SEFS welcomes three new Assistant Professors

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Last October, the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS) launched a search to recruit three Assistant Professors whose work in climate adaptation can contribute substantially to our research and teaching programs. We are excited to share that we have three exceptional new scholars joining SEFS!

Sameer_Shah

We will welcome Dr. Sameer H. Shah in Fall 2022 from the University of Pittsburgh. He brings expertise in environmental justice, climate adaptation, and food, energy, and water insecurity. Dr. Shah is interested in analyzing the equity, justice, and sustainability outcomes of climate adaptation and disaster response at multiple scales.

Most recently, as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, he and his collaborators are analyzing the public health consequences of inequitable energy restoration in the aftermath of hurricane María. Sameer received his interdisciplinary Ph.D. from the Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability at The University of British Columbia, and was awarded the Pagani Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in 2021.

Claire_WillingDr. Claire Willing, a Post-Doctoral Scholar in the Department of Biology at Stanford University, is broadly focused on forest microbiomes and climate change. She seeks to understand how global change influences patterns of microbial community composition in forests and the functional consequences for forest health.

Using interdisciplinary approaches, including molecular tools, ecological theory, and techniques in plant physiology and stable isotope ecology, the goal of Claire’s research program seeks to elucidate the importance of microbial communities in the resistance and resilience of forested ecosystems to global change.

Claire completed her Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley with support of a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. We look forward to Claire starting with SEFS in the fall of 2023.

Francisca_SantanaDr. Francisca Santana, an interdisciplinary social scientist completing her PhD in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University, will be joining the SEFS community starting in the fall of 2023, following a post-doctoral appointment at the University of Michigan.

Primarily using community-engaged scholarship, she investigates the psychosocial drivers of pro-environmental and adaptation behavior in changing landscapes and the social nature of decision-making in response to climate hazards, including fire and smoke exposure.

Prior to her doctoral studies, Francisca worked on air quality and marine policy issues for the Energy Foundation, Earth justice, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and earned a master’s degree in coastal marine science and management from UC Santa Barbara.

We are grateful for the leadership of Professor Soo-Hyung Kim, Professor Monika Moskal, Director of the Precision Forestry Cooperative, and the search committee who reviewed 385 applications to identify exceptional candidates and led the school in the interview process last spring.

With support of a gift of professorship support from Carole Garcia in memory of John C. Garcia, a SEFS alumnus, SEFS is eager to support our new faculty members in finding creative, sustainable, and adaptive solutions to the multi-dimensional challenges of climate change through collaborative and convergent research, teaching, and service.

SEFS Celebrates Graduation in person with Class of 2022!

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On a beautiful sunny morning on June 10th afterTwo SEFS students before graduation two years of online graduation ceremonies, the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences Nine SEFS students pose before graduating(SEFS) was thrilled to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2022 in person on the UW campus. The graduation was held in a lecture room in Kane Hall, which was filled with friends and family who arrived early for the morning celebration.

Students enjoyed coming together after years of trying to isolate to keep each other safe.

Dean Tolstoy addresses graduatesFollowing welcome Dr. Sergey Rabotyagov welcomes graduatesremarks by Dr. Sergey Rabotyagov, SEFS Associate Director, Maya Tolstoy, Dean of The College of the Environment shared the College supported the Fresh Food Recovery for the UW Food Pantry project in honor of this year’s graduates.

Retired Chief of the USDA Forest Service Vicki Christiansen gave an  inspiring speech on the path of a girl building courage who returned as a Chief.

SEFS welcomed the opportunity to showcase a previous graduate who blazed a trail in land management that many of our new grads hope to follow. Vicki Christiansen and Gordon Bradley with two classmatesThree students of SEFS Class of 1983 Vicki took a few minutes to celebrate the moment with two classmates of Professor Emeritus Gordon Bradley’s CFR Capstone class of 1983.

Student speakers were Christina Bjarvin, graduating with her MS degree, and Katherine Good, graduating with a BS degree.

Christina was part of the CINTRAFOR lab under the advisement of Dr. Indroneil Ganguly, where she wrote her thesis, Assessing the Carbon Balance for Mass Timbers Beyond the First Life. Christina will be spending the summer in Italy hiking and drinking wine. We look forward to the fall when she returns to SEFS to begin the PhD program.

Katherine Good speaks at SEFS graduation

Christina Bjarvin speaking at SEFS Graduation

Katherine intends to pursue a career in education and community partnership for climate change action and wildlife conservation.

Our graduates and their guests shared a lovely breakfast reception in Anderson Courtyard following the graduation ceremony. Enjoying coffee and breakfast bites, the grads got to relax under the shade of trees while chatting with SEFS faculty.

