SUMMER 2010
Message from the Director This year, Ringo Starr, on the eve of his 70th birthday said: “If you get up in the morning, there is a pretty good chance you are going to have a good day.”
Scientists, Engineers and Social Scientists Collaborate on Climate Change Research
For faculty and staff in higher education, the thing that gets us out of bed is the privilege of working with the current generation of students. According to Intelligent Life magazine (2009), this is the smartest generation in history with an amazing ability to cross cultural barriers and mix cultural interests. This generation is also remarkable for their commitment to social justice, care and awareness for the environment and dedication to the societies around them. This is demonstrated by the more than 5,000 undergraduate students at Boise State University, Idaho State University and the University of Idaho who last year logged a combined 150,000+ hours in Service Learning Programs. Since this staggering number only represents university-tracked hours, and does not include volunteer programs or students from Idaho’s colleges and private institutions, we can assume that this is a very low estimate of the actual giving of this current generation of students in Idaho. The other side of this synergistic equation is when faculty provide experiences in the classroom or through research that totally alters the career direction and aspirations of students. This is very evident throughout the EPSCoR Program, particularly as a result of new faculty hires. The provosts, deans and vice-presidents of research are to be congratulated in the stellar new hires from top Universities that have been made despite strong competition from larger institutions. Many of these new hires are profiled in this series of newsletters. Here are just two examples of the synergy between these faculty and Idaho’s students. Jeremy Hegman is a graduate of the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind in Gooding. Jeremy was born deaf, but has a hearing assistance implant that gives him functionality. Jeremy is now a student at the College of Southern Idaho and works at the Kimberly R&E Center, assisting with the UI EPSCoR RII project and with water quality sampling along the
On February 23rd, 2010, faculty in economics, hydrology, and civil engineering participated in a workshop and field day in Idaho’s Magic Valley. Among other stops, the group toured the University of Idaho’s research facility in Hagerman where they learned about water needs, issues and concerns of aquaculture. Pictured here, from left to right: Kristyn Scott, M.S. student of Gary Johnson, associate professor in the Geological Sciences Department at the University of Idaho-Idaho Falls and Assistant Director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (IWRRI); Levan Elbakidze, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Idaho; Arturo Leon, assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Boise State University; Garth Taylor, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Idaho; Rick Allen, professor of water resources engineering at the University of Idaho’s Kimberly Research and Extension Center; Gary Johnson (see above); and Bryce Contor, research hydrologist with the University of Idaho-Idaho Falls, IWRRI).
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