Lowenthal (left), with Mrs. Maureen Warden. |
The Desert Research Institute has awarded the 1998 Colin Warden Memorial Award to David Mazzera, a graduate research assistant in the Institute's Atmospheric Sciences Center. The annual award was established by the family and friends of Colin Warden after his death in 1991. Warden was a DRI supporter with a long-standing commitment to protecting the environment.
The award is given to a UNR or UNLV graduate student who is working under the direction of a DRI faculty member. Applicants submit papers based on research related to an environmental problem. Mazzera's winning paper, "Quantification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Soil at McMurdo Station, Antarctica," addressed the dramatic increase in the quantity of PAHs-known or probable human carcinogens-in the environment. He is pursuing a Ph.D. degree in the Environmental Science and Health program at UNR.
Countess Angela Dandini pose with a photo of Count Alessandro Dandini. |
Dr. James G. Hudson, an atmospheric physicist in the Desert Research Institute's Atmospheric Sciences Center, has received the 1998 Alessandro Dandini Medal of Science. The medal, a minted medallion accompanied by a $1,000 prize from Dandini's widow, Countess Angela Dandini, recognizes the Institute's top scientist each year as selected by his or her peers.
Hudson's research has broken new ground in understanding the role of minute particles called cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). These particles are critical to atmospheric processes such as cloud formation and precipitation. Further, CCN influence the amount of solar energy reflected back into space by clouds, possibly offsetting some of the impact of the global warming due to greenhouse gases.
Hudson's work has also examined the extent to which air pollutants--the source of much of the CCN found over continental land masses and transported long distances over the oceans--are affecting weather and climate. In his 22 years at DRI, Hudson has developed new instrumentation and made extensive ground and airborne measurements of CCN in many parts of the world.
Former DRI Research Leader honored by Geological Society of America
Dr. Dale F. Ritter, executive director emeritus of the Desert Research Institute's Quaternary Sciences Center, has received the Distinguished Career Award from the Geological Society of America's Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division for contributions to research and education in geomorphology.
As executive director of one of five DRI research centers from 1990 to 1996, Ritter held the equivalent rank of dean in the University and Community College System of Nevada. He is widely recognized in his field as the author of Process Geomorphology, regarded for nearly 20 years as the classic English-language textbook for college geomorphology instruction.
Quaternary sciences concern the last two million years of the Earth's natural history. Ritter's specialty focuses on the factors that shape the surface of the Earth itself, such as climate and geology.
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On November 24, DRI faculty and staff, along with Nevada Power Company officials and Las Vegas political and business leaders, were on hand for the dedication of DayStar 1 on the grounds of the Desert Research Institute. With a surplus of sunlight in southern Nevada, DayStar 1 takes advantage of that resource, generating electricity for southern Nevada's power grid.
The solar array is compliments of Nevada Power Company's customers, who are given a chance to participate in the on-going development of renewable resources in southern Nevada. Through November, the 16,000-watt flat panel solar system had already produced 3,073,244 watts of clean solar energy.
New Foundation Trustees Named
The DRI Research Foundation welcomes 11 new members to its Board of Trustees following the formal approval of their nominations by the University and Community College System of Nevada Board of Regents in January. Joining the fundraising arm of the Institute are: Nick Aquilina, retired former general manager of the U.S. Department of Energy's Nevada Operations Office; Tom Atkinson, Certified Public Accountant, Atkinson & Atkinson CPAs, Ltd.; Diane Dickerson, president of Dickerson, DMJ Services, an advertising, marketing, and public relations consulting firm and former owner of Merica Dickerson Advertising; Sherman Frederick, publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and president of Donrey Media Group; Jason Glavish, a certified financial planner with American Express Financial Advisors; David Haberman, vice president, technology and planning/co-founder of DCH Corporation, a high technology firm based in Valencia, California; A. Somer Hollingsworth, president and chief executive officer of the Nevada Development Authority; Bruce James, retired founder of several national publishing enterprises and president of Nevada New Tech, Inc., a private investment firm; Sandy Miller, former first lady of Nevada and a leading proponent of K-12 science education; Patricia Mulroy, general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District; and Rafael "Ray" Vega, owner and chief executive officer of Vega Enterprises Inc., Honorary Consul of Mexico in Las Vegas, and prominent figure in the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce.
Case Elected Treasurer of National Financial Management Association
F. John Case, assistant vice president and controller for the Desert Research Institute, has been elected to a two-year term as treasurer of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA). The Council is a major national professional organization advocating standards and procedures for research administration at American universities, colleges, and research institutes. Case, with DRI since 1995, is responsible for the financial management of more than 140 ongoing research projects as well as the general accounting and administrative computing functions of the Institute.
Coleman Elected President of Physiological Ecology Section of ESA
Laboratory. |
Coleman holds a prestigious five-year "Young Investigator Award" from the National Science Foundation and has authored more than 75 scientific publications. He came to DRI in 1997 and oversees a 30-person staff in the Biological Sciences Center, one of DRI's five environmental research centers, with operations in Reno and Las Vegas.
ARO Workshop
A workshop report, "New Research Directions in Desert Surficial Processes and Landscape Dynamics on Military Lands," is now available on DRI's Internet site at www.dri.edu/QSC/DesertWorkshop/. The workshop, which was held April 25-May 1, 1998, at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx, California, was co-sponsored by DRI and the U.S. Army Research Office. The purpose of the workshop was to explore potential impacts of military activities on arid lands. Topics included the risk of soil disturbance, damage to vegetation cover, degradation of water quality, as well as impacts on animal populations and archaeological sites.
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