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PRESCOTT COLLEGE RECEIVES NATIONAL
SCIENCE FOUNDATION INSTRUMENTATION GRANT
Environmental Studies Professor Jack Herring, along with Tim Crews, Wolfberry
Farm project leader and Environmental Studies faculty member, are the recipients
of a National Science Foundation Undergraduate Instrumentation Grant. The
grant, totaling $180,000 will be used to purchase equipment to measure emissions
of nitrogen trace gases from a range of unmanaged and managed ecosystems
in the Arizona Highlands.
The trace gases contribute to global warming and ozone depletion. Budgets
for these gases that are incomplete globally and we have a limited understanding
of our role in producing them as humans, Crews explained.
The new instruments will be used by students and faculty researching four
proposed ecosystems, including the interior chaparral; ponderosa woodlands
that are being treated with thinning and burning by the U.S. Forest Service;
grasslands managed under different livestock grazing intensities; and Wolfberry
Farm fields fertilized with synthetic nitrogen versus leguminous cover crops.
"At Prescott College we believe that students who are trained in the
liberal arts as undergraduates are among the best prepared to address complex
problems that involve disciplines ranging from economics and politics to
ecology and atmospheric science," Crews said. "While we are strong
believers in interdisciplinary education, we also recognize the importance
of building a solid scientific foundation upon which students can build in
the future. Part of this foundation consists of providing students with involvement
in rigorous scientific research. Experience in real field and lab work is
consistent with Prescott College's mission of experiential education. "
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