Contacts:
Ron Kalb, DRI Director of Public Information ron.kalb@dri.edu
(702) 862-5420 (office), (702) 498-8916 (cell)
Heather Emmons, 775-673-7313, heather.emmons@dri.edu
All DRI News Releases available at: http://news.dri.edu/
December 2, 2004
Defense Department honors DRI researcher’s desert terrain work
|
|
RENO, Nev. – Dr. Jack Gillies, Desert Research Institute associate research professor, was honored this week as one the nation's top researchers for his efforts in helping the U.S. Department of Defense meet environmental challenges that impact military readiness.
Gillies was honored for his work in characterizing and quantifying fugitive dust emissions from DoD sources, including unique military activities.
DRI President Dr. Stephen G. Wells also lauded Gillies’ efforts. “Jack’s research is central to our desert terrain project for the military. We are extremely proud of him and his team for their work and for this honor. We also have a deep sense of pride in being able to help our men and women in the military while supporting DoD’s environmental stewardship,” Wells said.
DRI’s Desert Terrain Forecasting for Military Operations project is sponsored by the U.S Army’s research office. DRI aims to help the Army develop a computer tool to predict and anticipate changes in desert terrain conditions. Ultimately, the device will supply humvee drivers, chopper pilots, armored-vehicle operators and strategists with information they need to avoid hazards and meet their objectives safely and securely.
Defense Department officials made the awards in Washington, D.C. during the opening session of a three-day symposium sponsored by the Strategic Environment Research Development Program and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program.SERDP is DoD's corporate environmental research and development program that focuses on cleanup, compliance, conservation, pollution prevention and unexploded ordnance technologies. ESTCP, meanwhile, works to identify, demonstrate and test technologies that address the military's environmental requirements.
Both organizations work in partnership with DoD to reduce environmental challenges that limit use of military training and testing installations, as well as current and future liabilities.
Other award recipients were from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of Utah, Georgia Institute of Technology, GE Global Research and University of California.
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 400 full- and part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 150 research projects at DRI annually. More than 80 percent of DRI's annual $37 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.