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The Director's Report, February 2008

School of Natural Resources
From Earth to Sky and Everything in Between

Introduction
by Donald A. Wilhite

It seems that each month when I prepare this Director’s report that I am either somewhere else or in route to somewhere else. This time, it’s Sunday and I am sitting in a hotel room in Chicago waiting for my flight to Paris. I was supposed to leave on Saturday night but a mechanical problem changed plans for a lot of people. Hopefully, I will be leaving today. In reality, I would like to stay a few more hours so I could watch The Super Bowl.

This week I am lecturing at a short course on Design and Implementation of Drought Management Plans, in Zaragoza, Spain. This is a course that I helped plan in February 2007 during a visit to Madrid. This will be the fourth in a series of short courses on this topic that we have been having throughout the Mediterranean region with sponsorship from the Institute of Agronomy for the Mediterranean (IAMZ). They have facilities in Spain, France, Italy, and Greece. IAMZ offers a wide variety of seminars each year on many topics of relevance to Mediterranean agriculture. Tala Awada and perhaps others have also been involved as instructors in their short courses. If you are interested in getting involved, let me know. Check out their website at http://www.iamz.ciheam.org.

Climate Change Conference

In January, I attended a national conference on climate change sponsored by the National Council for Science and the Environment. Aris Holz, Anatoly Gitelson, and Kyle Hoagland also attended, with support from Gary Cunningham, Dean of the Agricultural Research Division, and Prem Paul, Vice-Chancellor for Research and Economic Development. It was an excellent meeting with stimulating plenary sessions. Outstanding speakers represented the scientific and policy communities and the private sector. It is interesting that the new CEO of NWF considers climate change to be the most serious global threat to wildlife.

Bringing the Issue Home
One of the workshops that I attended was focused on campus solutions to the problem, i.e., how universities and colleges across the country are working to reduce their carbon footprint. To learn more, please refer to a report prepared by the National Wildlife Federation, Higher Education in a Warming World: The Business Case for Climate Leadership on Campus, on-line at http://www.nwf.org/campusEcology/BusinessCase/index.cfm. I have downloaded and transmitted copies of this report to IANR administration seeking their assistance in adopting a strategy to get the UNL and NU administration engaged in this important issue. At the SNR staff meeting in January, I challenged staff to suggest ways that we can reduce the carbon footprint of Hardin Hall. We are in the process of launching our own recycling program, but there is so much more that we can do as faculty, staff, and students. I am seeking your suggestions. I am going to initiate a process by which you can submit these suggestions for consideration by SNR’s administrative team. Put on your thinking caps.

SNR’s Five-Year Review Dates Finalized

While I was in Washington, D.C., for the Climate Change Conference, I met with Louie Tupas, National Program Leader for Climate Change, at CSREES/USDA. The dates for SNR’s five-year review are September 22-25, 2009. We are now in the process of identifying review team members. Louie will be the team leader. In addition to the external members of the review team, there will also be campus representatives, including one graduate and one undergraduate student from SNR. We will be working hard over the next year to complete a strategic planning process that will result in our report to the review team. I look forward to your input to this process.

Visitors to SNR

Dr. Rosina Bierbaum
I have been preparing for quite a few visitors who will be coming to SNR and IANR in February or during the spring months. First up, Dr. Rosina Bierbaum, Dean, School of Natural Resources and Environment, at the University of Michigan. Rosina will be presenting a seminar on the Ecological Implications of Climate Change as part of my Director’s seminar series on February 13, 2008, in the Hardin Hall auditorium. Her lecture is at 3:30 p.m. While on campus, Rosina will also be discussing the challenges and opportunities for interdisciplinary research and education in natural resources and the environment. SNR has a lot of commonalities with the School that Rosina leads at the University of Michigan. We can learn a lot by comparing notes.

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture
On February 14-15, we and IANR will be co-hosting representatives from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) in Costa Rica. Dr. Jim French and his colleagues will be giving a seminar on February 14 at 9 a.m. in the Hardin Hall auditorium on IICA’s program of activities throughout the Latin American region. Please attend this important seminar. One of IICA’s goals for this visit is to establish a partnership with SNR to develop a natural resources program within IICA to serve the Latin American region. There will be further discussions on this topic with interested SNR faculty at 10:30 on February 14 following the seminar.

