Ecological Society of America

ARLINGTON, VA, November 6, 2008—The Department of Defense (DoD), through the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), is seeking to fund environmental research and development in the Sustainable Infrastructure focus area. The development and application of innovative environmental science and technology supports the long-term sustainability of DoD’s installations and ranges, as well as significantly reduces current and future environmental liabilities.  The Sustainable Infrastructure focus area concentrates on natural resources (e.g., ecosystem-based management; threatened, endangered, and at-risk species; land management and watershed protection; and maritime sustainability), facilities (e.g., installation/regional sustainability, energy, noise, air and water quality, and facility waste), and cultural resources.  This work also encompasses the technologies required to sustain deployed forces.  SERDP intends to fund multiple projects that respond to the following three focused Statements of Need (SON) in Sustainable Infrastructure:

1. Southwest Ecological Systems on Department of Defense Lands: Altered Fire Regimes and Non-Native Invasive Plants
2. Managing and Restoring Southwest Intermittent and Ephemeral Stream Systems on Department of Defense Lands
3. Fugitive Dust Emissions Due to Department of Defense Activities

Proposals responding to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 SONs will be selected through a competitive process.  PRE-PROPOSALS FROM THE NON-FEDERAL SECTOR ARE DUE BY THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2009.  PROPOSALS FROM THE FEDERAL SECTOR ARE DUE BY THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2009.  The SONs and detailed instructions for federal and private sector proposers are available on the SERDP web site at www.serdp.org/funding.

SERDP also will be funding environmental research and development through the SERDP Exploratory Development (SEED) Solicitation.  The SEED Solicitation is designed to provide a limited amount of funding (not to exceed $150,000) to investigate new environmental technologies with innovative approaches that entail high technical risk and/or have minimal supporting data that provide risk reduction and/or proof of concept.  For FY 2010, Sustainable Infrastructure SEED proposals are being requested in response to the following SON:

1. Innovative Control/Eradication Approaches for the Brown Tree Snake (Bioga irregularis)

 ALL SEED PROPOSALS ARE DUE BY THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2009.  Detailed instructions for both federal and non-federal proposers are available on the SERDP web site at www.serdp.org/funding.

JOIN US!  At the Partners in Environmental Technology Technical Symposium & Workshop, December 2-4, 2008, in Washington, DC.  SERDP’s Executive Director Dr. Jeffrey Marqusee will conduct a SERDP Funding Opportunities session on December 4, 2008, 12:15-12:45 PM. This “how to play” briefing will offer information for those who are interested in new funding opportunities within SERDP.  During this session, participants may ask general questions about the funding process, submitting proposals, and the current FY 2010 SERDP solicitation.  To learn more about the Symposium or to register, visit www.serdp-estcp.org/symposium2008/.

THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S HIGHEST HONOR

Th e Alan T. Waterman Award is the highest honor awarded by the National Science Foundation. Since 1975, when Congress established the award to honor the agency’s first director, the annual award has been bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated exceptional individual achievement in scientific or engineering research of sufficient quality to place them at the forefront of their peers.

The annual award recognizes an outstanding young researcher in any field of science or engineering supported by the National Science Foundation. In addition to a medal, the awardee receives a grant of $500,000 over a three year period for scientific research or advanced study in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, social or other sciences at the institution of the recipient’s choice.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

• Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must be 35 years of age or younger or not more than 7 years beyond receipt of their Ph.D. degree by December 31 of the year in which they are nominated.
• Candidates should have demonstrated exceptional individual achievements in scientific or engineering research of sufficient quality to place them at the forefront of their peers. Criteria include originality, innovation, and significant impact on the field.

Nominations will be Accepted

From July 1, 2008 through December 5, 2008

Contact:
Mayra N. Montrose, Program Manager
Phone: 703-292-8040; Fax: 703-292-9040. Email: waterman@nsf.gov

For detailed nomination information, go to: www.fastlane.nsf.gov/honawards/

Information on past recipients is also available at: www.nsf.gov/od/waterman/waterman.jsp

National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate fellowships ($30,000 per year, for up to two years) are available starting in the 2009-2010 academic year for Amazon-PIRE (Partnership for International Research and Education) for ecology and earth-system science students to study vegetation-climate interactions in the Amazon basin (Brazil).

Amazon-PIRE fellows must be admitted to a participating Ph.D. program at the University of Arizona or Harvard University. Fellowships support United States citizens or permanent residents, and include an annual stipend, tuition, health insurance, and travel to Brazilian field sites and collaborating institutions.

