Nevada's First Lady
Sandy Miller has a deep commitment to education. She also has an abiding
interest in science. Last October, she had a great idea. She asked DRI scientist
Dr. Bob Wharton if he would answer questions from Nevada students about his
research. He said yes. Then she asked KOLO-TV if they would broadcast the questions
and answers. They said yes.
Pretty cool, huh? But what makes it cooler is that Wharton's
research is on polar deserts-and he would be answering those questions. .
. LIVE FROM ANTARCTICA!!!
From November 6 through November 17, KOLO-TV meteorologist Jeff Hardin began each evening's weather report with a segment featuring Wharton answering questions live via satellite. The questions came from Washoe County elementary, middle and high school students.
Wharton takes a team of scientists to the south pole every year as part of a long-term ecological research project sponsored by the National Science Foundation. One team member, Robert Collier, is a physics professor with the Western Nevada Community College and former DRI summer teacher fellow.
Collier and his students had built an instrument to measure ultraviolet light, and he was at the south pole using the instrument to investigate the effects of the ozone hole on the frozen desert's fragile environment. When Wharton's research was finished, and he was making the long journey back to Reno, Collier took his place answering questions.
Hardin-What is the research you're doing down there and how is it going
so far?
Wharton-We're studying the Antarctic, the coldest and driest desert on the Earth, and in spite of that, there are many organisms down here. We're studying the ecosystems in what is known as the dry valley region of Antarctica, so it's relatively ice-free, much like Nevada, only it is colder and there is no sagebrush. We're studying the glaciers, the soils, the lakes, the streams, and the life we find here. We're making some very interesting observations and getting some exciting results from our studies.
Nick
Leonard, Reed High School-What are some of the advances you have made
toward the discovery of life on Mars in the years that you have been diving
in the Antarctic lakes? Of these, which do you feel is most interesting?
Wharton-The connection is that it's believed early in Mars' history, there was water. We know that Mars cooled down, and so there would be a time before all the water was frozen or gone that there would be ice-covered lakes on the planet, much as we find down here in the Antarctic. And so, we scuba dive into the frozen lakes in Antarctica as part of our research.
Hardin-Was it a surprise to find life in such abundance down there?
Wharton-Yes, as a matter of fact, the first year we
were exploring these lakes using scuba diving, we had our colleagues in McMurdo
Station telling us, number one, we were out of our minds, and number two,
we were never going to find anything.
Arjun Dingra, McQueen High School-Has human presence
affected the organisms you're studying and how? 
Collier-This is an extremely critical issue and we have to be very careful
what we do on the lake. We strive for minimal impact on the lake's environment
and a minimal impact on the organisms.
Dana Hansen,
Billinghurst Middle School-With the simple food webs in Antarctica, what
would happen if one part of the food web was reduced or died off?
Collier-We think the food webs in the lakes in Antarctica
are simpler than say, the tropical rain forest. Here, phytoplankton and bacteria
are the two major life forms in the lake. If one component is reduced, it
would affect all the other life forms in the lake.
Malissa
Shanfal, Spanish Springs School-Can you put your food outside, or do you
need a freezer?
Wharton- We can store food outside if we cover things
properly. It's below freezing all the time- even when the sun shines.
DRI
researchers Doug Lowenthal, Judith Chow, John Watson, and Bill Dipple were
also in Antarctica last fall. They were working on a separate project sponsored
by the National Science Foundation measuring the impacts of human activity
on air quality.
Emily
Doan, Spanish Springs School-Why does Antarctica stay so cold, even though
the sun hits it for many hours throughout the day?
Wharton-The sun is shining 24 hours a day now, although it's occasionally behind the mountains or clouds. The reason it's so cold is because of our southern location. At this latitude, there's more atmosphere the sun's energy has to pass through, and it's dissipated, reflected, etc. Also, Antarctica is a big sheet of ice, so most of the sunlight that strikes it is reflected, and very little heat is absorbed by the ground itself.
Dave
Cotter-Have you uncovered any fossils or other organisms that have not
been found anywhere else in the world? If so, what type of fossils or organisms
are they?
