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Professor Maria Fernandez-Gimenez has been awarded the Honorable Champion of Agriculture and Food Industry in Mongolia award - the highest honor of its kind given by the Mongolian government. The award was presented by Chuluun Togtokh, Science Advisor to the Mongolian Minister of Environment and Green Development, at a Lunar New Year celebration Jan. 31. Togtokh is a School of Global Environmental Sustainability Visiting Fellow at CSU and science directorof the Insitute for Sustainable Development, National University of Mongolia. He has collaborated with Warner College ecology professors and since the early ‘90s and is an affiliate research scientist with the College’sNatural Resource Ecology Laboratory.

Read more | Feb 21, 2014

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that it has awarded nearly $10 million to an academic, industry, and government consortium led by Colorado State University to study the major challenges limiting the use of insect-killed trees in the Rockies as a sustainable feedstock for bioenergy. The award was made by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

CSU researchers, together with other scientists from universities, government and private industry in the region, created the Bioenergy Alliance Network of the Rockies (BANR) to address these challenges.

“Utilization of the beetle-kill wood and other waste biomass from forest thinning and fire hazard reduction has great potential for biofuel production,” said Keith Paustian, professor at CSU and BANR project director. “However, we need to carefully assess both the economics and environmental impacts to maximize the benefits to local communities and the country as a whole.”

Read more | Nov 06, 2013

Diana H. Wall, founding director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES) at Colorado State University, will be presented with the Soil Science Society of America’s highest honor, the Presidential Award, at the organization’s 2013 annual meeting on Nov. 4 in Tampa.

Wall is a professor of Biology in the College of Natural Sciences and one of only 15 University Distinguished Professors at CSU; and Senior Scientist at CSU’s Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory. A pioneer in scientific understanding of the role of soil biodiversity in climate change, earlier this year she received The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement on the 40th anniversary of the award.

SSSA annual awards honor outstanding contributions to soil science through education, national and international service, and research. The Presidential Award is presented to those who have influenced soil science or the practice of soil science so greatly that the impact of their efforts will be enduring on the future of the science and/or profession. It is presented only in years when the recipient meets the fundamental criterion that their influence and impact on soil science is lasting and important.

Read more | Nov 01, 2013

Baron is an ecosystem ecologist with United States Geological Survey (USGS), a senior research ecologist with the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory and an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability – both in CSU’s Warner College of Natural Resources, and a member of CSU’s Graduate Degree Program in Ecology. As ESA president, Baron will chair the governing board which is responsible for mapping ESA’s vision and goals.

"Ecologists have a tremendous knowledge of the environmental damage that is occurring on Earth, and we have the opportunity and responsibility to share that knowledge and seek practical tools to change the course we are on," said Baron. "It is an honor and a privilege to lead such a vibrant organization that is working to promote better, sustainable stewardship of our natural resources."

Read more | Sep 26, 2013

NREL professor and research scientist Matthew Wallenstein has been selected to receive a 2013 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award for $916,609 over five years. The award will support research and education on the vulnerability of Arctic soils to microbial decomposition in response to climate change. Wallenstein is an assistant professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability and a research scientist with the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, both part of CSU’s Warner College of Natural Resources. Wallenstein has been studying microbiology in the Arctic since 2004. His CAREER proposal focuses on understanding how increasing temperature alters the complex interactions between plant communities and soil microorganisms. The project aims to shed light on the fate of the large stocks of carbon that are currently sequestered in Arctic soils.

Read more | Jul 29, 2013