Recent Accomplishments
December 2008
- Infinity World Development Corporation committed to endowing an annual Blue Communities Scholarship, as well as other support for the Department. The total commitment over the next three years is for $75,000. Ilene Ruhoy (PhD 2008) was recognized by UNLV President David Ashley as an Outstanding Graduate at the Fall 2008 Commencement Ceremony. Several members of the Department attended the Annual Meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis annual meeting in Boston.
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) was awarded the Society s Outstanding Educator Award. He also ran a day-long introductory risk analysis workshop, and was part of a Round Table on Highly Uncertain Risks.
- Jennifer Ward (MS candidate) presented a poster coauthored with Associate Professor Helen R. Neill entitled The Rural Communities of Nevada and National Defense Externalities: An examination of public attitudes toward environmental activities at the Nevada Test Site.
- Ilene Ruhoy (PhD recipient) presented a paper coauthored with David M. Hassenzahl entitled A Risk Management Approach to Unused Pharmaceuticals.
- Ted Greenhalgh (PhD student) coauthored a paper presented by Susanna Priest (Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at UNLV) entitled Impact of information about risk and regulation on public perception of nanotechnology
November 2008
- Ayoub S. Ayoub successfully defended his dissertation Modeling Natural Resources Scarcity and Poverty Effects on Fertility in Honduras, Nepal and Tanzania Marcia Turner successfully defended her dissertation Evaluating the Use of System Dynamics for Improving Stakeholder Decision Making Amy Northrup (PhD student) co-produced the Fall 2008 newsletter of the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences. Emerald Laija successfully defended her Masters Thesis Increasing the Recycling Rate in Clark County, Nevada David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) gave at talk on Global Climate Change at the Las Ventanas facility as part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Aurali Dade (Doctoral Student) presented a Field Report Campus sustainability participation and policies by operational units at the annual meeting of the American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education
September 2008
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) guest edited the Fall 2008 Issue (Volume 27 Number 3) of Technology and Society, the journal of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology. His Introductory essay is entitled Chronic Disease, Homeland Security, and Sailing to Where There Be Dragons.
- William J. Smith, Jr. (Assistant Professor) had his paper Geographic factors complicating hazard responses on small islands published in the Technology and Society, Vol. 27, No. 3, Fall 2008, pp. 39 - 4
- William J. Smith, Jr. (Assistant Professor) had his paper The place of rural, remote and least-wealthy small islands in international water development: the nexus of geography technology sustainability in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia in the Geographical Journal, Vol. 174, No. 3, September 2008, pp. 251 268
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) had a chapter published in the International Encyclopedia of Public Health: Hassenzahl, D.M. and Finkel A.F. (2008). Risk Assessment for Environmental and Occupational Health. in Heggenhougen and Quah: International Encyclopedia of Public Health, 5: 590 - 600, Academic Press, San Diego.
- Timothy Farnham (Assistant Professor) participated in the annual Northeast Environmental Studies conference in Middlebury Vermont.
- The Nevada System of Higher Education was awarded a 5-year, $15 M grant to develop infrastructure for climate change research. This grant involves dozens of faculty at UNLV, UNR, DRI, CSN, and other Nevada two-year institutions. It has six components, two of which are housed in the department of environmental studies. William J. Smith, Jr. (Assistant Professor) is responsible for the policy component, and David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) for the education and outreach component. Helen R. Neill (Associate Professor) is also involved in the policy component.
August 2008
- Ilene Ruhoy successfully defended her doctoral dissertation: Examining Unused Pharmaceuticals in the Environment
- William J. Smith, Jr. (Assistant Professor) submitted a $1.2 M grant request on Enhancing Wildfire Disaster Management in the Southwest U.S. utilizing High Resolution Multispectral Imagery and NASA products from AQUA and TERRA to NASA. Dr. Smith collaborated with UNLV colleagues from Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Public Land Institute, as well as from DOE s Remote Sensing Lab
- Krystyna Stave (Principal Investigator, Associate Professor Environmental Studies), Helen Neill (Co-PI, Associate Professor Environmental Studies), and Thomas Piechota (Co-PI, Director of Sustainability and Multidisciplinary Research, Associate Professor) submitted a $251,415 grant proposal to the US EPA entitled Development of a Simulation Model for Evaluating Municipal Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategies. The proposed project will develop a system dynamics-based decision support tool to evaluate municipal level greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies and help decision makers communicate with stakeholders.
