update - The search committee for the Dean of the College of the Enviroment has narrowed down an impressive field of candidates and is working with the finalists to schedule campus visits during the month of April. In addition to the public seminars, members of the College community will have additional opportunities to interact with the candidates during their visits. The names, CVs and schedules of the candidates will be distributed as soon as they are confirmed and will also be posted at the Provost's Office website.

Initial 2010 Supplemental Operating and Capital Budgets - The House and Senate Ways and Means Committee leadership released preliminary budget bills on February 23, 2010. These initial proposals outline reductions to University of Washington funding on top of cuts sustained by the University last year. The Senate budget proposal recommended a six percent overall cut to the UW compared to a four percent cut recommended in the House proposal. Both proposals called for full funding of the State Need Grant (SNG) program and partial support of the State Work Study (SWS) program. The UW's Office of Planning and Budgeting has posted a brief on the initial budgets and will post additional budget summaries when the budgets are passed by the respective Ways and Means committees, when the budgets are passed by the House and Senate, and when there are Conference Committee budget proposals.

Kudos

Dennis Lettenmaier, Senior Fellow of the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) and professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. In electing Lettenmaier, the academy cited his "contributions to hydrologic modeling for stream-water quality and hydro-climate trends and models for improved water management." His research is in large-scale hydrology, hydrologic aspects of remote sensing, and interactions between hydrology and climate.

Congratulations to Tom Hinckley (Forest Resources) and Richard Fenske (Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences) on their leadership in developing a successful proposal to the Department of Global Health’s Request for Proposals for Inter-Departmental and Inter-School Initiatives and for Inter-Disciplinary Discovery, Learning and Service Centers. Their proposal on Climate Change and Global Health: Adaptive Solutions for Human Health and Environment received very positive reviews and was felt to be of great potential interest as part of the rapidly evolving global health programs at the University of Washington.

Funding


Federal funding opportunities

  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Education, in cooperation with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, is accepting proposals in response to the NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN): “Global Climate Change Education: Research Experiences, Modeling & Data”. The Global Climate Change Education (GCCE) project is designed to improve the quality of global climate change and Earth system science education at the elementary, secondary and undergraduate levels, and through lifelong learning. Each funded proposal is expected to take advantage of NASA’s unique contributions in climate science to enhance learners’ academic experiences and/or to improve educators’ abilities to engage and stimulate their students. A pre-proposal teleconference is scheduled for March 2, 2010. The due date for Notice of Intent to propose is March 18, 2010, and the due date for full proposals is April 28, 2010.
  • NSF has announced a new program soliticitation in the area of ocean acidification. In recognition of the need for basic research concerning the nature, extent and impact of ocean acidification on oceanic environments in the past, present and future, this announcement has the following broad goals:
    • To understand the chemistry and physical chemistry of ocean acidification and, in particular, its interplay with fundamental biochemical and physiological processes of organisms;
    • To understand how ocean acidification interacts with processes at the organismal level, and how such interactions impact the structure and function of ecosystems, e.g. through life histories, food webs, biogeochemical cycling, and other interactions;
    • To understand how the earth system history informs our understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on the present day and future ocean.
    New research frontiers require the development of interdisciplinary partnerships and capacity building within the scientific community. Accordingly, full research proposals, exploratory proposals, and community development efforts such as workshops and symposia all are encouraged. The due date for letters of intent (required) is March 29, 2010. The deadline for full proposals is April 26, 2010.


Private funding opportunities

  • The mission of The Bullitt Foundation is to safeguard the natural environment by promoting responsible human activities and sustainable communities in the Pacific Northwest. The Foundation invites inquiries from nonprofit organizations that serve Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, western Montana (including the Rocky Mountain range), and coastal Alaska from Cook Inlet to the Canadian border. Where once the Foundation endeavored to cover the full range of environmental issues in the Pacific Northwest, it now concentrates on urban issues, business and technology, ecosystem services and planning, and civic engagement. To begin the application process for a Bullitt Foundation grant, speak with a member of the College Advancement Team (see below). Once encouraged to apply, grant application deadlines are May 1 and November 1.

Please note that many corporations and foundations have requested that UW Advancement facilitate their relationship with University of Washington faculty, staff and students. As such, all solicitations, applications, or requests for private giving from foundations or corporations must be developed in partnership with UW Advancement. Please contact a member of the College Advancement Team before submitting a proposal to private organzations.


Colleagues in the News

(Feb 12 - Feb 25, 2010)

The informed gardener, plenty of poetry (Linda Chalker-Scott/SFR, Feb 22, 2010)

Noxious Weed Policy Differs In Washington And Oregon (Sara Reichard/SFR, Feb 22, 2010)

Asia-produced ozone making its way to U.S., study finds (Dan Jaffe/ATMS & CIG, Feb 21, 2010)

Is Life Bad News For Planets? The Medea Hypothesis (Peter Ward/ESS, Feb 21, 2010)

Sunny, balmy conditions set natural world's clock forward to spring (Cliff Mass/ATMS, Feb 19, 2010)

Scientists still sparring over future of Pacific Northwest snowpack (Cliff Mass (ATMS)/Eric Salathe (JISAO), Feb 17, 2010)

Geologists search massive Eastern Washington slide for clues (David Montgomery/ESS, Feb 14, 2010)

The Medea Hypothesis: A response to the Gaia hypothesis (Peter Ward/ESS, Feb 12, 2010)

Upcoming Events

Check out the College events calendar for a comprehensive list of upcoming seminars, conferences, lectures, and other public events.

You can also subscribe or unsubscribe to the weekly update of upcoming events.

If you have a suggestion for additional information that should be included in the College of the Environment bi-weekly announcements, please submit it to Becca Baughman.