Case Studies and Thesis Research

Fall 2012 quarter

Faculty

Ted Whitesell geography, environmental studies , Dina Roberts conservation biology, wildlife management , Erin Martin chemical oceanography, biogeochemistry, freshwater ecology

Description

Students will examine in detail a variety of environmental problems, using the skills they gained in their first year of MES core studies to carry out individual or small group projects. Students and faculty will also work together to apply what has been learned throughout the core sequence about interdisciplinary environmental research to design individual thesis research plans that will be ready to carry out by the end of the fall quarter of the student's second year.

Faculty Bios:

Erin Ellis, Ph.D. is an aquatic biogeochemist whose research focuses on examining the role of rivers in the global carbon cycle. Rivers are large sources of carbon to both the atmosphere and the ocean and are consequently critical to our understanding of the global carbon cycle.  While working in the Amazon Basin, her research demonstrated that bacteria living in the river produce high levels of carbon dioxide through respiration, and this carbon dioxide is subsequently lost to the atmosphere.  Her current research in the Mekong Basin (i.e. Cambodia) focuses on characterizing the type of organic carbon that is exported by large rivers to the ocean.  Specifically, she uses molecular tracers to determine where in the watershed the carbon originates from, and uses radiocarbon analyses to determine the age of this material.  Such information is necessary in order to understand the preservation of terrestrial carbon in the ocean, which can affect atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over long time scales.  Through her training (Erin received her masters and doctoral degree from the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington), Erin has research experience working in streams, rivers, lakes, and the ocean.  Additional interests include ocean acidification, estuarine ecology, evaluating the impacts of dams on downstream processes, and microbial ecology.  Her past and present research has been conducted through collaborations with colleagues in Brazil, Cambodia, and the Pacific Northwest. 

Dina Roberts, Ph.D. is a conservation biologist with broad field experience as an ornithologist and wildlife biologist, as well as experience in species management and forest policy development.  Her background in field research spans more than two decades and includes studies in temperate and tropical forests to understand the impacts of forest fragmentation and land use change on biodiversity.  Dina completed her Master’s research from University of Georgia in collaboration with Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in Panama looking at the importance of shade coffee plantations for tropical ants and birds.  Dina received an IGERT Fellowship from the NSF to complete interdisciplinary doctoral research in a team of researchers looking at the importance of sustainable development and biodiversity protection in Costa Rica.  She has since worked as a Postdoctoral Researchers at Washington State University, as an Endangered Species Biologist with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and as a Staff Scientist working at the science/policy interface to increase understanding of the global importance and increase protection of boreal forest of North America. She most recently taught Tropical Rainforest at TESC.

Ted Whitesell, Ph.D. is a broadly trained cultural geographer with special interests in political ecology and conservation.  As a freshman at the University of Colorado, Ted co-founded the CU Wilderness Study Group. After graduation, Ted ran the Colorado Wilderness Workshop, the only statewide preservation organization at the time. From 1975 to 1985, he was a leader of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, campaigning to secure designation of the first wilderness areas in the Tongass National Forest. He was recognized as the most accomplished environmental leader in the country of 25 years of age or less by the Tyler Foundation.  Later, he earned a Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Berkeley, investigating grassroots proposals for conservation and development in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil . Ted came to The Evergreen State College in 1998 and is affiliated with two planning units – Environmental Studies and Sustainability & Justice.  His students published a major book in April 2004, called Defending Wild Washington (The Mountaineers Books). His most recent research was a collaborative investigation of tribal perspectives on marine protected areas in western Washington.

 

 

 

Advertised Schedule

6-10p Tue/Thu

Location

Olympia

Online Learning

Enhanced Online Learning

Books

Greener Store

Offered During

Evening