Dear Faculty, Staff, Students and Trustees: One of my favorite events of the year takes place this week when many of our faculty participate in the annual field trip with DRI's Research Foundation Board of Trustees. The field trip, which is in conjunction with our board meeting, will be held at Lake Tahoe on Thursday. The activities will include a presentation by Dr. Kelly Redmond on Global Warming at the Tahoe Meadows. Dr. Ken Adams will give a geologic history of Lake Tahoe from one of the scenic overviews. We will also spend a considerable amount of time at the Tahoe Environmental Research Center on the Sierra Nevada College campus, where DRI plays a vital role. I'm looking forward to Dr. Jim Thomas taking us through the new facilities. Before we leave Lake Tahoe, Dr. Rick Susfalk will explain a watershed water-restoration project and we'll make a pit stop at Kings Beach. The day will be capped off with dinner back at DRI in Reno, with a presentation from Dr. Judy Chow on her work in China preserving the Terra Cotta Warriors. I am extremely proud of Judy, who is the recipient of the initial Nazir and Mary Ansari Entrepreneurialism and Science Chair. My thanks in advance go out to Dawn Coots, Kate Kirkpatrick and Mary Woods for all of their work to continue this important tradition. Our board meeting concludes on Friday, during which time we will focus on DRI's strategic mission in research, our renewed emphasis on fundraising, and our regular business. In today's environment of scarce public funding, the role of our foundation trustees and their ability to raise funds has never been more important. I'm grateful for the time, expertise and financial support they give us. I'm also extremely proud and appreciative of our faculty making the time to spend with this truly special group of trustees.

DRI and UNLV researchers announce plans to study Chinese lake              Researchers from UNLV and DRI have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding with colleagues from Hohai University in Nanjing, China to study Taihu Lake. Hohai University's President Zhang Changkuan signed the MOU with DRI Executive Vice President for Research Chris Maples, to better facilitate future research between the two institutes, and to better link the research efforts between DRI and UNLV.              Dr. Zhongbo Yu, an associate professor in the Department of Geoscience at UNLV, along with faculty in DHS, including Michael Young, David Shafer, Mark Stone, Kumud Acharya and Julian Zhu, have been collaborating on proposal efforts to conduct research in the Taihu Lake and Basin in eastern China.  Taihu Lake is over 2,200 km2 and is an important resource for a large segment of the regional population. Taihu Lake is highly polluted with elevated nutrient loads, and the ecosystem has been significantly negatively affected.  Research is now being focused on understanding the source, fate and transport of nutrients, their effect on the lake ecosystem, and ways to mitigate the pollution.             Zhongbo Yu and Michael Young have together led the development of this MOU. Zhongbo has a joint appointment at Hohai University in the College of Hydrology and Water Resources.  Zhongbo has been working with DRI faculty to understand and solve the pollution issues at this important natural resource, and to begin conducting research in water-limited areas of western China, which is now experiencing unprecedented growth.  Hohai University is both a key laboratory and state laboratory, which elevates the university among the top in the country. DRI part of NASA award              Dr. Henry Sun has informed me that the Spaceward Bound 2006 Expedition to Chile, in which DRI participated, was selected to receive NASA's Group Achievement Award. DRI's participation was supported in part by a proposal development award from the Nevada EPSCoR office.             The program involved an expedition to the Atacama Desert of Chile - the driest desert on Earth. The Ames Research Center Science Directorate, in partnership with the Mars Society, gathered scientists from around the world to study research questions involving techniques to search for and recognize the boundary between areas where organics are present and were soil is sterile. The Atacama Desert provides an unparalleled analogous environment to the Moon and Mars, challenging the development of methods and technology to perform exploration science.    Pictured below from left to right: Dr. Henry Sun (DRI), Dr. Chris McKay (NASA Ames Research Center) and Dr. James Nienow (Valdosta State University), all part of the Atacama Spaceward Bound expedition to Chile, pay a visit to the Mojave Desert.

Until next time,   Dr. Stephen Wells

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