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AWG E-MAIL NEWS 2004-23
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CONTENTS
1) GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM SPECIAL UPDATE: 11-30-04
2) MENTORS REQUIRED FOR FALL AGU MEETING
3) IIASA YOUNG SCIENTISTS SUMMER PROGRAM 2005
4) POSITION OPENINGS
2004-064 Wright State University - Environmental Sciences Ph.D.
Program and Fellowships
2004-091 Georgia Southern University - Temporary Position in
Coastal Geology
2004-124 Two Positions at the University of South Florida -
Tectonics / Structural Geology
5) CONTACT INFORMATION
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Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue of E-mail News
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1) GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM SPECIAL UPDATE: 11-30-04
*** Congress Passes Mega-Legislation, FY05 Budget is Complete ***
In A Nutshell: On November 20th the House and Senate each passed H.R.
4818, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act. This
omnibus appropriations bill combined all of the FY05 spending measures
that Congress was not able to complete before the end of the fiscal
year on September 30th. Included in this legislation were the final
spending plans for the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce (NOAA), Energy,
Interior and Education as well as the Environmental Protection Agency,
NASA and the National Science Foundation.
In what has become an all too familiar refrain, Congress was unable to
complete its work on funding the government by the October 1st start of
FY05. And in what has become an equally familiar refrain, their
inability to cooperatively settle outstanding issues on a bill-by-bill basis
has led Congress to combine nine remaining spending bills into an
"omnibus" appropriations bill. This consolidated bill was passed by both
the House and Senate on Saturday, November 20th.
Information about departments, agencies and programs most important to
geoscientists are below. Note that the figures cited below reflect
lawmakers' intentions when they parceled out funding. Due to Congress'
tardiness in passing the FY05 appropriations bills, part of the new
fiscal year has passed. The figures below are subject to a 0.80%
across-the-board cut.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) received an $11 million increase over
FY04 levels in the omnibus appropriations bill. This brings total
funding for the USGS up to $949 million. However, due to budgetary
pressures within the Department of Interior Appropriations bill, there is an
across-the-board 0.594% cut for all Interior accounts. These accounts
were also subject to the government-wide .80% rescission. In the end,
USGS will receive $935.8 million in FY05; a $3.8 million cut from last
year's funding level. One of the only bright spots within this funding
includes $5.5 million for the Advanced National Seismic System, an
$85,000 increase ($70,000 increase after rescission). Elsewhere in the
Interior Department, the Bureau of Reclamation should receive $1 billion,
an increase of $40 million over last year, while Interior's Fossil
Energy R&D program was cut by $93 million to $580 million. The National
Park Service received a $90 million increase over last year. Additi
onal information is available by logging onto
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/appropsfy2005_interior.html.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) budget was cut by $61 million
from last year's funding total to $5.5 billion. Within NSF, Research and
Related Activities saw a $3 million increase to $4.255 billion, and
Major Research Equipment and Facilities received an increase of $20
million to $175.5 million. Education and Human Resources was cut by $90
million, from $938 million to $848 million. In a statement on the Floor of
the House of Representatives, Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-MI) expressed
his concern and astonishment at the funding cut in a statement on the
Floor saying, "In the last 20 years this has happened only twice, and I am
sorry to see that this year we will make it a third." Additional
analysis of the final spending plan for NSF is available on AGI's website at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/appropsfy2005_vahud.html.
NASA appears to be the biggest winner among agencies that fund earth
and space science research. The President requested $16.2 billion for
FY05, and Congress allocated exactly that amount. The $822 million
increase over last year's funding is designed to return space shuttles to
flight, begin the process of replacing Columbia, and begin to make the
Moon and Mars missions articulated by President Bush in last January a
reality. For specific information on NASA's funding for Earth Science
Enterprise and the Office of Space Science, log onto AGI's website at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/appropsfy2005_vahud.html.
Rounding out the science agencies that typically receive their amounts
in the Department of Veterans, Health and Human Services and
Independent Agencies Appropriations bill, the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is slated to receive $8.1 billion in FY05. This is a $278 million
reduction from FY04 funding levels. While nearly every account in EPA
was cut, the largest cuts are targeted at grants and loans for state and
local water projects. The specifics are available at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/appropsfy2005_vahud.html.
