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Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences

By the numbers

  • 257 Master of Environmental Management/Master of Forestry students
  • 115 doctoral students
  • More than 874 undergraduates served
  • 53 core faculty

Highlights

Peter Nicholas photo
Nicholas School benefactor Peter Nicholas of Boston at the launch of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

More than 400 scientists, policymakers and corporate and environmental leaders gathered for the launch of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Sept. 20-22, 2005. Highlights included presentation of results of an institute-commissioned national poll (PDF) examining how voters’ environmental views affect their voting decisions.

To demonstrate its commitment to environmental stewardship, the Nicholas School purchased $19,718 worth of energy certificates to offset its use of electricity generated from fossil fuels.

Researcher Marie Lynn Miranda led a group of environmental scientists in amassing large overlays of Geographical Information System data for a Web site that public health and environmental experts will use to assess effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and elsewhere in the Gulf region.

Awards and recognition

Norman L. Christensen Jr., professor of ecology, elected president of the Ecological Society of America

Stuart L. Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology, 2006 Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences and 2006 Edward T. LaRoe III Memorial Award

William H. Schlesinger, dean and James B. Duke Professor of Biogeochemistry, Fellow of the American Geophysical Union

Faculty and staff appointments

Richard M. Anderson, assistant professor of environmental sciences and policy

Susan Gerbeth-Jones, assistant dean for information technology

Emily M. Klein, Lee Hill Snowden Professor of geology, named senior associate dean

Heather Stapleton, assistant professor of environmental sciences and policy

Avner Vengosh, associate professor of earth and ocean sciences

Erika Weinthal, associate professor of environmental policy

Major gifts

  • $2.5 million pledge from Duke Energy to support the Climate Change Policy Partnership, an industry-university collaboration to develop policies to address global climate change. Involves the Nicholas School, the Nicholas Institute, The Center on Global Change and Duke Energy.
  • $600,000 from Fred and Alice Stanback of Salisbury, N.C., to support research of cancer and the environment.
  • $2.7 million raised for Duke’s Financial Aid Initiative (including matching funds) for Nicholas School students.

Top photo: The Nicholas School bought renewable energy certificates from Gray County Wind Farm, the largest wind farm in Kansas. Photo by Derrick Hood, Kansas