College of the Environment

E-Newsletter

July 2, 2010
Vol. 2, No. 12

 

 

A message from our new dean

Graumlich_Photo

Dear friends and colleagues,

 

Today I celebrate my exciting first week as Dean of the College of the Environment. I am thrilled to be here with you, and everything I have learned in this first week reinforces my deep conviction that the University of Washington is uniquely positioned to play a strong leadership role in addressing the many environmental challenges currently confronting our society.

Throughout this summer, I will deepen my knowledge of the many ways that our College contributes to our core understanding of Earth systems, ecosystem dynamics, and sustainability of natural resources. I will be looking at the myriad ways we support the mission of the UW through teaching as well as the ways we engage with local communities, regional stakeholders, and global issues. Finally, I plan to steep myself in financial reports, knowing that our ability to deliver on our mission will be based on wise stewardship of fiscal resources.

In the fall I will seek your feedback on plans for the Institute, with an eye to how we leverage key intersections of our expertise to address the most pressing environmental challenges.

I look forward to meeting with many of you to learn more about the strengths of our programs and your ideas about how best to leverage our strengths together as a new College, as well as the challenges that we face.

Sincerely,

Lisa J. Graumlich


Announcements

College Career Services - The College of the Environment does not have the resources at this time to provide a full-service career services office. We know that providing career services for our students can be an important tool in connecting our students to potential employers and we hope to be able to provide these services in the future. In the meantime, we are doing what we can to mitigate this situation. A open listserv has been created for career opportunities (including job postings, internships, and volunteer positions). Employers can post opportunities directly to the moderated listserv by sending an email to coenv_careers@u.washington.edu .

Career Services, part II - As the Water Center closes is doors, the state chapter of the American Water Resources Association (WA-AWRA) will continue the service of sending out water-related job announcements. Please send job announcements (starting immediately) to:  waawrajobs@gmail.com. If you are currently signed up to receive the job announcements from the Water Center, no further action is needed by you. You will continue to receive them. If you haven't been receiving the job announcements, it's simple to sign up on their listserv .

Kudos

International Leadership - On June 23, 2010, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) announced the final list of selected Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors and Review Editors. This unique team of 831 climate change experts from around the world will dedicate almost four years to the three Working Group Reports of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report to be published between 2013 and 2014. Representatives selected from the UW include:

Working Group I - Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis
Chapter 2: Observations: Atmosphere and Surface
Coordinating Lead Author (1 of 3) - Dennis Hartmann, Atmospheric Sciences

Chapter 3: Observations: Oceans
Lead Author - Dick Feely, NOAA/UW Affiliate (Oceanography)
Lead Author - Greg Johnson, NOAA/UW Affiliate (Oceanography)

Chapter 6: Carbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles
Coordinating Lead author (1 of 2) - Chris Sabine, NOAA/UW Affiliate (Oceanography)

Chapter 7: Clouds and Aerosols
Lead Author - Chris Bretherton, Atmospheric Sciences

Chapter 10: Detection and Attribution of Climate Change: from Global to Regional
Lead Author - James Overland, NOAA/UW Affiliate (Atmospheric Sciences)

Working Group II - Climate Change 2013: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability
Ch. 28 - Polar Regions
Lead Author - Anne Hallowed, NOAA/UW Affiliate (Aquatic and Fishery Sciences)

Recent Gifts

A gift from the Miller Charitable Foundation to Rare Care will support our ex situ seed conservation program. Seed banking is an important conservation tool to safeguard against the loss of rare native plants by preserving the genetic resources unique to individual populations. The continuing support for this program by the Miller Charitable Foundation allows Rare Care to expand the number of populations conserved in the seed bank as well as to document the longevity of seeds and determine methods to propagate the species for reintroductions.

Funding

Professional development opportunities

The Fulbright Senior Specialists Program is designed to provide U.S. and Canadian faculty and professionals with opportunities to collaborate on curriculum and faculty development, institutional planning and a variety of other activities. Short-term grants of two to six weeks are available to allow Fulbright Senior Specialists to engage in any of the following activities at their Canadian host institution: 1. Conduct needs assessments, surveys, institutional or programmatic research; 2. Take part in specialized academic programs and conferences; 3. Consult with administrators and instructors of post-secondary institutions on faculty development; 4. Present lectures at graduate and undergraduate levels; 5. Participate in or lead seminars or workshops at overseas academic institutions; 6. Develop and/or assess academic curricula or educational materials; and 7. Conduct teacher-training programs at the tertiary level. Awards are offered on a continuous basis.

Federal funding opportunities

The National Science Foundation Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program stimulates the transformation of knowledge created by the research and education enterprise into innovations that create new wealth; build strong local, regional, and national economies; and improve the national well-being.  The ideal project would consist of exploration, re-definition, and creation of a novel platform. Some examples of platforms include the following: software algorithms that can be customized in different applications to provide multiple functionalities; environmental remediation technologies; re-manufacturing technologies--a more sustainable approach than conventional manufacturing involving a process of returning used products to at least original performance--that can be applied to diverse industries; energy conservation or storage technologies; and innovation through design or education in innovation with widespread impact. Partnerships that support areas pertaining to energy, sustainability, or education of next generation entrepreneurs are particularly desirable. Awards may be up to $600,000 with an award duration of two or three years. Letters of Intent are due October 1, 2010. Full proposals are due December 4, 2010.

Colleagues in the News

(June 18 - July 1, 2010)

Oxygen levels at record lows along Hood Canal (Jan Newton/Oceanography, Jun 30, 2010)

Texts on the beach: What scientists recommend for summer reading (David R. Montgomery/Earth and Space Sciences, Jun 29, 2010)

Brain Waves: Idea Man (David Montgomery/Earth and Space Sciences, Jun 25, 2010)

Antarctic Shoal Breaks the Ice (Seelye Martin/Oceanography, Jun 25, 2010)

UW's new Environment College: just for the believers? (Lisa Graumlich/College of the Environment, Jun 24, 2010)

Notes From the Whaling and Warming Wars (Eric Steig/Earth and Space Sciences, Jun 24, 2010)

Cool start to summer a mixed blessing for berries (Nicholas Bond/JISAO, Jun 21, 2010)

Ways that urbanites can turn their waste into compost (Sally Brown/School of Forest Resources, Jun 22, 2010)

It's not just Oregon: Summer is late across Northwest (Nicholas Bond/JISAO, Jun 21, 2010)

Summer starts cool and cloudy in Washington (Nicholas Bond/JISAO, Jun 21, 2010)

Welcome to... summer? (Mark Albright/Atmospheric Sciences, Jun 21, 2010)

Sunday was darkest June day in Seattle in 15 years (Cliff Mass/Atmospheric Sciences, Jun 21, 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.