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Dean's Letter
Three innovation imperatives
We recognize that the environmental challenges
we face in the 21st century can appear daunting: the problems are
complex, the stakes are high, and time is short. From my vantage point as Dean,
the good news is that our faculty, staff, and students tackle grand challenges
with an innovation mindset: a set of
values and practices that link knowledge and action. Larry Keeley, author of Ten Types of Innovation, captures it best: “Innovating requires
identifying the problems that matter and moving through them systematically to
deliver elegant solutions.” Pause—read that sentence again because it’s rich
with meaning. Here is how I parse Keeley’s directive into three innovation
imperatives for the College of the Environment.
News
 New Director of UW's Olympic Natural Resources Center
The School of Environmental and Forest Sciences in College
of the Environment welcomes Bernard Bormann as the new director of the Olympic
Natural Resources Center located in Forks, WA. A professor of forest ecology
and physiology, Bormann will lead the center whose focus is to provide
scientific information to address critical issues and solve problems concerning
forestry and marine sciences in the region, serve as a catalyst for interdisciplinary
and collaborative work, and integrate research with education and outreach.
 A year later, UW geologist reflects on Oso and the need for better application of landslide science
Earth and Space Sciences’ David Montgomery is one of
many University of Washington researchers who have been working to develop and
analyze important data in the aftermath of last year’s landslide in Oso. March
22, 2015 marked one year since the largest recorded landslide in U.S. history
decimated a western Washington community and killed 43 people. In the wake of
that disaster, Montgomery has some thoughts about how to make landslides less
deadly.
 Exploring Earth's final frontier
Covering more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface,
the oceans act as our planet’s heartbeat, with differences in depths, currents,
temperature, and salinity marking changes in its pulse. These measurements are
fairly straightforward, but the information they relay about Earth’s health is
much more complex. While scientists know more about the role the oceans’ surface
waters, figuring out the influence of the deep ocean is also critical. That’s
where the scientists and engineers of the UW’s Seaglider Fabrication Center
come in.
 Beyond ecology: invasive species affect our culture and economy too
Patrick Tobin, assistant professor at the School of
Environmental and Forest Sciences, breaks down the real threats associated with
nonnative insects—from ecological to economic and cultural. In addition to
outcompeting native insects and destroying ecosystems, these tiny invaders are
taking on larger, seemingly unrelated aspects of consumers’ lives, including
America’s Favorite Pastime.
Volunteer scientists contribute up to $2.5 billion in yearly efforts for biodiversity research
Volunteers are playing a big role in science these
days. To quantify exactly how much they may contribute to biodiversity
research, College of the Environment’s associate dean Julia Parrish and others analyzed
more than 300 projects, creating the largest citizen science database that
exists. In analyzing these projects they were able to calculate that volunteers
account for an estimated $2.5 billion in services related to gathering data for
biodiversity research.
Results of the College of the Environment's science communication survey
In January 2015, the College’s Marketing and
Communications team sent out surveys to more than 1,000 faculty, research
staff, and graduate students to better understand their interest in and perceptions
of science communication, outreach, and engagement. We appreciate the input we received from more than 300 survey participants! Here’s what we learned:
Awards & Acknowledgements
Congratulations to the School of Environmental and
Forest Sciences’ Jerry F. Franklin! As part of the 2015 University of
Washington Awards of Excellence, he was chosen to receive the Distinguished Teaching Award.
Congratulations to all of the College of the Environment Award winners for the 2014-2015 academic year!
- Distinguished
Staff Member – Doug Russell, Oceanography
- Outstanding
Teaching Faculty – Juliet Crider, Earth & Space Sciences
- Outstanding
Researcher – Tim Essington, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences
- Outstanding
Community Impact (Student) – Miku Lenentine, Environmental and Forest
Sciences
- Outstanding
Community Impact (Staff) – Teri King, Washington Sea Grant
- Graduate
Dean’s Medalist – Samantha Zwicker, Environmental and Forest Sciences
- Undergraduate
Dean’s Medalist – Sophia Winkler, Environmental and Forest Sciences
- Exceptional
Mentoring of Undergraduate Students (Faculty) – Fang-Zhen Teng, Earth and
Space Sciences
- Exceptional
Mentoring of Undergraduate Students (Student) – Jaclyn Saunders,
Oceanography
Kudos to students in the Environmental Studies Grant
Writing Practicum class who were invited to submit full proposals to the UW
Campus Sustainability Fund for their ideas to create a permaculture plot on
campus, petition for the ban of plastic bottle water sales, and install transit
screens and signage to provide real-time information about greener
transportation options. The winning projects will be announced in
mid-May.