Wharton-One of the interesting things we see down here are mummified seals. These carcasses are from seals that migrated up from the ocean and died in the dry valleys and because it is so cold and dry, they don't rot, so they're here for thousands of years. Another type of fossil found on the bottom of the ice-covered lakes is a stromatolite. These fossils are created by microorganisms and have structures very similar to those formed on Earth billions of years ago.
Maggie
Mirch, Billinghurst Middle School-Plants need carbon dioxide to survive.
If the surface ice seals up the dry valley lakes, how can the algae plants
live without carbon dioxide?
Collier-Carbon dioxide does get in lakes. There are
two major processes involved. The first way is that glaciers melt, and the
water that flows into the lake has come into contact with CO2 from the atmosphere,
and the CO2 is stored in the lake. The second way is through the rotting of
algae by bacteria that's in the lake already.
Hardin-What is it like diving down there? What
are the obstacles? What are the different things you go through?
Wharton-Well, first you have to make a hole in ice which is 20 feet thick.
We have to actually melt the hole-about four feet across. Then you get in
a dry suit and tie a rope to you with a communication line, get into the water,
lower down to the bottom of that ice tunnel, and then go as much as another
100 feet down to the bottom of the lake where these microbial mats are growing.
It's actually quite a very exciting diving experience, particularly the first
time.
Dustin
Freemont, Spanish Springs School-We have found life forming on the bottom
of a lake in Antarctica. Based on experiments and core samples, what information
can you give us about this life?
Wharton-What we see is a collection of microorganisms-bacteria, algae, fungi. These microorganisms form thick carpets of material in lakes called microbial mats. They're growing under very low light conditions and obviously, under cold temperatures. It's interesting that these mats are very similar to the type of life that dominated Earth billions of years ago, so studying the lakes and the life in them is basically having a window to the past.
Hardin-Tell us about weather, I understand it's gotten hairy down there today.
Wharton-Yes,
it started snowing yesterday and we had heavy snow throughout the night and
early this morning. Now the wind has picked up so everything is basically
a blizzard and most people are confined to their buildings. We're under what's
called "Weather Condition 2"-if you go anywhere, you have to go
in pairs and your skin has to be totally covered up with clothing to protect
you from the cold.
Paul
Truitt, McQueen High School-Are the microorganisms being affected by the
hole in the ozone? How? If not, why not?
Collier-In the southern ocean for instance, it has
been observed that depleted ozone affects the productivity of microorganisms;
however, the effect of ultraviolet light on the Antarctic ice-covered lakes
is not known. We are currently conducting research in that area.
Janel Valitzski, McQueen High School-With the investment of time and money, what outcomes are you pursuing? Do you expect to achieve your goals? What effects will your research have on us here in Nevada?
Wharton-You
know, we get asked these questions a lot, no matter where we do research.
Taxpayers are definitely getting their money's worth. Through our research,
we expect to gain a greater understanding of the role of Antarctica in global
change. The Antarctic affects the climate of the entire planet. Imagine if
the Antarctic ice sheet melts and sea levels rise 250 feet. This would cause
Sacramento and San Francisco to be underwater, which would definitely change
the situation in Nevada. So the understanding we're gathering down here is
relevant to everybody in Nevada, the United States, and in fact, the entire
world.
Hardin-What is the most interesting observations you've made in your
years of diving down there?
Wharton-There is abundant life in lakes that have 20 feet of ice on top of them. This life is microbial-things like bacteria, fungi and algae-so it's interesting in and of itself that life is able to exist under these conditions. Also, because the lakes are ice-covered, they shelter the water from the cold outside temperatures and create a nice stable environment where life can thrive-thermal buffering is what we call it-and we think similar conditions could have existed in the past on Mars.
Tyler
Williams, Billinghurst Middel School-Since Nevada and Antarctica both
have dry valleys, are the ecosystems found here and there the same? How can
studying their environment help us understand ours better?