Amazon-PIRE is a U.S.-Brazilian partnership addressing the question, “What is the future of Amazon forests under climate change?" and promoting international education, collaboration, and exchange.  Research focii include long term observations (via eddy flux measurements, forest plot surveys, physiological measurements, remote sensing, and aircraft sampling), experimental manipulations (in the Tropical Forest Biome of Biosphere 2), and modeling.

Amazon-PIRE is committed to diversity in education, and encourages the application of women and underrepresented minorities.

Key Application deadlines for relevant academic programs begin on Dec 8, 2008.

See the program website (http://www.amazonpire.org/opportunities.php) for deadlines and details, or email amazonpire@arizona.edu.

The Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) – the Midwest’s leading environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization – has created an innovative Science Fellows Program to enable post-docs scientists to engage in environmental and natural resources policy analysis and advocacy. ELPC Post-Doctoral Science Fellows will work with ELPC’s professional staff of public interest attorneys, M.B.A.s and economists, public policy advocates and communications specialists.  ELPC Science Fellows will bridge the gap between university-based science research and the policy actions needed to help protect threatened natural resources, address global warming solutions, and advance environmental progress and economic development together in the Midwest. ELPC Science Fellows will work as team members with ELPC’s Science Advisory Council and professional program staff to add their science and technical expertise to help frame advocacy positions and strategies and to better inform policymakers on key issues.   These are full-time positions, based in Chicago, and involve engaging in important  work throughout the Midwest and in Washington D.C. 

ORGANIZATION:  ELPC is the Midwest’s leading public interest environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization.  ELPC's major program areas include: promoting clean energy development strategies that help to solve global warming problems and reduce environmental degradation by encouraging energy efficiency and renewable energy alternatives to conventional power plants; promoting innovative transportation approaches, such as the development of a Midwest high-speed rail network, that will lead to cleaner air and more jobs; and protecting and preserving critical natural resources that improve the quality of life in our communities. One of ELPC's premises is that environmental progress and economic development can be achieved together.  ELPC’s multidisciplinary professional staff includes 40 attorneys, M.B.A.s, public policy advocates and communications specialists. ELPC was established in 1993 and has an annual budget of $6 million.  Please see ELPC’s website for more information at www.elpc.org.

QUALIFICATIONS:  Applicants should have a PhD in an environmental science discipline and should have: (1) A strong interest in public interest environmental advocacy and communication of scientific knowledge to diverse audiences of policymakers; (2) Scientific specialization in fields relevant to ELPC’s global warming solutions, clean energy development, clean air and clean water protection and improvement, and natural resources preservation programs, as described at www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutons.org; and (3) An ability to work productively with a team of skilled professionals. 

COMPENSATION:  ELPC will provide a competitive salary and benefits for this one-year fellowship.

APPLICATION PROCESS:  Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, names and contract info for at least two professional references, and a 1-page memo that describes how they would work effectively with ELPC professional staff on specific advocacy programs to:  Howard A. Learner, Environmental Law & Policy Center, 35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL  60601  FAX:  (312) 795-3730.  HLearner@elpc.org. The Environmental Law and Policy Center is an equal opportunity employer and is continually seeking to diversify its staff.   Posted: August 5, 2008

35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 1300 Chicago, IL 60601-2110
Phone: (312) 673-6500   Fax: (312) 795-3730  www.elpc.org  elpcinfo@elpc.org
Harry Drucker - Chairperson  Howard A. Learner - Executive Director

The seven members of the ELPC Science Advisory Council provide connections and expand our networks at major Midwestern universities (e.g., Professors Knute Nadelhoffer and Don Scavia at the University of Michigan, and Professors Jonathan Patz, Bobbi Peckarsky and Don Waller at the University of Wisconsin) and research institutions (Dr. Debby Moskovits at the Field Museum of Chicago and Dr. Marilu Hastings at the Houston Applied Research Center).  These top-rate scientists infuse up-to-date scientific thinking into our key strategic legal, eco-business and policy decision-making process and bring ELPC resources into new issues that the scientists identify as significant and needing help.  They provide substantial expertise in a variety of fields:  conservation biology, botany, climate change, entomology, evolutionary biology, Great Lakes ecosystems, public health, and stream ecology, among others.

The Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) – the Midwest’s leading environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization – has established an innovative Science Fellows Program to engage university professors in environmental and natural resources policy analysis and advocacy during their sabbatical year. ELPC Science Fellows will work with ELPC’s professional staff of public interest attorneys, M.B.A.s and economists, public policy advocates and communications specialists. ELPC Science Fellows will bridge the gap between university-based science research and the policy actions needed to help protect threatened natural resources, address global warming solutions, and advance environmental progress and economic development together in the Midwest. ELPC Science Fellows will work as team members with ELPC’s Science Advisory Council and professional program staff to add their science and technical expertise to help frame advocacy positions and strategies and to better inform policymakers on key issues.   These are full-time positions, based in Chicago, and involve engaging in important work throughout the Midwest and in Washington D.C. 

