- St. Olaf News
- Features
- For the Media
- Media Relations
- Kari VanDerVeen
- Alumni Hall
- 507-786-3970 office
- 507-412-1036 cell
- vanderve@stolaf.edu
RSS Feed
You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.
Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.
National scientists to examine global change at fourth St. Olaf College Science Symposium
April 28, 2003
NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Will the earth still be here in 1,000 years or even a century?
 |
| Jackson |
Jackson is one of three renowned scientists who will speak about global change ? lessons from the past, choices for the future ? at the fourth annual St. Olaf College Science Symposium on May 2. The daylong event is free and open to the public.
 |  |
| Baron | Alley |
The St. Olaf Science Symposium is not intended to suggest that the planet and its people are doomed. It will offer participants an accessible, realistic source of information about global environmental problems and suggest ways that good stewardship can succeed in making positive environmental changes.
"The symposium will showcase the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science and our attempts to better understand the role of humans in the changes we are now documenting," says Robert Jacobel, professor of physics and director of environmental studies at St. Olaf. "We will also explore the connection between science and policy, and the importance of having an informed and active public."
 |
| Lastname |
Making a difference As we enter the 21st century, Jacobel explains, human beings need to better understand their dependence on productive land, fisheries, old-growth forests and biodiversity. Speakers at the science symposium will emphasize that everyone has a part to play in keeping the environment safe and healthy.
"We take for granted the air we breathe, the soil that grows our food, the water we drink," says ecologist Jill Baron. "But with 6 billion people on the planet and more clever ways of manipulating natural resources, our activities encroach upon each other.
"Most resource management decisions are local: deforestation of a specific hill slope, conversion of farmland to housing developments, diversion of a water supply," says Baron, whose symposium topic will examine how local and regional human actions add up to global change. "Environmental decisions need to be community based," she says. "But first, everyone must be brought up to a certain level of understanding so that a well-informed individual can make the best decisions possible for his and her community."
Nationally known presenters Baron, an ecosystem ecologist with the United States Geological Survey and senior research ecologist with the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University, received her Bachelor of Science in botany and geology from Cornell University, a Master of Science in land resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Ecology from Colorado State University. Baron received the Meritorious Service Award from the Department of Interior in 2002 and recently wrote Rocky Mountain Futures: An Ecological Perspective, examining the human influences on the Rocky Mountains.
Jackson, who studied chemical engineering at Rice University and worked for Dow Chemical Co. for four years, earned Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees from Utah State University in statistics and ecology and was a DOE Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow for Global Change at Stanford University. His new book on the environment, The Earth Remains Forever, was published in 2002 and his work has been featured on the BBC and National Public Radio, and in the Boston Globe, the New York Times and USA Today. In 1999 he was one of 19 scientists honored at the White House with a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering from the National Science Foundation.
Richard B. Alley, professor of geosciences at Pennsylvania State University, will focus his symposium lecture on the history of the earth?s climate and the impact of abrupt changes that have resulted in variations in the earth?s orbit, changes in the composition of the atmosphere and reorganizations of ocean circulation.
Alley graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in geology and later earned a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Alley teaches and conducts research on the climatic records, flow behavior and sedimentary deposits of large ice sheets, to aid in prediction of future changes in climate and sea level. His experience includes three field seasons in Antarctica and five in Greenland. In addition to publishing The Two-Mile Time Machine, Alley?s work has been featured on National Public Radio and in Scientific American, and he has served as an adviser to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
The St. Olaf Science Symposium begins at 2 p.m. with an introduction by Wesley Pearson, St. Olaf professor of chemistry and Hardy Distinguished Professor of Natural Science, and St. Olaf President Christopher M. Thomforde, followed by plenary addresses from Baron, Jackson and Alley.
The plenary sessions, as well as opening and closing remarks, will be held in Science Center 280. Posters featuring student research projects will be available for viewing between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. in Buntrock Commons. Students will formally present their research at 4:45 p.m. For more information, click here.
St. Olaf College, a national leader among liberal arts institutions, fosters the development of mind, body and spirit. It is a residential college in Northfield, Minn., and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college provides personalized instruction and diverse learning environments, with nearly two-thirds of its students participating in international studies. For more information, visit www.stolaf.edu.