Wharton-The dry valleys here look a lot like Nevada, especially in winter. Add some sagebrush and pinyon juniper trees down here, it would look very similar. When you look at the two ecosystems, they are very similar. They both derive their energy from sunlight and both have some snowpack, in the case of Antarctica, glaciers. They both have mountains, streams, soils, and lakes. Now what's interesting about the Antarctic is that it doesn't have a lot of the complications that are found in the Nevada ecosystems, such as lots of people, things like motorboats on Lake Tahoe, and forests. So we're able to study basic processes here that would be a lot more complicated back in Nevada. In the Antarctic cold desert, we can get a basic understanding of how things operate in all deserts.
Jennifer
Fleiner, Reed High School-Do you believe Mars was once a life-suppporting
planet, Earth will support life for a limited period of time, and Venus will
be the planet that will support life in the future?
Wharton-The answer reminds me of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Mars at one time was thought to be a lot milder than it is today, with water and more of an atmosphere. Then, because of its distance from the sun and its size, it lost most of its atmosphere and its water and became too cold. Venus on the other hand is close to the sun and is now much too hot to support life, and of course, Earth is just right for life. Whether or not Venus will support life in the future, I'd say it is highly doubtful under current conditions on that planet and its CO2 atmosphere and the greenhouse effect that it has.
Sandy Miller's idea turned out to be such a success that
next year DRI will be coming "Live from Antarctica" into the classrooms
of both Washoe and Clark counties, thanks to both school districts, KOLO and
KLAS television, and of course, First Lady Sandy Miller. Coolest!
Scientists call
it field work. They leave the lab coats, Bunsen burners, and computer terminals
behind, and venture out to observe the real world. Now, if "field work"
conjures up images of wide open skies, fresh air, and the peaceful sounds
of nature, think again. It could just as well mean cramped, musty passages,
auto exhaust, and the din of speeding vehicles.
At least that's what DRI's self-proclaimed "tunnel rats" endured during their recent months of field work in highway tunnels across the country. The team of researchers, led by Dr. Alan Gertler, is trying to find out how much cars pollute under actual driving conditions-something controlled emissions tests aren't doing very well.
The need for such a study became apparent in 1987, when an
on-road survey done in the Van Nuys tunnel in the Los Angeles area showed
vehicles were contributing far more to the overall pollution levels than officials
had estimated. Auto pollution levels, and the regulations designed to control
them, had been based on dynamometer tests-treadmill-type tests used to certify
new cars. The Van Nuys study basically showed that emissions regulations were
based on faulty information, and that vehicles were, in fact, contributing
greater levels of pollutants to the air than anyone realized.
The problem, explains Gertler, has to do with the limitations of a dynamometer test. "People don't drive their cars the same way a treadmill does. People start and stop, change speed, go up hills. There are also those cars that pollute so badly their owners aren't going to subject them to a treadmill test, but there's a good chance they'll be driving them anyway."
Clearly, there was a need to find out how cars actually pollute on the road, and what better road to study than an enclosed one-a tunnel-that would trap the pollutants before they dissipated into the air? DRI conducted its first series of tunnel studies a few years ago in the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore, and the Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel in Pennsylvania. These studies looked primarily at an interstate fleet of vehicles, many of them trucks, moving at relatively steady and high speeds. This second series of tunnel studies, conducted over the past year, focuses more on the start-and-stop, fast-and-slow realities of urban driving. "These cars are probably not as well-maintained, are driven under tougher conditions, and have more speed variability than the vehicles we looked at in the first series," says Gertler. "These are probably our bigger polluters."
The
structure of a long urban tunnel, it seems, is just the thing for finding
out how much nasty stuff our vehicles spew during the course of our travels.
Fresh air supply ducts bring outside air into the tunnel, and exhaust vents
pull tunnel air out. It's a system that keeps drivers from asphyxiating before
they reach the tunnel's end, and it's also what DRI uses to measure auto exhaust.