ORGANIZATION:  ELPC is the Midwest’s leading public interest environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization.  ELPC's major program areas include: promoting clean energy development strategies that help to solve global warming problems and reduce environmental degradation by encouraging energy efficiency and renewable energy alternatives to conventional power plants; promoting innovative transportation approaches, such as the development of a Midwest high-speed rail network, that will lead to cleaner air and more jobs; protecting and preserving critical natural resources that improve the quality of life in our communities. One of ELPC's premises is that environmental progress and economic development can be achieved together.  ELPC’s multidisciplinary professional staff includes 40 attorneys, M.B.A.s, public policy advocates and communications specialists. ELPC was established in 1993 and has an annual budget of $6 million.  Please see ELPC’s website for more information at www.elpc.org.

QUALIFICATIONS:  Applicants should be tenured professors on sabbatical for either a semester or a full-year and should have: (1) A strong interest in public interest environmental advocacy and communication of scientific knowledge to diverse audiences of policymakers; (2) Scientific specialization in fields relevant to ELPC’s global warming solutions, clean energy development, clean air and clean water protection, and improvement and natural resources preservation programs, as described at www.elpc.org and www.globalwarmingsolutons.org; and (3) An ability to work productively with a  team of skilled professionals. 

COMPENSATION:  ELPC will provide a competitive fellowship payment, which will complement sabbatical support provided by the applicant’s college or university.

APPLICATION PROCESS:  Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, names and contract info for at least two professional references, and a 1-page memo that describes how you would work effectively with ELPC’s professional staff on specific advocacy programs to:  Howard A. Learner, Environmental Law & Policy Center, 35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL  60601  FAX:  (312) 795-3730.  HLearner@elpc.org. The Environmental Law and Policy Center is an equal opportunity employer and is continually seeking to diversify its staff.   Posted: August 5, 2008

35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 1300 Chicago, IL 60601-2110
Phone: (312) 673-6500   Fax: (312) 795-3730  www.elpc.org  elpcinfo@elpc.org
Harry Drucker - Chairperson  Howard A. Learner - Executive Director

The seven members of the ELPC Science Advisory Council provide connections and expand our networks at major Midwestern universities (e.g., Professors Knute Nadelhoffer and Don Scavia at the University of Michigan, and Professors Jonathan Patz, Bobbi Peckarsky and Don Waller at the University of Wisconsin) and research institutions (Dr. Debby Moskovits at the Field Museum of Chicago and Dr. Marilu Hastings at the Houston Applied Research Center).  These top-rate scientists infuse up-to-date scientific thinking into our key strategic legal, eco-business and policy decision-making process and bring ELPC resources into new issues that the scientists identify as significant and needing help.  They provide substantial expertise in a variety of fields:  conservation biology, botany, climate change, entomology, evolutionary biology, Great Lakes ecosystems, public health, and stream ecology, among others.

Applicants for our NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training Program

University of Maryland , Baltimore County (UMBC) seeks applicants for our NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program, “Water in the Urban Environment.” Solutions to complex problems associated with the effect of urbanization on the water cycle require integrated ecological, economic and engineering approaches, as well as innovations in policy-making. This program is training a generation of graduate students to understand these linkages and to be prepared to work in multidisciplinary teams to improve understanding and management of urban environmental systems. The program is centered on three interwoven themes: (1) urban hydrology and contaminant transport; (2) urban biogeochemical cycles, aquatic ecosystems, and human health; and (3) urban water policy, management, and institutions.

The program takes advantage of the presence at UMBC of the field headquarters of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (beslter.org), one of two urban sites in the NSF Long-Term Ecological Research network; partnerships with public agencies, nonprofits, and private consultants; and proximity to the Chesapeake Bay, a coastal ecosystem severely affected by urban land use change.

Applicants for IGERT Traineeships must be US citizens or permanent residents.  Awardees accepted to one of the nine participating PhD programs will receive a stipend of $30,000 per year plus $10,500 cost-of-education allowance. Applications for Fall 2008 are due February 1, 2008. For further information see www.umbc.edu/cuere/igert or contact Bernadette Hanlon, IGERT Coordinator at bhanlon1@umbc.edu, or Prof. Claire Welty, IGERT Program Director at weltyc@umbc.edu.

The UMBC IGERT Program seeks the applications of minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities.