Winter 2020 Issue
Inside This Issue
A New Future for ESF
ESF is expanding its role as a global leader in environmental science with the launch of five new research projects identified through the College’s Discovery Challenge.
ESF Alumnus Carries a Torch for Historic Preservation
The Statue of Liberty is an American icon, symbolizing hope and freedom to millions who come to America and those who have been here for generations. ESF alumnus Jeffrey Rainforth ’97 (CM) is playing a major role in its preservation and that of the surrounding environment, and it’s not something he takes lightly.
ESF Alumna Founds California-China Climate Institute
Dai is the founding director of the California-China Climate Institute, where she works to build a platform for collaborative climate action. The institute’s tools are joint training, research and dialogue.
Graduates of Distinction
The ESF Alumni Association honored this year’s Graduate of Distinction award recipients during Commencement Dec. 6, 2019.
Senior Truong Ho Receives Statewide EOP Award
Truong Ho was honored with the inaugural Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for Student Excellence in the fall of 2019. The award recognizes outstanding EOP students for their academic achievements.
ESF Pilots Sloan Foundation Program
The SIGP funding was secured through the efforts of the ESF Office of Development, with the participation of Distinguished Teaching Professor Robin Kimmerer, an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and founding director of ESF’s Center for Native Peoples and the Environment (CNPE).
Days in the Jungle Shape Career Focus for Biology Student
Glenn, a senior conservation biology major, fell in love with the not-for-profit rescue center years earlier while on a family vacation.
'Transformational’ Gift from Templeton Foundation Supports Chestnut Restoration
ESF has received its largest-ever charitable gift, $3.2 million, to support one of the College’s most impactful research projects — the restoration of the American chestnut tree.
50% Decline in Mallard Population Sparks Research and Funding Efforts
The U.S. population of eastern mallards — dabbling ducks with distinctive green heads — has plunged inexplicably by 50 percent in the last 20 years, prompting ESF to launch research into the birds’ productivity, changes in their habitat and their genetic diversity.
Scientists Link Decline of Baltic Cod to Hypoxia — and Climate Change
Limburg is the joint author of a paper that appeared in December in the journal Biology Letters, published by the Royal Society, that adds new depth to scientists’ ability to decode the history of a fish’s life by analyzing the chemical content of otoliths, or earstones, that form part of a fish’s hearing and balance system.
Down on the Farm - in the City
The farm is a program of the Brady Faith Center, an urban mission on Syracuse’s southwest side. Located between Onondaga Creek and one of its tributaries, the 5.8-acre farm was started in 2016 as an urban farm woven into the fabric of the community to provide sustainable nutritious foods, employment and education that nourishes the body, mind and spirit of community residents
Alumnus Honored as ‘Trailblazer’ Promotes Benefits of Urban Forestry
For his exceptional contributions to urban forestry, ESF graduate David Moore ’06 FNRM has received the Arbor Day Foundation’s Trailblazer Award.