- Timothy Farnham (Assistant Professor) travelled to Boston, MA to do archival research into the environmental history of the Quabbin Reservoir. His research took him to the Massachusetts State Archives in Boston, the archives of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation in Danvers, MA, the University of Massachusetts library collection on Quabbin in Amherst, MA, and the Quabbin Visitor's Center in Belchertown, MA. Prof. Farnham also interviewed scholars from nearby colleges and state workers associated with the operation of the reservoir.
- William J. Smith, Jr. (Assistant Professor) was interviewed on CNN regarding political aspects of water resource management in Nevada, and Las Vegas in particular. The interview can be seen at http://www.cnn.com/video/#/ video/living/2008/07/31/cody.hoover.dam.cnn
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) appeared on KLAS TV News One at 9. He was interviewed about energy policy, in the context of the August 19, 2008 UNLV Clean Energy Summit.
- Helen Neill (Associate Professor) and Mike Dwyer (Adjunct Faculty and PhD, 2007) participated in a roundtable on Integrated Resource Management to Achieve Sustainability in Southern Nevada
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) was notified that he will be awarded the 2008 Society for Risk Analysis Outstanding Educator Award at the society s annual meeting in Boston this December
- Helen Neill (Associate Professor) participated in two working meetings for the Nevada Test Site Community Advisory Board subcommittees on the Underground Test Area and Transportation Waste Committee
July 2008
- Krystyna Stave attended the 26th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society held in Athens, Greece, July 20-24, 2008. As a Policy Council member, she participated in Society's Policy Council meeting before the conference started. During the conference she served as a parallel session chair and a session reporter and presented two papers on her research and joint research with Michael Dwyer (Stave, K.A. 2008. Zero Waste by 2030: A system dynamics simulation tool for stakeholder involvement in Los Angeles’ solid waste planning initiative, and Dwyer, M. and K.A. Stave. 2008. Group Model Building Wins: The results of a comparative analysis. ) Recently graduated Master's student Megan Hopper traveled to the conference from Romania, where she is serving in the Peace Corps, to present a poster on her Master's work (Hopper, M. and K.A. Stave. 2008. Assessing the Effectiveness of Systems Thinking Interventions in the Classroom.)
- Dr. William J. Smith Jr. (Assistant Professor) met with the U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia to discuss the regional biodiversity conservation. The Ambassador offered support for the project, lead by Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith also met with representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service, the Conservation Society of Pohnpei (CSP), and The Nature Conservancy. He concluded his meetings by submitting a proposal for funding with CSP and 3 other NGOs in Micronesia, The University of Iowa and Queens University of Charlotte. $40,000 was also awarded to his project by the U.S. Forest Service during his trip.
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) traveled to Portland Oregon for the summer meeting of the Council Environmental Deans and Directors
- Dr. William J. Smith Jr. (Assistant Professor) was interviewed on CNN about Las Vegas water issues
- Dr. David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) was interviewed by KLAS Las Vegas Channel 8 as part of a segment on air pollution at the Beijing Olympics
June 2008
- Timothy J. Farnham (Assistant Professor) travelled to Massachusetts to work on his book on the Quabbin Reservoir
- The UNLV Sustainability Task Force, Chaired by David M. Hassenzahl, and with participation from department students including Heather Skaza, Melissa Mezger and Ashley Rosia, submitted its report to UNLV President David Ashley
- Ilene Ruhoy (Doctoral Candidate) gave a keynote speech at the Healthy Environment Forums in Portland, OR, sponsored by the Oregon Environmental Council
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) traveled to Washington, D.C. for the summer meeting of the Council of the Society for Risk Analysis.
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) traveled to Guadalajara Mexico to participate in the Second World Congress on Risk. He led a half day introductory risk analysis workshop and a mini-symposium on risk education trends and needs.
May 2008
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) participated in a plenary round table on Climate Change and Human Health: Developing Collaborations with the Public Health Community at the American Institute of Biological Sciences Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) attended the Third Environmental Studies Summit at Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas. Hassenzahl led a breakout session on “Professional Advancement in Interdisciplinary Teaching / Research Positions: Developing your Tenure Packet” and served as a discussant for a session on “Core Competencies for Environmental Studies and Sciences Programs.”
- Departmental seniors presented posters representing their theses at the annual departmental reception. Marianne Carpenter received the Aldo Leopold Award; Kelly Douglas and Michael Matulis shared the James Deacon Award; and Tricia Mynster received the Outstanding Alumnus Award
- Melissa Mezger (Undergraduate) won the UNLV Outstanding Student Involvement Rebel Achievement Award.