SEFS graduate chats with faculty SEFS graduate celebrates with family SEFS Gordon Bradley and Clare Ryan

SEFS would like to thank Liz Collier, Manager of the SEFS Office of Student and Academic Services, along with the many student and staff helpers who contributed to a smooth ceremony. And thanks to Professors Brian Harvey, Heidi Gough, Clare Ryan, and Kent Wheiler for reading names.

Graduates: Contact sefscomm@uw.edu to request any pictures we might have snapped of you during the ceremony. Please subscribe to the SEFS Newsletter to keep up on our activities and alum adventures! Photos © Teresa Bresee/SEFS.

The Seattle Times highlights SEFS doctoral student’s efforts in climate change

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The article describes the work of doctoral student Autumn Maust working with Dr. Patrick Tobin in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest on the impacts of wildfires on native bee communities for her PhD project, ‘Mixed severity wildfire and native pollinators: Exploring trends in bee fitness and community composition in eastern Washington’.

“Ensuring we’re conserving native pollinators is becoming more and more important. It’s hard for a bee to outfly a fire.”

Celebrating Spring in SEFS

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“We’re all better with you being a part of our community!”

Students, staff, and faculty received well-deserved recognition at the SEFS End of Year Awards Celebration on May 25th.

Enjoying pizza and salads, over sixty members of the SEFS community came together to enjoy sunshine in the courtyard, music, and friendly chats. The maple-flavored beer and chilled wine were a big hit!

SEFS End of Year bar in courtyard

SEFS End of Year Group Students outside BloedelSEFS End of Year Group Students Smiling

A big thank you to Ellen Adams and Mary Keyes for running the show. Returning to in-person gatherings has never felt so good!

This year’s SEFS Undergraduate Student of the Year, Sarah Crumine, graduated Magna Cum Laude and with departmental and interdisciplinary honors, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource and Environmental Management. Sarah exemplified leadership as a field crew leader with the ONRC Summer InternshipSarah Crumine Program and by serving as an officer in the SER-UW student groups. She also participated in community outreach through restoration events at Yesler Swamp and the Miller Library book sale. Sarah recently published a paper in remote sensing on using drone lidar to identify tree species.

Also nominated for this award were Hailey Steiner, Donavon Murphy, Olivia Cavaluzzi, Cassidy Pearson, and Louis Kramer.

This year two students were awarded Graduate Student of the Year.

The first recipient, Dr. Michelle Agne, was not able to join us to receive her award in person as she was busy preparing for the successful defense of her thesis the next day, Serotinous forest resilience in a warmer and more fire-prone world. Michelle has truly put herself into the SEFS community, as a founding member of the Graduate Council and her work with the Climate Adaptation Hiring Committee, to her strong emphasis on teaching and mentoring. Whether it be in the classroom or in the field, Michelle shares her knowledge and creates an inviting environment for others to learn from her. Not only is Michelle pursuing her PhD at UW, she is concurrently pursuing a PhD in the School of Veterinary and Life Sciences at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. Michelle has also published her research in peer-reviewed journals and received several awards recognizing the work she does regarding the resilience of forests in the face of changing climate and increasing fire activity.

Jonathan Batchelor

The second recipient of Graduate Student of the Year is Jonathan Batchelor for their dedication to creating an outstanding educational experience for the students in their classes. Many stated that Jonathan goes above and beyond what a TA is expected to, and this has earned them a reputation as one of the most dedicated and highest ranked TAs at SEFS. Jonathan is also dedicated to their work with student organizations, such as Geospatial Club, and is renowned for their work with remote sensing, especially LiDAR. Aside from their academic accolades, Jonathan is dedicated to supporting vulnerable and underrepresented communities, be it through community outreach, volunteering during their personal time, or facilitating events that support these communities at UW.

Other graduate students who received nominations from the SEFS community are Ally Kruper, Kyle McDermott, Mary Fisher, Nolan Kitts, Robert Swan, and Caitie Sheban.

Faculty Member of the Year John Marzluff had to be dragged away from a spirited conversation to accept his award.

John Marzluff receiving award from Dan Brown

John is a dedicated educator and environmentalist whose trip to Yellowstone truly impressed his students this year. Not only does John create an environment where people want to learn, he ensures they are learning from leaders in the field. John’s dedication to wildlife conservation has earned him a reputation around campus as being inspirational and a role model for young people wanting to pursue a career in wildlife research.

This year’s nominees for Faculty Member of the Year also included Brittany Johnson, Heidi Gough, Jon Bakker, Monika Moskal, Phil Levin, Soo-Hyung Kim, and Brian Harvey. These amazing faculty show up for their students, co-workers, and the community at large.

