The College of Geosciences has awarded Big 12 Faculty Fellowships for 2008-2009 to three faculty: Sarah Bednarz, Professor of Geography; J. Rick Giardino, Professor of Geology & Geophysics; and Steven Quiring, Assistant Professor of Geography.

The Big 12 Faculty Fellowship Program was created by the Provosts of the Big 12 Universities to enhance faculty collaboration among the schools and to stimulate cross institution scholarly activities in the areas of teaching, research, and service. Fellowship funds are awarded to defray travel expenses for a Texas A&M University faculty member to visit another Big 12 institution for collaboration with a faculty member at that university.

Dr. Sarah Bednarz will use the award to build on her collaboration with Dr. Gail Ludwig, Department of Geography, University of Missouri. Bednarz and Ludwig have researched and published together in the past on geospatial technologies. They plan to collaborate on a white paper focused on innovations in web-based GIS and related mapping technologies, and changes in geography education and teacher preparation that present opportunities for the development of standards in geospatial technologies/spatial thinking for middle, high, and post-secondary students. They intend to seek funding from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to lead a workshop or conference on this work as well.

Dr. J. Rick Giardino plans to use his award to continue his work with climate modelers and remote sensing professionals at the Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CLIMAT) at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln (UNL). He will work with Dr. Donald Rundquist, Director of CLIMAT, and Dr. Merlin P. Lawson, CLIMAT fellow and professor of geosciences at UNL, to develop a model to assess the impacts of climate change on the hydrology of alpine watersheds. This model and data will provide the basis for a proposal to the National Science Foundation, NASA, or the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dr. Steven Quiring will use his fellowship award to meet with faculty in the University of Oklahoma’s College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and the Oklahoma Climate Survey (OCS) to develop proposals to be submitted to the NOAA. He plans to work with Drs. Scott Greene and Aondover Tarhule in the Department of Geography, and Dr. Mark Shafer and Derek Arndt with OCS, among others.

The Big 12 Fellowship Awards are funded by the Dean of Faculties Office, the College of Geosciences, and its four departments – Atmospheric Sciences, Geography, Geology & Geophysics, and Oceanography.