Welcome to DES

Students, families, faculty, and friends celebrate the 2008 commencement. Student of the Year awards go to

The Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University is seeking a Postdoctoral Associate to conduct innovative research involving the atmospheric processes that control the spatial and temporal distribution liquid water in non- and weakly precipitating low-level, liquid phase clouds. The ideal candidate will have working knowledge of the representations of cloud microphysics in Regional Climate Models, as well as some knowledge of remote sensing. A Ph.D. in the Atmospheric Sciences or closely related field (physics or engineering) is required. Please send your C.V., a brief statement about your research interest, and the names of three references to m.miller@envsci.rutgers.edu.

Stacey Kawecki (class of 2006), a recent graduate of the Rutgers Meteorology Program is featured on the back cover of the Spring 2008 Rutgers Magazine. Stacey works as a meteorologist at the Mount Washington Observatory, and she speaks to the strength of the Meteorology Program that has prepared her for her current position.

The 90th Annual Ag Field Day celebration on the G. H. Cook Campus was held on April 26. Ag Field Day is a celebration of our community spirit and of the close ties enjoyed by students, faculty, staff, alumni, volunteers, and New Jersey residents.

On April 15th, a symposium, hosted by the Rutgers Climate and Environmental Change Initiative (CECI) and the New Jersey Water Resources Research Institute was held. The symposium brought together stakeholders, policy makers, researchers, and citizens with an interest in the effects of climate change on water resources.

The CECI has received a generous gift in support of graduate education at Rutgers. The William H. Greenberg Fellowship has been made possible by a gift from Phyllis Greenberg (2nd from left) in honor of her husband, a Rutgers alumnus (class of 1944). The first recipient of this dissertation fellowship is Nelun Fernando (3rd from left). Also shown are sons Peter (left) and Donald (right).

Also, Robert Goodman, Executive Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, presented Richard T. Dewling with an award for Lifetime Service to the Environment.

Gedi Mainelis will be presented with the 2008 Research Excellence Award. The 15th Annual Celebration of Excellence Awards Dinner will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 5:30 p.m. in the Cook Campus Center. This is an important annual event where we honor students, faculty, staff, and alumni who help to strengthen our community.

Also, Ph.D. student Yevgen Nazarenko (working with Gedi) was awarded the Air Pollution Educational and Research Grant (APERG) Scholarship by the Air and Waste Management Association!

A survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education has ranked the Atmospheric Science program at Rutgers 5^th in the nation in Faculty Scholarly Productivity. The Environmental Sciences program is ranked 6^th in the nation.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, environmental scientist is the top job in science in terms of growth (25%, or 21,000 new jobs by 2016).

The Rutgers Noise Technical Assistance Center (RNTAC) receives continued funding for its unique mission: training enforcement officers, businesses, and citizens about noise measurement and law. "Nobody does what we do," says Eric Zwerling, RNTAC's director since 1991. This sole training center for noise enforcement, originally contracted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has improved the quality of countless lives.

Brian Thompson (NBC4) learns about ozone measurements from Bob Porcja at the DEP/Rutgers photochemical assessment monitoring site. Bob is part of Dr. Barbara Turpin's air pollution program. Monica Mazurek and Paul Lioy of the Rutgers Environmental Sciences graduate faculty are interviewed about the changing ground level ozone standard.

The Rutgers' Cooperative Extension's Water Resources Program, funded by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, is hosting the Rain Garden/Bioretention Research & Extension Symposium, May 29-30, 2008 New Brunswick, NJ. Here is the flyer about the symposium and contact information. Online registration available.

DES launches a newsletter. Environmental News can be downloaded here. Alumni and Friends are welcome to Sign up to join our mailing list for future issues of the newsletter.

Sustainability Engineering and Planning/Urban Buildings

Graduate Research Assistantships are available immediately to work on sustainability engineering and planning projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation at Rutgers University. Research projects combine field- and simulation-based studies to investigate the potential for achieving sustainable design in the provision and use of energy and water systems in urban buildings.