Preeminent Environmental Scientist Celebrates Women in Science and Engineering at Colorado State March 7-8

Colorado State University will host a Distinguished Women in Science and Engineering Lecture Series featuring Jane Lubchenco, a well-known environmental scientist and marine ecologist, March 7-8.

The two-day event at Colorado State will celebrate the accomplishments of women in science and engineering with presentations by preeminent female scholars in the fields of science and engineering. All lectures are free and open to the public.

"Seas the Day: Marine Ecosystem Science, Politics and Ethics" will be at 4 p.m. March 7 in the East Ballroom of the Lory Student Center on the Colorado State campus. Two recent national commissions on oceans concluded that ocean ecosystems are seriously disrupted; both recommend reforming the goals and mechanisms for managing a variety of activities that affect oceans. Both commissions highlight the need for stewardship and for making the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems a top priority and for adopting an ecosystem-based management approach. New scientific findings are providing insight into the workings of large marine ecosystems as well as guidance for implementation of policy recommendations. All of these topics will be discussed at the lecture.

A mentoring forum, "Dual Career Choices: A Personal Reflection," hosted by Lubchenco, starts at 1 p.m. March 8 in Room C116 Microbiology Building on the Colorado State campus.

Lubchenco grew up in Denver, but when she was 21 years old, she was persuaded by a marine biology course to live near the ocean.

She is actively engaged in teaching, research, synthesis and communication of scientific knowledge. Her research interests include biodiversity, climate change, sustainability science and the state of the oceans. She is a Valley Professor of Marine Biology and a Distinguished Professor of Zoology at Oregon State University. She has received numerous awards including a MacArthur Fellowship, a Pew Fellowship, eight honorary degrees (including one from Princeton University), and the 2002 Heinz Award for the Environment. Lubchenco was also appointed to the National Board of Science by President Bill Clinton and was approved by the Senate.

The Distinguished Women in Science and Engineering Lecture Series at Colorado State aims to support and attract women faculty in science and engineering to the university and provide role models for female science and engineering students. The event will also provide networking opportunities for Colorado State female faculty, postdoctoral associates, graduate and undergraduate students.

Sponsors of the event include Colorado State’s Vice President for Research and Information Technology; the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Natural Resources, Natural Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; National Science Foundation Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology, and the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory.

For more information about the event, visit www.engr.colostate.edu/distinguishedwomen or contact Lily Hoffman at lily@nrel.colostate.edu or (970) 491-0252.

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