Dear Faculty, Staff, Students and Trustees:             DRI received good news last week with a successful construction bid from West Coast Contractors of Reno that came in within budget for the first phase of the Computational Research Visualization building. State Public Works is now completing the details.             With the preliminary site preparation and utility relocation completed, we are excited about starting construction of the 34,000 square-foot phase one of the project in June that will include space for the six-sided CAVE, faculty offices and laboratories. The phase two completion project that is currently pending in the legislature will add 7,500 square feet for offices, labs and exterior landscaping required by city codes.             This new building is a significant undertaking. Phase one will cost $17.87 million - $14.4 million from state sources, $2 million from federal sources and $1.5 million in private money. We anticipate another $9.6 million from the state to cover phase two.  Our goal for the future is to raise sufficient funds to add a much needed auditorium to the project.             One of the highlights of the Computational Research Visualization building is that the State Public Works Board selected this project as a LEED certified Silver building, and has recommended an additional $1.45 million for the certification. The Greenspun Building at UNLV is the other green building project within the university system that was designated by Public Works.

Boulder City campus update              We are close to completing the new underground lysimeter lab, at a cost of $1.2 million. The underground weighing lysimeter facility - Nevada's Subsurface Facility for Scaling Heterogeneity in Natural Environments- is unique. Large weighing lysimeters will be housed in a structure completely buried underground, with only the top of the soil within the lysimeter exposed to the environment.             I'm proud of the work we've done in the development of this research program entitled Scaling Environmental Processes in Heterogeneous Arid Soils (or SEPHAS)             As part of the NSF EPSCoR award to the State of Nevada, the SEPHAS project focuses on scaling subsurface and landscape-interface environmental processes.  The project relies on the use of weighing lysimeters, which are soil containers that rest on large-capacity balances. Each lysimeter is 3 meters deep with a diameter of about 2.4 meters.  The current design of the facility can accommodate four containers, each installed in a separate room with independent monitoring systems.  The rooms are connected by a tunnel that will lead scientists and visitors from one side of the facility to another.  Once filled with soil and monitoring instruments, the lysimeters will become part of the statewide infrastructure for research into a variety of potential scientific areas, including arid soil development, water cycling, biogeochemical processes, and fate and transport of compounds in unsaturated soil. The lysimeter housing is expected to be done by early June.  The search for soil is underway, and the plan for the first round of experiments is being developed by researchers inside and outside of DRI.    NSAC update             The final report "Research Activities and Operations of the Desert Research Institute" was completed by the NSAC External Review Committee of the AAAS and submitted to DRI at the end of April.  As you may know, Board of Regents policy requires DRI to perform such a review every five years.  A PDF of the NSAC review can be found on the DRI internal website.  Owing to DRI's relative growth since the last review was conducted (2001), this year's review focused primarily on our organization and structure.  The Divisions will be conducting their own external reviews for the science missions for DRI over the next few years, and the Centers will implement a review process shortly.             Many of the recommendations in the NSAC report focus on two general topics: need for a well-defined, integrated strategic plan for the Institute and better communications throughout the Institute.  Steps already are underway to address these two overarching themes and more will be taken over the coming months as DRI Administration continues to evaluate areas where we can improve and be more efficient and cost-effective.  It was gratifying, and a tribute to everyone here at DRI, that the NSAC committee began their review with the following paragraph:             "What we have found overall is a collection of talented, hard-working people, doing well and enjoying what they are doing. DRI has grown significantly over the past ten years and it has enjoyed a strong record of accomplishments in a variety of scientific disciplines. The administration, scientists and staff should be congratulated on their achievements on a regional, state, national and international level."             I could not agree more and thank you all most sincerely for your efforts and achievements.   New Development Officer                          Mary Woods joins the Institutional Advancement office as the interim Director for Development and Marketing. Mary's work experience has a consistent theme of relationship building to raise friends and/or funds. Over the last 20 years, she has held positions as Business Development Director for Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center; Executive Director for the Arizona Western College Foundation in Yuma; Marketing Director for Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, NC; Public Relations Director for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation in Pensacola, FL; and Marketing Director for a United States Marine Corps hosted sporting competition. Mary is a 1987 graduate of Southern Illinois University with a BS in Speech Communications and a minor in Journalism. She received a Master of Education from Northern Arizona University in Human Relations in 2003.             Mary will assist with many of the Vice President of the Institutional Advancement's responsibilities, including Chief Operating Officer of the Foundation, until the Vice Presidential position is filled. Over the next several months, Mary plans to focus on finding matches between DRI research and grant-making institutions.

Until next time,   Dr. Stephen Wells

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