Two UW Environment researchers elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2021

Two scientists at the College of the Environment are among the 38 new members elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2021, according to a July 15 announcement. New members were chosen for “their outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the Academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.”

Shuyi Chen to serve as College of the Environment’s Associate Dean for Research

Shuyi Chen has agreed to serve as the UW College of the Environment’s associate dean for research, effective September 16, 2021. In this role she will foster multidisciplinary collaborations, promote and support the range of basic and applied research programs across the College and University, and help PIs identify opportunities to partner and collaborate with universities and research organizations both in the U.S.

Cracking the code

These days, very little science occurs without someone typing at least a few lines of code into a computer. Researchers employ a variety of programming languages — such as R, Python and Bash — and software to organize their data, perform analyses, build models, and visualize results. College of the Environment scientists are no different, and that has implications for science, communication and how students will gain new computational skills in the future.

Ice core data show why, despite lower sulfur emissions in U.S. and Western Europe, air pollution is dropping more slowly

The researchers in the drilling operation (left) and the drilled samples (right)

The air in the United States and Western Europe is much cleaner than even a decade ago. Low-sulfur oil standards and regulations on power plants have successfully cut sulfate concentrations in the air, reducing the fine particulate matter that harms human health and cleaning up the environmental hazard of acid rain. Despite these successes, sulfate levels in the atmosphere have declined more slowly than sulfur dioxide emissions, especially in wintertime.

David Battisti named to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

David Battisti, professor of atmospheric sciences, was recognized amongst leaders in academia, business, philanthropy, the humanities and the arts elected as a 2021 fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. “We are honoring the excellence of these individuals, celebrating what they have achieved so far, and imagining what they will continue to accomplish,” said David Oxtoby, president of the academy.