Source: John Harrington, jharrin@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Sheila Ellis, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
GLOBAL CHANGE EXPERT TO DISCUSS WAYS TO SAVE PLANET IN K-STATE PRESENTATION
MANHATTAN -- Ruth DeFries, a geographer from the University of Maryland at College Park and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, will present "Land Use Dynamics in Tropic Landscapes" as part of the Provost's Lectures on Excellence in Scholarship at Kansas State University.
The free lecture, which is open to the public, will be at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in Fiedler Auditorium.
The Provost's Lectures on Excellence in Scholarship is a venue that K-State has to bring in some of the best minds, said John Harrington, K-State professor of geography. Speakers for the series are selected by K-State's university distinguished professors.
DeFries' lecture will showcase her research with the application of satellite remote sensing to examine changes in global land use. She will discuss her global and regional scale research and the implications of changes in land cover on important ecosystem services, such as carbon cycling, biodiversity and climate regulation, Harrington said.
"Her work is helping all of us better understand the types, magnitude and scale of land use change for our planet," he said.
DeFries earned her Ph.D. from the department geography an environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins University. She has published numerous articles in some of the top science and environmental journals, Harrington said.
"I strongly believe that it is important that we at K-State continue to learn more from scholars like Dr. Ruth DeFries who are addressing profoundly important global environmental changes issues," Harrington said.