The first step in the study was choosing the right tunnels. Researchers wanted a good demographic mix of mainly light-duty vehicles, driven under a variety of temperature and speed conditions. After visiting 23 sites, five were chosen. Deck Park Tunnel in Phoenix was surveyed in January and July, where the effects of temperature extremes (as low as 50 degrees in January, as high as 117 degrees in July) could be compared. The team returned to the Van Nuys tunnel to see if emission levels had improved with regulation changes since the original 1987 study. New York's Lincoln Tunnel and Boston's Callahan Tunnel were good spots to look at the effects of speed variations-from 14 mph to 35 miles-per-hour, on average. And Sepulvada Tunnel near the Los Angeles International Airport provided information on a different demographic sector in the L.A. area.
Once on site, the team set up samplers at the fresh air entrances to measure the amount of pollutants entering the tunnel from the outside. More samplers at the exhaust exits determined the amount of pollutants going out. The difference was the amount of pollution contributed by the vehicles driving through.
Now some simple math. If you take the amount of pollution added by the vehicles
and divide it by the length of the tunnel and the number of vehicles in the
tunnel (recorded by a video camera at the entrance), you get grams of pollutants
per vehicle mile.
In other words, you know the average amount of pollution produced by a car for each mile it travels, and you have a pretty good basis for estimating how vehicles really contribute to your overall air pollution problem.
Of course all tunnels are not created equal and some, as the institute's Dr. John Sagebiel explains, were nicer to work in than others. "Some had power and lights, some didn't. Some had good space to work in, others had us crawling through vents. At one point, fans clicked on unexpectedly and sucked the hard hats right off our heads."
Right
now, with the field work done, the team is busy processing data and putting
together the results of their months of cave-dwelling.
Gertler expects the study to progress to some more detailed emissions studies, possibly using remote sensing and pullovers to determine the polluting powers of individual cars.
Ultimately, the light at the end of the tunnel studies is to have emissions regulations based on truly accurate data, and bring some fresher air to us all.
-Jackie Allen
a hot desert sun, a man tends a wood fire. He's heating gypsum and limestone, which he'll use to make mortar for bricks.
Later, under a laboratory's cool fluorescent lights, another man dissolves the mortar in water. He finds bits of charcoal from the wood fire. The charcoal tells him the mortar was made in a fire tended 45 centuries ago.
The man tending the fire was one of legions who toiled for kings who meant to live forever. The man who sees the past in bits of charcoal is Dr. Herbert Haas, director of DRI's Radiocarbon Laboratory. The mortar bonded the bricks of Khufu, the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.
Haas and his colleagues are dating pieces of the pyramids and other Egyptian monuments to help resolve gaps and discrepancies in the historical calendar. By "reading" the carbon in plants and charcoal from the ancient bricks and mortar, he says, "The chronologies of the Middle East may one day unroll like a papyrus scroll with all the blanks in time filled in."
A slight man, Haas speaks in quiet, measured tones. When you're talking to him in his office, surrounded by piles of neatly stacked papers, it's hard to imagine him atop a pyramid in Egypt. When he's speaking so seriously about his subject, his humor comes as a surprise: "You have to be careful going down-one wrong step and you join the Pharaohs." But when he talks about how meticulously he conducts his work, it's easy to believe he runs one of the best radiocarbon laboratories in the world.
Haas is a native of Switzerland. And like a Swiss timepiece,
his DRI radiocarbon lab is renowned for its accuracy. He gets the date right
by analyzing the carbon content of animal and plant tissues. Carbon exists
in all organic matter-wood, charcoal, straw, egg shells-anything that was
once alive. In his lab at DRI, which contains enough equipment to fill a gymnasium,
Haas puts these tissues through a rigorous and painstaking process. When he's
done, he knows how much of the isotope Carbon-14 is left in the sample. Knowing
Carbon-14's rate of decay, he can trace long-dead tissue back to its birth-as
far back as 50,000 years.
Haas has made several expeditions to Egypt as part of a team of scientists and students led by Dr. Mark Lehner of the Semitic Museum of Boston, a leading Egyptologist. Through their research, they're uncovering evidence they hope will help resolve unanswered questions about the lives and times of the Egyptians of the Pyramid Age. "Egyptian history saw frequent upheavals, invasions and revolutions," Haas says, "and the calendar for the Dynastic era was reconstructed from partially incomplete records."