Spotlight
 Meet David Battisti, professor of atmospheric sciences
Spotlight is an ongoing series that will introduce you to the many members that make up the College community.
David Battisti isn’t trying to save the world.
He’s trying to understand it, he says. A professor of atmospheric
sciences at the College of the Environment,
he works to increase our collective knowledge on the global climate system and
its natural variation. He’s interested in how the oceans, sea ice, atmosphere,
and land interact and lead to variability in the climate—what we experience as
weather.
For & About Students
Deadline tomorrow! Apply for College of the Environment scholarships by April 17
Student scholarships offered through the
College for the 2015-2016 academic school year are open through April 17. Award
amounts for all scholarships will vary depending on financial need and will be
distributed over the course of the autumn, winter, and spring quarters. Reach
out to us at coenvaad@uw.edu if you have any questions.
Philanthropy: Making a Difference
The College of the Environment is known for its
outstanding work in the environmental and social sciences. Our alumni and
friends make much of this possible through generous gifts and grants. We’d like
to recognize all who have invested across the College, including through recent grants from Climate Central and the Packard
Foundation, and individual donors who have supported the purchase of a new CT
scanner at Friday Harbor Laboratories and the establishment a new endowed
student support fund in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.
There are many opportunities to
help support the College of the Environment, either through the fund of your
choice or through one of our highlighted funds below:
- School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Graduate Student Fellowship Fund
- The Friends of Pack Forest
- Friends of JISAO Fund
Private Funding Opportunities
Seeking private funding for your project or program at the
College of the Environment? Below are recent corporate and foundation
opportunities that may be of interest to you:
- Mountaineers Foundation
- Fulbright US Student Program
- Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
- National Geographic
- Sloan Foundation
Save the Date
 College of the Environment Spring Celebration
Join us for ice cream as we celebrate the end of the academic year at the College of the Environment’s Spring Celebration on Tuesday, May 12 from 3:30-5 p.m. The event, held in the first floor lobby of the Fishery Sciences Building, will honor the College’s faculty, student, and staff award winners for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Turning Your Research Into News: A Science Communication Workshop
Today’s
media landscape gives scientists unprecedented opportunities to advance and
share their research. We invite College faculty, research staff, and postdocs to
join a workshop on “turning your research into news”, hosted by the College of
the Environment, on Friday, May 15 from
1-5 p.m.
Led by Seven November’s Susan Pierson-Brown
and the Oregonian’s Jeff Manning, this session will cover best practices for
media relations, the art of messaging and “the perfect pitch”, and how to
interview for success. Sign up for this free workshop by May 8!
 Friday Harbor Labs Open House
Every
year, the Friday Harbor Labs open their doors for an open house, inviting the
public to come meet scientists and students at the labs and check out the
research and teaching facilities. Join them Saturday, May
16, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.
where researchers will showcase their marine science projects, answer questions,
and provide demonstrations. There will be marine plants and animals, electron
and confocal microscopes, plankton sampling and observations, and activities
for visitors of all ages, as well as three scientific lectures at 1:00, 2:00,
and 3:00 p.m. Kids are particularly encouraged to attend.
 Amplify: Open Access, Open Science: How Transparent Do We Go
“Open science”—where research results, and even
data, methods, and grant proposals are made freely available—is an approach
that’s gaining momentum. Are there drawbacks to freely sharing your research
products? And if there are, why do some researchers do it anyway? Join us at
this quarter’s Amplify discussion on Tuesday, May 19 from 5-6:30
p.m. in the Vista Café to explore the ways open access
and open science are being implemented across disciplines, campuses, and
institutions.
You can always stay up to date with the latest events happening at the College of the Environment by checking out our Events Calendar.
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