The Department of Energy (DOE) would receive $23 billion overall,
nearly matching the president's FY05 request. After the government-wide
rescission, though, DOE's funding will be $172,000 less than last year.
Congress provided $577 million for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste
repository, the same amount as last year. Funding for renewable energy
resources received a $16 million increase while geothermal technology
development and hydropower each stands pat. DOE's Office of Science
received an increase of $150 million, bringing total funding to $3.6 billion.
The Office's programs in high energy physics; fusion research, nuclear
physics, computing research, and basic energy sciences will all receive
modest increases. Further analysis of DOE's FY05 budget is available
online at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/appropsfy2005_energy.html.
The Commerce Department is slated to receive $6.7 billion in FY05, of
which $3.94 billion will go to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). All accounts within the Commerce, State, Justice
and Judiciary appropriations bill are subject to a 0.54% reduction prior
to the government-wide 0.80% reduction. This brings NOAA's total
funding down to $3.94 billion. The National Weather Service will receive a
$60 million increase while the National Ocean Service will suffer a $53
million decrease in funding. Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, though,
will increase their budget by $17 million. Further details are
available on AGI's website at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/appropsfy2005_commerce.html.
The Department of Education will receive $56.5 billion in FY05, 1.5%
more than the current enacted level. The Math and Science Partnerships
budget increased 16% to $179 million. This will mean more formula
grants to the states for Math and Science Partnerships. However, in the
same omnibus spending bill, Congress reduced the National Science
Foundation's Math and Science Partnership program, a peer-reviewed competitive
program to find and fund the most innovative partnerships across the
country, by 43%. This means that in the future, there will be less
innovative programs for the formula grant administered by the Department of
Education to draw from. These programs work in a complementary fashion
and an increase in one with a decrease to the other does not add up to
success for the overall program goals. Information about the
Department of Education's funding is available on AGI's website at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/appropsfy2005_labor.html.
The United States Department of Agriculture was flat funded at $82.6
billion. The Natural Resources Conservation Service was cut 3.3% to $992
million. Watershed Surveys and Planning suffered a 33% cut, from $10.5
million in FY04 to $6.9 million in FY05. Watershed and Flood
Prevention was cut 13% to $75 million. The Agricultural Research Service
benefited from a 16% budget increase to $1.29 billion. Congress did comment
on these funding levels and express some concern. Their full remarks
can be found online at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/appropsfy2005_ag.html.
To see how your Representative voted on H.R. 4818, click on
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll542.xml. Text of the bill and
conference report is available at
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/omni2005/index.htm.
Special update prepared by Emily Lehr Wallace, AGI Government Affairs
Program.
Sources: National Science Foundation; Thomas Legislative Database;
NOAA; EPA; Greenwire; Energy and Environment Daily; AGU Science and
Legislative Alert; American Institute of Physics FYI.
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2) MENTORS REQUIRED FOR FALL AGU MEETING
Please consider serving as a meeting mentor for a student participating
in the 2004 MS PHD'S (Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees
of Success in Earth System Science) Professional Development Program.
As an AGU science mentor you will interact with a student interested in
(and pursuing) earth/ocean science as a career. If you agree to serve
as a meeting mentor you will be asked to:
* Communicate with one student before the meeting (an opportunity to
introduce yourselves, discover common academic interests, etc.)
* Discuss three presentations with your assigned mentee
* Facilitate networking (introduce your mentee to other scientists with
similar interests)
* Offer academic and career advice
You can learn more about the program at
http://www.msphds.usf.edu/ProgramInformation.html
If you are interested, please complete the brief on-line survey found
at http://www.msphds.usf.edu/survey/mentor_survey.php as soon as
possible.