On his most recent trip to Egypt, Haas collected samples of monuments dating from both the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. In the company of Egyptian officials, Haas climbed to the windy peaks of pyramids-Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure-to scrape mortar from their crevices.
And in a museum, he selected pieces of rope and wood from the mysterious Sun Boat, discovered in 1954 near the south side of the Great Pyramid. Believed to have carried the pharaoh Khufu's body before it was buried inside the pyramid, the Sun Boat transported Khufu in his afterlife journey, according to ancient beliefs.
After returning to his Las Vegas lab, Haas and his assistant, Todd Enerson, dated the bits of mortar, rope, wood, reed, straw and charcoal. The Middle Kingdom samples came from pyramids whose age is well documented by astronomical observations. "Our dates agree with those records," Haas says. "This shows radiocarbon dating can provide reliable dates in Egyptian history."
Haas is now interpreting the radiocarbon results from the Old Kingdom samples. That interpretation is complicated by several things, including fluctuations in the Carbon-14 level in the atmosphere during the Old Kingdom period. Also, the pyramid builders used cedar trees from Lebanon and the Mediterranean coast. "The cedars live several hundred years," Haas explains. "This makes it difficult to date the age of a wooden structure, since the remaining Carbon-14 would refer to the age of the tree, not the piece made by humans."
In the team's radiocarbon study published in 1987, the dates for Old Kingdom samples were older than the historic calendar. Haas hopes his current research will help resolve this discrepancy.
So does the Egyptian government, which is looking forward to receiving the DRI scientist's report. And so do some Near East historians who would welcome adjustments in the Egyptian chronology. This is because the separate chronologies developed for the Near East regions-Palestinian, Syrian, and Mesopotamian-do not match well when placed side by side. The picture gets even more complicated when the Egyptian chronology is added.
Haas hopes to recommend adjustments to make that picture clearer, and help settle the dispute over ancient times in the Old World.
-Cindy Kimball
He may live and work in one of the world's driest areas, but Karl Pohlmann is into water. As an assistant research hydrogeologist with DRI's Water Resources Center in Las Vegas, Pohlmann is busy investigating a wide range of water issues, and helping solve some of the problems related to that precious resource.
For example, he's looking at sources of springs in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The National Park Service plans to use the results to protect the quality and flow of those important water sources. In another study, he's looking at the movement of radioactive material in groundwater (from underground nuclear tests) to protect against any possible health risks.
Pohlmann
traces his interest in hydrogeology to a basic concern for the environment.
And, he says, the work can really make a difference. "It's particularly
rewarding that our results are often directly useful. We're finding better
ways to characterize, monitor, and protect groundwater, which can also save
time and money."
For the future, Pohlmann would like to see 3-D visualization better integrated into his studies of groundwater. Right now, he's using some 3-D representations in an aquifer study for the Environmental Protection Agency.
On top of his projects, Pohlmann also teaches budding hydrogeologists in "Intro to Hydrogeology" at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He participates in teaching several other courses at UNLV, and also teaches several topics at the annual University of Nevada Hydrology Field Camp.
Pohlmann is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the Association of Groundwater Scientists and Engineers, and the National Groundwater Association. He has a B.S. in geology from the University of Minnesota, and an M.S. in geosciences from Purdue.
Dr. Yiqi "E-chee" Luo likes to look at the big picture. And thanks to his unique vision, biologists can now more precisely predict how the Earth's ecosystems will interact with rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Luo, an assistant research professor with DRI's Biological Sciences Center, studies environmental change caused by natural and human activities.
One
of the big questions raised by increasing atmospheric CO2 is how and where
extra carbon is absorbed, or sequestered. While the oceans account for some
sequestration, the land ecosystems also contribute. To predict how and how
much, most researchers looked at different ecosystems-deserts, grasslands,
forests, etc.
-individually. Luo, however, took a different approach, a global one, and
discovered a universal constant that applies to 95 percent of land plants.
This approach makes it possible to estimate how much carbon the land absorbs
with a precision not possible using traditional techniques.
