Oxford University confers "distinguished associate" status on DRI sand dune expert
The School of Geography at Oxford University in England has conferred “distinguished research associate” status on Desert Research Institute scientist Nicholas Lancaster, an international expert in the analysis of sand dunes as indicators of climate trends, and on the role of arid land surfaces in contributing to dust pollution.
DRI President Stephen G. Wells said Lancaster, a member of DRI’s research faculty since 1991, was awarded the associate status in recognition of his extensive research collaborations with faculty in Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment. He noted that Lancaster received his Ph.D. in geography at Oxford’s traditional rival, the University of Cambridge.
Lancaster has analyzed dunes in the Namib, Kalahari, northern and western Sahara deserts in Africa, and in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of the western United States. His current research focuses on sediment transport patterns on dunes and their application to models for dune development and movement, and the influence of climate change dune development. He is in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica until February studying sand transport.
Lancaster ‘s work has been recognized by the award of the Dandini Medal of Science from DRI in 1994, a Distinguished Career Award from the Geomorphology Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers in 1997, and the Farouk El Baz Award for Desert Research in 2001 from the Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division of the Geological Society of America.
A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national, and international scale. Nearly 500 full- and part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 150 research projects at DRI annually. More than 85 percent of DRI's annual $33 million operating budget consists of research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists. The balance is received from the state of Nevada for administrative costs.