Corporacion Para Investigaciones Biologicas (CIB)
In a previous newsletter, I discussed the developing collaborative program with the Corporacion Para Investigaciones Biologicas (CIB) in Medellin, Colombia. If you recall, Larkin Powell, Blair Siegfried from Entomology, and Z.B. Mayo from the Agricultural Research Division travelled to Colombia in November to learn more about CIB’s program and to develop possible linkages with IANR departments. IANR will be hosting a delegation from CIB April 7-9. We are now working on the itinerary for this visit. Details to follow, but the delegation will be spending time at SNR to discuss future collaborations in areas of mutual interest.

NCAR Field Trip

We are in the final stages of planning the field trip to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, March 16-18. We expect to have about 50 graduate students and faculty from SNR and the Department of Geosciences on a bus headed to NCAR on March 16. You should have received a second announcement of this field trip this week. There are a few seats remaining. If you are interested, let Sharon Kelly know ASAP. I am currently working on finalizing the program for the trip with Terri Eastburn at NCAR. I hope this spring field trip will become an annual event for SNR. What will our destination be in 2009? Transportation costs will be covered by SNR and Geosciences. Students will be responsible for meals and lodging. Jacki Loomis is currently finalizing lodging details, and rates will be available soon for rooms at single and double occupancy.

Spring is Coming

In preparation for spring and warmer weather (it can’t come too soon for me), I have met with Emily Casper of Landscape Services to begin the process of purchasing and installing picnic tables and benches at Hardin Hall. My goal is to have these installed by April. Emily is currently preparing a proposal with possible locations for these additions to Hardin Hall’s landscape. The purchase and installation of these tables and benches will likely occur over the next several years because of the expense. However, we will make a start this spring.

SNR Students Honored at February Forum

Congratulations to the 16 School of Natural Resources students who will be honored at the February Forum, an annual recognition of women studying science-related fields, sponsored by UNL’s Center for Science, Mathematics, and Computer Education. Sarah Zulkoski-Benson, Science Outreach Coordinator for the Nebraska Research Initiative Center for Biotechnology, will be the keynote speaker at the February 12 dinner at the Cornhusker Hotel.

The students, their majors, and their hometowns are:

Kelly Lynn Kappen, Fish & Wildlife, Sioux Falls, SD
Jessica Lynn Milby, Rangeland Ecosystems, Fullerton, NE
Rebecca Lynn Sikes, Fish & Wildlife, Reno, NV
Jessie Rose Winter, Water Sciences, Hastings, NE
Kaho Hayashi, Environmental Studies, Lincoln, NE
Ayako Ebata, Natural Resources and Environmental Economics, Lincoln, NE
Jennifer Lynn Korgie, Environmental Studies, Lincoln, NE
Lauren Elizabeth Thacker-Lynn, Fish & Wildlife, Lincoln, NE
Laura Jane Tiehen, Environmental Studies, Omaha, NE
Evy Zoe Santiago, Fish & Wildlife, Lincoln, NE
Jessica Elizabeth Shortino, Environmental Studies, Omaha, NE
Megan Marie Jackson, Environmental Studies, Lincoln, NE
Rebecca Lynn Gonzales, Fish & Wildlife, LaVista, NE
Danielle Kay McNeil, Environmental Studies, Lincoln, NE
Melissa Alynn DeJonge, Environmental Studies, Franklin, NE
Samantha Jo Speights Bray, Environmental Studies, Waterloo, NE

In This Issue

Introduction

Climate Change Conference

SNR's Five-Year Review Dates Finalized

Visitors to SNR

NCAR Field Trip

Spring is Coming

SNR Students Honored at February Forum

Upcoming Events

See SNR February 2008 calendar.

Director's Upcoming Travel

March 16-18
SNR field trip to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

April 10-14
Workshop on US/China Digital Government Collaboration: Building a Collaboratory in Hydroinformatics and Water Policy, Nanjing, China