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3) IIASA YOUNG SCIENTISTS SUMMER PROGRAM 2005
SUMMER FELLOWSHIP IN AUSTRIA FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS IN MATH,
ENGINEERING, & NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Application deadline: 15 January 2005
Program dates: 1 June-31 August 2005
Each summer, IIASA hosts a selected group of graduate students,
primarily doctoral, from around the world in its Young Scientist's Summer
Program (YSSP). The Program brings together about 50 students from around
the world to work on policy-related research related to their graduate
studies. These students work closely with IIASA's senior scientists on
interdisciplinary, global change-related projects within the
Institute's three theme areas. The U.S. Committee for IIASA provides airfare and
a modest stipend to YSSP scholars selected by IIASA who are students at
a U.S. University, or are American citizens studying abroad.
What is IIASA and what are its project areas?
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an
international institution, supported by the U.S. and sixteen other
governments, that engages in scientific research aimed at providing policy
insight on issues of related to global change.
Natural Resources and Environment
* Transboundary Air Pollution
* Modeling Land-use and Land-Cover Changes in Europe and Northern Asia
* Forestry
* Adaptive Dynamics Network
* Radiation Safety of the Biosphere
* Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Energy and Technology
* Environmentally Compatible Energy Strategies
* Transitions to New Technologies
* Dynamic Systems
Population and Society
* World Population
* Processes in International Negotiation
* Risk, Modeling and Society
* Sustainable Rural Development
Should you apply?
You should consider applying if:
*You are an advanced graduate student at a U.S. University;
*Your field is compatible with ongoing research at IIASA;
*Your research and career would profit from interactions with
scientists from all over the world;
*You would like to investigate the policy implications of your work.
For application forms and instructions, and detailed information about
the Institute and its projects, go to the IIASA Website:
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/http://www.iiasa.ac.at/>
How do you apply?
Each applicant must submit (preferably online) application forms, CV,
two references, and a 500-word essay explaining how your skills and
interests relate to the project with which you would most like to work.
Details & application forms are available at:
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/yssp/register/index.html?sb=5
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/yssp/register/index.html?sb=5>
For more information contact:
Margaret Goud Collins, Program Director for the U.S. Committee for
IIASA
National Academy of Sciences, W541 500 5th St. NW Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (508) 548-2502 Fax: (202) 334-2231
Email: mcollins@nas.edu
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4) POSITION OPENINGS
2004-064
Wright State University
Environmental Sciences Ph.D. Program and Fellowships
The Environmental Sciences Ph.D. Program at Wright State University
provides a strong interdisciplinary focus on stressor fate and effects in
3 areas of faculty expertise: Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry,
Environmental Stressors, and Environmental Geophysics and Hydrogeology.
There are over 30 program faculty from the Departments of Biological
Sciences, Chemistry, Geological Sciences, Pharmacology & Toxicology, and
Physics. Wright State University is located in Dayton, Ohio with a
student enrollment of approximately 17,000. The ES program began in 2002
and is a program of excellence with internationally recognized research.
Research and Teaching Assistantships are available (>$18,000 stipend +
tuition & fee waiver). In addition, the prestigious YSI Fellowship is
available for $25,000 (+ tuition & fee waiver) to outstanding
applicants. Students are encouraged to apply to the program and for financial
awards with either a B.S. or M.S. degree from a relevant major (e.
g., biology, chemistry, geology, physics, toxicology, environmental
sciences). There is no deadline for applications, however review of
applications will begin in January with awards made at any time. For more
information see www.wright.edu/academics/envsci.
* * * * * * * * * *
2004-091
Georgia Southern University
Temporary Position in Coastal Geology
Position Description
The Department of Geology and Geography invites applications for a
temporary position in coastal geology. Specific areas of expertise might
include, but are not limited to, beach and near-shore sedimentation,
coastal geomorphology, shallow marine environments, or coastal plain
geology. This individual will teach sedimentation and stratigraphy, coastal
geology, and will share responsibility for courses in environmental
geology and historical geology and associated laboratories. The rank
(either Assistant or Associate Professor of Geology) and salary will be
commensurate with the applicant's experience and accomplishments.
Preference will be given to candidates who have active research projects on
the Atlantic Coast of the United States, who apply GIS to their research,
and those with prior undergraduate teaching experience. A PhD in
geology or a closely related field must be completed by the position
starting date of August 1, 2005. The one-year position may be renewable
for two additional one-year appointments.
