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Chair’s Greetings

Photo Headshot: Jan Hopmans
It has been an exciting last few years for our Department. I am delighted to bring you up-to-date on the major developments of the recent past, present and into the future, by way of this first LAWR E-Newsletter. Changes are happening in our teaching and outreach, while departmental research initiatives continue to be first rate. In 2006, the department initiated a department-wide strategic planning process that culminated into a 35-page document summarizing the department’s vision for the next decade. Despite current budget challenges for UC, the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources is constantly looking for... Read more...

 

James G. Boswell Endowed Chair in Soil Science

Photo Headshot: Will R Horwath
Professor Will R. Horwath was selected as the James G. Boswell Endowed Chair in Soil Science. The Boswell Chair in soil science was established with a $1.5 million gift from the James G. Boswell Foundation. The Boswell family has had a significant impact on California’s agriculture through their farming activities and philanthropy. Read more...

 

Current Research

Climate Change

Picture: Undergrad Eddie Galbavy collects ice samples.
Snow photochemistry in Greenland
Summer is usually associated with a hot day at the beach taking in some sun, but Associate Professor Cort Anastasio and his team prefer to spend their time at the frigid top of the Greenland ice sheet. Read more...

Landscape Processes

Picture: CA native grass species thrive beside this Yolo County road.
Native grasses offer advantages along roadsides
Soil scientists from the Soils and Revegetation lab are taking a close look at a landscape that most of us forget is there: the strips of vegetation along roadsides.  At the interface between farm land, natural systems, urban areas and the roads that connect them, there is usually a narrow strip... Read more...

Environmental Quality

Picture: Researchers wade near wetlands to collect water quality samples.
Constructed wetlands for water quality mitigation?
Cooperative Extension Specialist Toby O’Geen is interested in the constructed wetlands of the central valley. He and his crew of two graduate students, four undergrads, two staff members and one post doctoral scholar are evaluating the ability of the wetlands to improve water quality. Read more...

Sustainable Agriculture

Picture: Sarah Gatzke Darren Ficklin, and Yuzhou Luo use GIS to model best management practices.
Best management practices for California farms
Drive around after a big winter storm in the Central Valley and the word “runoff” can take on new meaning.  Where does all that water go, and what does it carry with it?  What can farmers do to minimize the pesticide content of all that water leaving their fields? Read more...
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Adventures in Outreach

Picture: At Harper Junior High, Yumiko Henneberry (Hydrologic Sciences Graduate group) and Pauline Nhamo (Soils and Biogeochemistry Graduate Group) compare the world’s average carbon footprint to that of Americans, which is about 5 times higher.
The Davis Junior High Global Warming Project and Bike/Walk to School Challenge
Junior high school students in Davis, CA, were targeted in an outreach project combining interactive and hands-on information about global warming and carbon footprints with a bike/walk to school challenge. The project was conducted by the Kearney Foundation of Soil Science, the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources and the John Muir Institute of the Environment... Read more...

 

Awards

Award Certificate
Honorary PhD’s and invited professor-ships…. Faculty, staff and students in LAWR are the recipients of a wide variety of local, national and international honors and awards.  Read more...

 

Announcements

Picture: Soil Scince 105 class of 2005
SSC 105 reunion
Attention Soil Science 105 alumni!  Mike Singer and Randy Southard are planning a SSC 105 reunion for Friday July 11, 2008, after the class returns from the Northern loop.  Visit the web site for more info!
Read more...
Book cover: Watersheds, Groundwater and Drinking Water - A Practical Guide
Watersheds, Groundwater and Drinking Water
Dr. Thomas Harter, Cooperative Extension Groundwater Hydrologist, published this practical guide to water resources with co-author Larry Rollins. UC's Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) division published the book and notes:"This new guide will help resource managers, planners, and other decision makers better understand and assess water supplies and to define and manage protection areas for water sources. Developed for those who are interested in water resources, it can easily be used as text material for educational short courses.” Read more...
LAWR Club Shirt
LAWR Club T-shirts for Sale.
The LAWR Club designed these shirts in both men’s and women’s styles. To purchase, bring $15 in cash to 1139 PES between 11-1:00, or email Leslie Peacock (LAWR Academic Peer Advisor and LAWR Club President) at lapeacock@ucdavis.edu Read more...
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