February 23, 2009

Seminars explore ‘Water in a Changing World’

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Center for Ecology continues its Spring 2009 External Seminar Series, “Water in a Changing World,” with speakers sponsored by several colleges.

All talks are from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Life Science Three Auditorium, and are free to the public. Here is the schedule:

March 5 -- Gene Likens, for the College of Science

Likens is the founding director and president emeritus of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y. His research on the ecology and bio-geo-chemistry of forest and aquatic systems includes long-term study at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. He was among the first scientists to discover acid rain and its connection to use of fossil fuels. His professional associations include the American Philosophical Society and the National Academy of Sciences.

March 19 -- Danny Reible, for the College of Engineering

Reible is Bettie Margaret Smith Chair of Environmental Health Engineering at the University of Texas, and the director of the Hazardous Substance Research Center-South and Southwest. His research includes studying how contaminants affect the environment, particularly as evidenced in sediments, and pollution transport modeling. He developed widely used methods of managing contaminated sediment, and testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment.

April 16 -- Michael Campana, for the College of Agriculture

Campana is the director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds at Oregon State University. His research interests include trans-boundary ground water resources, regional hydrogeology, and water resource management, especially in developing countries in Central America, the South Caucasus, and in Central Asia. He maintains the blog Waterwired at http://aquadoc.typepad.com/waterwired.

The speaker series began with Jim Angel for the College of Liberal Arts. Angel is Illinois State Climatologist and an expert on water supply planning for Illinois.

The SIUC Center for Ecology is an inter-departmental center involving several colleges at SIUC. The center provides a central point for the ecologists across campus to communicate and share ideas. Learn more about the center at www.ecology.siu.edu.