The University and the Department
Georgia Southern University (http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/), a unit
of the University System of Georgia, is the largest center of higher
education in the southern half of Georgia. The Department of Geology and
Geography offers courses that lead to the BS and BA degrees with majors
in both geography and geology. The Department's web site
(http://cost.georgiasouthern.edu/geo/) provides an overview of our
programs, faculty, and facilities, as well as a more extensive description
of this position.
Application Information
Please direct a letter of application including a statement of research
and teaching interests, a curriculum vitae, supporting documentation
(such as reprints and evidence of teaching effectiveness), and the names,
e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers for three references to: Dr.
Charles H. Trupe, Search Committee Chair, Department of Geology and
Geography, P.O. Box 8149, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA
30460-8149. Initial review of applications begins on December 15, 2004 and
will continue until the position is filled.
The names of applicants and nominees, résumés, and other general
non-evaluative information may be subject to public inspection under the
Georgia Open Records Act. Persons who need reasonable accommodations under
the Americans with Disabilities Act in order to participate in the
search process should notify the Search Committee Chair. Georgia Southern
University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution.
* * * * * * * * * *
2004-124
Two Positions at the University of South Florida
Tectonics / Structural Geology
Tectonics / Structural Geology: The Department of Geology at the
University of South Florida invites applications for a full-time,
tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, beginning
Fall, 2005. We seek an innovative, multi-disciplinary geoscientist
with expertise in tectonics and structural geology. The successful
candidate will complement existing department strengths in physical
volcanology, geophysics, and hydrogeology, and will develop an externally funded
research program, mentor graduate students, and teach undergraduate and
graduate courses. A Ph.D. is required at the time of employment.
Applicants for appointment at the Associate Professor level must have
outstanding records of published research and teaching. Salary determined by
rank and experience.
To apply, send a letter of interest, curriculum vita, statements of
teaching and research goals, and the names and contact information for
three referees to: Dr. Sarah Kruse, Search Committee Chair, Department of
Geology, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., SCA 528,
Tampa, FL 33620-5201. Applicants should request that three letters of
reference be sent directly to the search committee chair. All application
materials must be received by January 15, 2005. For additional
information, contact Sarah Kruse (skruse@chuma1.cas.usf.edu), or visit
www.cas.usf.edu/geology. USF is an AA/EEO institution. Women and minorities
are strongly encouraged to apply. Those persons requiring reasonable
accommodation under the ADA should contact the Search Chair. According to
Florida law, applications and meetings regarding them are open to the
public.
Karst and Carbonate Geology: The Department of Geology at the
University of South Florida seeks a karst geologist for its interdisciplinary,
multi-department Karst Research Group. We assume our karst geologist
will have research and teaching interests in carbonate rocks. Karst
specialty may vary but we particularly seek applicants who have expertise
in reservoir characterization (paleokarst), biogeochemistry, or
engineering geology to complement departmental strengths in hydrogeology and
geophysics and college strengths in geomorphology and GIS. The
successful candidate is expected to develop an externally funded research
program, mentor graduate students, teach undergraduate and graduate courses,
and interact constructively with the karst community of the university,
region, and profession. The position, to be filled at the Assistant or
Associate Professor level, is a tenure-track, academic year
appointment, beginning Fall 2005. A Ph.D. is required at the time of empl
oyment. Applicants for appointment at the Associate Professor level
must have outstanding records of published research and teaching. Salary
determined by rank and experience.
To apply, send a letter of interest, curriculum vita, statements of
teaching and research goals, and the names and e-mail addresses of three
referees to: H.L. Vacher, Search Committee Chair, Department of Geology,
University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., SCA 528, Tampa, FL
33620-5201 by February 7, 2005. Applicants should request that three
letters of reference be sent directly to the search committee chair by
February 7, 2005. For additional information, contact Len Vacher
(vacher@chuma1.cas.usf.edu) or visit www.cas.usf.edu/geology (and see
link to the Karst Research Group). USF is an AA/EEO institution. Women
and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. Those persons
requiring reasonable accommodation under the ADA should contact the Search
Chair. According to Florida law, applications and meetings regarding them
are open to the public.
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5) CONTACT INFORMATION
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