00_cover_Biennial Report 05-06.qxd - INSTAAR - University of ...

The State of the InstituteA Message from the DirectorJames P. M. SyvitskiWhat are we? INSTAAR is an Earth andEnvironmental Systems Institute, with facilities andlaboratories located in Boulder, Colorado. INSTAAR is oneof seven research institutes located at the University ofColorado, Boulder. It has the honor to be the oldest. It wasinaugurated in 1951 but its origins extend back to theMountain Laboratory in Tolland, Colorado (1909–1919),and to University Camp located at Niwot, Colorado(1914–1920). University Camp was renamed Science Lodgein 1921, and in 1951, the Mountain Research Station(MRS). The MRS remains an important field station supportingINSTAAR research. INSTAAR environmental fieldresearch now extends to all major oceans (Arctic, Atlantic,Pacific, Indian, and Southern), coastal seas (Mediterranean,Gulf of Mexico, Hudson Bay), all major landmasses (Norththrough Central to South America, Africa, Australasia,Europe, Asia, and Ocean Islands), and the Polar Regions.Who are we? At the end of 2006, the governing body(Directorate) comprised 35 Fellows and Research Scientistsled by the Director, an Associate Director, and an ExecutiveCommittee. The Directorate consisted of 16 teaching faculty(3: Biology; 3: Geography; 5: Geology; 2: Civil, Architectural,and Environmental Engineering; 2: EnvironmentalStudies; 1: Anthropology); 6 Fellow/Professor-Emeriti; 3 federalResearch Scientists (NOAA, USGS); and 10 ResearchFaculty. The Directorate receives support from 40 professionalscientists, 8 post-doctoral scientists, and 65 graduatestudents. Other PhD-level Institute scientists include 39Research Affiliates (USGS, NCAR, NOAA, other Universities,and private companies) and 5 Visiting Scientists.During 2005–2006, the Institute supported 90 undergraduateresearch assistants. Institute members are loosely subdividedinto three research groups (Ecosystem Science,Geophysics, and Past Global Change), but considerablecross-group collaboration occurs. Staff and faculty withinour Center for Geochemical Analysis of the GlobalEnvironment are included in these groups. Our MountainResearch Station has a staff of 7 including faculty andinstructors. The Institute’s administrative staff of 10includes an Information Officer; the Managing Editor ofArctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research; the Chief FinanceOfficer; the Director’s Executive Assistant; a SystemsAdministrator; a Web Master, and 5 accountant techniciansand clerks, all to support the activities of our 291-memberInstitute (for details see http://instaar.colorado.edu/people/index.html).Research is expensive: The majority of our $18.4M revenuefor 2005–2006 came from federal agencies (59%), followedby the state of Colorado (CU: 19%), auxiliary laboperations (13%), and non-federal sources (9%). Of thefederal agencies, NSF remains the largest source of revenue,followed by the Departments of Commerce, Defense, andInterior. INSTAAR research involves about 220 contracts,grants, and gifts at any one time. The total operating expendituresfor 2005–2006 were $16M: 61% as salaries, tuition,and scholarships; 14% as operating expenses; 14% asrecharges and indirect cost recovery by CU; 7% for equipment;and 4% in travel.Honors, awards, and recognition: John C. Behrendt was elected President of the prestigiousAmerican Polar Society in spring 2006. Robert S. Anderson was elected a fellow of the AmericanGeophysical Union for “fundamental and pioneering contributionsin quantitative geomorphology, geochronology,hydrology, and glaciology.” John T. Andrews was elected a fellow of the AmericanGeophysical Union for his “seminal contributions to theQuaternary history of North America and the NorthAtlantic Basin.” Gifford Miller received the Easterbrook DistinguishedScientist Award at the Geological Society of America’s(GSA) 2005 annual meeting. The award is given annuallyby the society’s Quaternary Geology and GeomorphologyDivision to an individual who has shown unusual excellencein published research, as demonstrated by a singlepaper of exceptional merit or a series of papers that havesubstantially increased knowledge in Quaternary geologyor geomorphology. The ISI Web of Knowledge named James W.C. White asone of the most highly cited geoscientists for the period1981–2006. This select group comprised less than onehalfof one percent of all publishing researchers—anextraordinary accomplishment. Tim Seastedt won the 2005 Boulder County PacesetterEnvironment award from the Boulder Daily Cameranewspaper for his work on biological pest control of diffuseknapweed, an aggressive noxious weed that infestsabout 100,000 acres locally and 3 million acres in theWest.Books: With great effort and dedication, INSTAARspublished a series of books and special journal issues overthe last couple of years. These include: Behrendt, J. C., 2005: The Ninth Circle; a Memoir of Lifeand Death in Antarctica, 1960–62. Albuquerque:University of New Mexico Press, 255 pp. Hoffecker, J. F., 2005: A Prehistory of the North: HumanSettlement of the Higher Latitudes. New Brunswick:Rutgers University Press, 140 pp. McKnight, D., and Emerling, D., 2006: The Lost Seal.Lafayette: Moonlight Publ., 34 pp. Trincardi, F., and Syvitski, J. P. M. (eds.), 2005:Mediterranean Prodelta Systems. Marine Geology,222–223: 520 pp.Hearty hellos: Marcia Kelly has joined INSTAAR as theExecutive Assistant to the Director, transferring in from the4 | INTRODUCTION