So far, Luo's model has yielded some interesting results. According to it, land plants may sequester as much as five billion metric tons of carbon-two-and one-half times what researchers expected to find, given the amount of carbon supposedly absorbed by the oceans. Luo's now busy investigating those surprising results.
Luo began his scientific career in China, where he earned an agronomy degree. He earned his Ph.D. in ecology at the University of California, Davis, then did post-doctoral work at UCLA and Stanford.
Luo's work has attracted international attention. Last year, he was invited by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) to present his work in England, Germany, and China. Luo also shares his knowledge with University of Nevada, Reno students as a graduate faculty member of its Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology program.
LLOYD HEADS ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CENTER
Air
quality expert Dr. Alan Lloyd is now executive director of DRI's Energy and
Environmental Engineering Center. Lloyd, former chief scientist for the South
Coast Air Quality Management District, oversees DRI's $5 million air quality
research programs.
Lloyd holds a doctorate in physical chemistry. He has a distinguished record of research in atmospheric chemistry, urban airshed modeling, advanced low- and zero-emission technologies, and alternative fuels.
In recent years, Lloyd was responsible for an aggressive program to develop, demonstrate and commercialize technologies with reduced pollutant emissions through public-private partnerships. He actively promoted these technologies nationally and internationally, with the goal of improving environmental quality while sustaining economic development.
Lloyd succeeds Dr. William Pierson, who leaves the directorship after eight years to concentrate on his highly regarded studies of auto emissions. The executive directors of DRI's five research centers hold a rank equivalent to deans on the teaching campuses of the University and Community College System of Nevada.
The 1995 Alessandro
Dandini Medal of Science was awarded to Dr. John Hallett, a DRI atmospheric
physicist. Hallett's research has advanced our understanding of cloud and
precipitation processes, and how high-altitude clouds affect global atmospheric
temperatures.
Hallett's research has taken him around the globe to observe atmospheric phenomena, including sometimes harrowing flights to study lightning activity inside hurricanes. He has focused on the growth of ice crystals and cloud droplets in the laboratory and in the atmosphere. Hallett researches how pollutants and other particles influence the formation of clouds, and ultimately, the amount of solar energy and precipitation that reach the Earth's surface.
Hallett has also been instrumental in the development of
a strong DRI program of graduate teaching and instruction in atmospheric sciences
at the University of Nevada, Reno.
A 30-year member of the research faculty in DRI's Atmospheric Sciences Center, Hallett was presented with the medal and $1,000 prize by Count
Alessandro Dandini's widow, Countess Angela Dandini. In conjunction with the award, she also contributes $5,000 annually to the DRI Faculty Endowment fund which supports the development of new research initiatives.
The award was established by Countess Dandini on the first anniversary of her husband's death in 1991 to recognize outstanding scientific achievement and leadership among DRI's research faculty. The award's medallion is based on a design created by Dr. Dandini in the 1970s, when, as assistant to DRI's president, he first proposed the annual recognition for DRI faculty.
Dandini was a scientist, inventor, industrialist and educator. He held a number of patents, including one for the three-way electric light bulb.
Hallett was also recently named a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. The honor is the society's recognition of a scientist by his peers for research and scholarly contributions.
The 1996 Nevada Medal will be awarded to the
pioneer and preeminent authority of the modern era of vitamin D research.
Dr. Hector F. DeLuca's discoveries have resulted in new, effective treatments
for bone, skin, and parathyroid-gland diseases.
His research revealed the unique role of vitamins D and A in the hormonal regulation of metabolism and gene expression. In recognition of these outstanding contributions to the fields of science and medicine, Nevada Gov. Bob Miller will present DeLuca with the 1996 Nevada Medal at a gala dinner in Las Vegas, April 19.
DeLuca is biochemistry chairman and Harry Steenbock Research Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His ground-breaking discoveries opened up exciting new fields of research into bone diseases, endocrine processes, the genetic influence of vitamins D and A, and the important role of vitamins D and A in human reproduction and development.
Important practical benefits from DeLuca's research have
included advances in treatments of hypoparathyroidism, renal osteodystrophy,
osteoporosis, and vitamin D-resistant rickets. He played a major role in the
commercial introduction of natural and synthetic hormones for treatment of
metabolic bone disease and certain skin disorders, such as psoriasis.
DeLuca, who earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin, also holds three honorary doctorates and has received more than 20 international honors and awards. He has published nearly 1,000 papers, and is inventor or co-inventor on more than 150 U.S. patents.
The Nevada Medal is awarded by the Desert Research Institute. The minted, pure silver medallion and the $5,000 prize and related award expenses are underwritten by Nevada Bell.
DeLuca will present the 1996 Nevada Medal Lecture at the University of Nevada, Reno on April 18 and at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on April 19. The lectures are free of charge and open to the public.
DeLuca will receive the award on April 19 at the Nevada Medal Dinner at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
The dinner is chaired by Sandy and Roger Peltyn and co-sponsored by American Pacific Corporation, Banner Printing, Inc., Bechtel Nevada, Circus Circus Enterprises, Inc., Costello Beverage Company, Dolven Simpson Associates, Institute for Management Studies, JMA Architects, Inc., Nevada Bell, Nevada Power, Southwest Gas, and Ventrcek Advertising Design, Inc. Proceeds benefit DRI graduate research activities.
The winner of the 1995 Peter B. Wagner Memorial
Scholarship
in Atmospheric Sciences
is Yangang Liu who earned first prize for his paper "On the Generalized
Theory of Atmospheric Particle Systems." The DRI scholarship committee
awarded Catherine Cahill the second prize.
Both are Ph.D. students in the University of Nevada, Reno/DRI atmospheric
sciences graduate program. Winners are selected based on papers written on
atmospheric sciences topics. The award is given in memory of Peter B. Wagner,
a DRI atmospheric scientist who was killed in a 1980 crash of a DRI research
aircraft.
With all the new sources of weather information
coming on-line, what will the well-versed TV weather reporter need to know
to stay up with the competition in the year 2000? A glimpse of the new tools
and sources of information was provided by Dr. Melanie Wetzel of DRI's Atmospheric
Sciences Center at Steamboat Ski Resort's Weather Summit in January.
The summit is a gathering of top local and network weather reporters with the obvious objective of raising their awareness of skiers' "need to know" about snow and weather conditions. Activities included a tour of DRI's new Storm Peak Laboratory at the summit of the resort's tallest mountain.
DRI awarded the 1995
Colin Warden Memorial Award to Clay Cooper, a graduate student in DRI's Water
Resources Center. Cooper is pursuing his Ph.D. in hydrology at the University
of Nevada, Reno.
The $500 annual award was established by the family and friends of Colin Warden, a Washoe Medical Center employee and DRI benefactor, after his death in 1991.
The award is given each year to a graduate student of either the University of Nevada, Reno, or the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who is working under the direction of a DRI faculty member. Applicants submit papers based on research related to the environment.
For years, people have been describing DRI
as "Nevada's Best Kept Secret." And for years, DRI has been trying
to "let the secret out." It's a challenge because DRI doesn't fit
into a handy category and it doesn't have money to spend on advertising. But
now, thanks to Banner Printing and Donrey Outdoor, DRI is hitting the big
time-or at least about 23 feet by 11 feet. Drivers in Las Vegas and Reno will
soon see billboards featuring a photograph of the Earth accompanied by DRI's
logo and the words: "Worldwide Environmental Research for a Better Nevada."
dri news is published quarterly by the Desert Research Institute, a nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada. DRI is internationally recognized for excellence in environmental research. Ninety percent of the institute's budget comes from research grants and contracts. DRI operates the Dandini Research Park in Reno. Articles appearing in dri news may be reprinted without restriction.
Editor
Cindy Kimball
Layout and Illustration
Susan Sawatzky
Contributors
Jackie Allen
John R. Doherty
Tonya Drake
Claudia Miner
P.O. Box 19040
Las Vegas, NV 89132
(702) 895-0400
P.O. Box 60220
Reno, NV 89506
(702) 673-7300
e-mail: kimball@maxey.dri.edu
http://www.dri.edu