Liz Collier, this year’s Staff Member of the Year, was busy getting students ready for graduation but took a moment to have her impact on our community recognized. Liz has worked tirelessly this past year to support students and create processes that make the whole experience of being a graduate student pleasant. From innovativeness around paperwork, support with virtual learning, and a commitment to making time to meet with graduate students, Liz has been a huge asset to the whole SEFS team this year. Liz is someone who stepped in during a time of transition and has led us through the fog.

Other staff who were nominated were Ray Larson, Sandra Maddox, and Maureen Black.

The John A. Wott Endowed Student Award was awarded to Eve Rickenbaker. Eve was given this award for her excellent work and scholarship as a PhD student focused on understanding to what extent public gardens are racially inclusive of the communities they serve and how can they improve inclusive practices to achieve greater social equity. For her research, she is conducting qualitative research with African American community members in two distinct regions of the United States (Washington in the Pacific Northwest and South Carolina in the South).

The Richard D. Taber Award for the Top Undergraduate in the Wildlife Option went to Caitlyn Bell, who graduated Summa Cum Laude in Wildlife Conservation with departmental honors, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management.

Bassing, Boilat, and Gardner

Celine Boillat was the recipient of The Richard D. Taber Award for Excellence in Wildlife Science. Celine received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management, Wildlife Conservation, with departmental honors, at last week’s graduation ceremony.

Celine celebrated receiving the award with Sarah Bassing and Beth Gardner.

Outstanding Commitment to Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity, the newest award at SEFS, went to Ashlee Abrantes & Alex McInturff.

From the student side of things, Ashlee has dedicated considerable time to this work and provided leadership not only in SEFS, but also in the College of the Environment.

Alex McInturff

From the faculty side, Alex McInturff, in his short time at SEFS, has already jumped into the DEI Committee to facilitate the committee and create a space where SEFS can be intentional, productive, and forward thinking.
Monika Moskal and Ernesto Alvarado also received nominations and appreciation from their SEFS colleagues supporting their DEIC efforts in our community.

Other noteworthy awards and accomplishments that SEFS would like to share:

  • The College of the Environment honored Sarah Converse & Brian Harvey for Outstanding Diversity Commitment.
  • In July 2021, Laura Prugh received the John C Garcia Term Professorship SEFS End of Year Group on Lawn at Anderson Courtyardfrom SEFS.
  • At the National SAF Convention (Society of American Foresters), Arthur Hsu was awarded the SAF Gregory award.
  • Anthony Dichiara was awarded the Tech Challenge by the Water Council in January 2022.
  • The Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit awarded Lauren Satterfield the John Pierce Outstanding Graduate Student Award.
  • The Ecological Society of America awarded Brian Harvey the ESA Early Career Fellow in April 2022.
  • This year, the Seattle Aquarium recognized Lisa Graumlich with the Sylvia Earle Medal.
  • Presented by UW President Ana Mari Cauce, we are excited to announce that UWBG Gardener Joanna Long received the 2022 Together We Will Award.

Governor Jay Inslee Consults with SEFS Researchers on Climate Impacts

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Governor Jay Inslee paid a visit to Anderson Hall on Tuesday, May 17 on a fact-finding mission to learn more about climate impacts on Washington forests. In attendance were Dean Maya Tolstoy, and SEFS Director Dan Brown and more than a dozen faculty and staff from SEFS and the Climate Impacts Group.

The one-hour session touched on the current and potential future impacts of drought, disease, and fire on Washington forests, and the potential management options available to increase their resilience and sustainability. The discussion also touched on smoke impacts on human and wildlife populations, on management experiments in developing adaptive capacity in how we manage our forests, and on the role of the forest products industry in sustaining the infrastructure that supports forest management.

Governor Inslee also took a moment to learn about differential climate impacts on Western Redcedar and Douglas-Fir from recent alum Theo Hoss. And he paid tribute to the Dead Elk, of course.

Governor Inslee and Theo Hoss look at Redwoods
Governor Inslee and Theo Hoss look at Redwoods
Governor Inslee salutes the SEFS Elk
Governor Inslee salutes the SEFS Elk
Gov Inslee and SEFS Director Brown and faculty at table
Governor Inslee and SEFS Director Brown and faculty talk
Governor Inslee greets SEFS students and faculty
Governor Inslee greets SEFS students and faculty
Governor Inslee sits at table with SEFS faculty and students
Governor Inslee sits at table with SEFS faculty and students

Husky 100 Recognizes SEFS ESRM Grad: Faustino ‘Blade’ Tomas Yellowcloud Hampson-Medina

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Each year, the Husky 100 recognizes 100 undergraduate and graduate students from the UW Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma campuses in all areas of study who are making the most of their time at the UW. The School of Environmental and Forest Sciences is pleased to announce that Faustino ‘Blade’ Tomas Yellowcloud Hampson-Medina, 2022 graduate of the Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management (ESRM) program, has been recognized for outstanding efforts.