- Ilene Ruhoy (Doctoral Candidate) gave a presentation titled “Developing a Drug Take-Back Program” at the American Society of Clinical Pharmacists Geriatrics ’08 Meeting in Las Vegas, NV, May, 2008
April 2008
- Carole Eddington successfully defended her doctoral dissertation entitled Comparing Values for a Private Environmental Good, Xeriscape: Hedonic Price Method versus Contingent Valuation Method. Helen Neill (Associate Professor) chaired her committee.
- Tara Pike (BA, 1997 and Director of Rebel Recycling) was featured in the TLC Channel's How Not to Dress, in an episode that first aired on April 18.
- William J. Smith, Jr. (Assistant Professor) and David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) attended the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers. Smith presented two papers, and chaired the meeting of the Water Resources Specialty Group. Hassenzahl served on a panel discussing the role of science in multiple stakeholder processes, and gave a guest lecture at the Boston University School of Public Health
- Tara Pike (BA, 1997 and Director of Rebel Recycling) was a major focus of the April 2008 issue of Las Vegas Life Magazine, which focused on sustainability in Las Vegas. David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) was also quoted in the issue.
- Ilene Ruhoy (Doctoral Candidate) participated in a session on Pharmaceutical Waste: Concerns at the State at the Medical Waste Institute s WasteExpo 2008 in Chicago, IL
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) traveled to Ireland to serve as External Reviewer for the Chair in Environment and Occupational Health at the University College of Dublin
- Graduate students Heather Skaza and Jennifer Ward participated in a round table on environmental issues with a group of Rotary Club young professionals visiting from Australia.
- Helen Neill (Associate Professor) expanded her Nevada Test Site research to include development of outreach materials for grades K - 12. This research is supported by funding from the US Department of Energy.
March 2008
- Tim Farnham (Assistant Professor) won the Greenspun College Research Award, and Krystyna Stave (Associate Professor) the Greenspun College Service Award.
- Dr. William James Smith, Jr. was an invited panelist at the Southwestern Social Science Association annual meeting in Las Vegas, speaking on the politics of water in Las Vegas.
- Helen Neill (Associate Professor) distributed a questionnaire designed to obtain feedback from the rural community, as part of her ongoing efforts to support environmental management efforts at the Nevada Test Site.
- Helen Neill participated in a Nevada Test Site Community Advisory Board Meeting in Beatty, NV. The highlight of the meeting was a presentation by one of the NTS CAB members who summarized a technical report that Neill coordinated to provide three well site recommendations between Pahute Mesa and Beatty. The Pahute and Western Pahute Mesa region of the Nevada Test Site is the location of 82 underground nuclear tests that contain 61 % of the total radionuclide inventory for the entire NTS.
February 2008
- Krystyna Stave (Associate Professor), led a team of 8 current and former students to California to facilitate the City of Los Angeles’ Zero Waste planning meeting
- Dr. William James Smith, Jr. was a writer, editor and advisory board member for the Manual on the Right to Water and Sanitation, a tool to assist policy makers and practitioners develop strategies for implementing the human right to water and sanitation. It was produced with the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science and Human Rights Programme, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, the Right to Water Programme, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Water, Sanitation and Infrastructure Branch. Available at http://www.cohre.org/manualrtws
- The UNLV Sustainability Task force was the lead story in Inside UNLV
- David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) gave an invited lecture on “Las Vegas as the Sustainability Everytown” at the Annual Conference of the Texas Community College Teachers Association in Dallas, Texas.
January 2008
- The Department of Environmental Studies was a major sponsor of UNLV’s Focus the Nation activities the week of January 28 – 31. Events included an appearance by Melissa Mezger on KNPR’s State of Nevada, a screening of the movie The 11th Hour, a day of lectures and presentations, and two days of teach-ins by faculty throughout UNLV. Three Faculty members served on panels: Helen Neill (Associate Professor) discussed the economics of Solar Power, Krystyna Stave (Associate Professor) discussed environment and systems, and David M. Hassenzahl (Chair) discussed the tradeoffs among mitigation, adaptation, and suffering.
- Environment (sixth edition), by Peter Raven, Linda Berg, and ENV Department Chair David M. Hassenzahl, was published by Wiley and Sons. This book is used around the world for introductory environmental science courses.
- Several members of the Department participated in the 2008 National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment in Washington DC. Tricia Mynster (MS, 2005 and Visiting Instructor), Nick Grenier (MS Candidate) and David M. Hassenzahl (Department Chair) ran a half-day workshop on Teaching Climate Change to Undergraduates. Hassenzahl also coordinated a half-day breakout session on the relationship between climate change management and nuclear power. William J. Smith, Jr. also attended, as did Tom Piechota of the UNLV Urban Sustainability Initiative.