Contacts:
Ron Kalb, DRI Director of Public Information ron.kalb@dri.edu
(702) 862-5420 (office), (702) 498-8916 (cell)
Heather Emmons, DRI PIO, heather.emmons@dri.edu
(775) 673-7313
All DRI News Releases available at: http://news.dri.edu/
July 14, 2004
Dr. Ken Adams to receive DRI's 2004 Wagner 'Young Scientist' award
RENO, Nev. - Desert Research Institute scientist Ken Adams has been selected to receive DRI's 2004 Peter B. Wagner Medal of Excellence, an award for outstanding scientific accomplishments by DRI faculty in the early stages of their careers.
Dr. Adams’ research includes water quality and shore erosion studies at Lake Tahoe. He has also focused on the geologic and geomorphic history of the Lahontan Basin, where a great inland sea once covered much of northwestern Nevada.
Adams joined DRI’s Division of Earth and Ecosystems Science four years ago. In a ceremony at DRI, Friday, Adams will receive a $1,250 prize and a minted medal for the award, named in honor of DRI atmospheric scientist Peter Wagner who died in the crash of a research aircraft in 1980.
According to Executive Director Mike Auerbach, of DRI’s earth and ecosystems division, “Ken Adams has shown an outstanding breadth and depth in his scientific interests and abilities, in his success in obtaining funding from a diversity of sponsors and in demonstrating an ability and willingness to convey his work to the scientific community and the public.”Adams’ scholarly achievements include an excellent publication record and an active academic involvement with University of Nevada, Reno students, Auerbach said.
Peter B. Wagner’s widow, Sue Wagner, a member of the Nevada Gaming Commission and formerly Nevada lieutenant governor, state senator and assemblywoman, established the award in 1998. She also established the Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences, an annual national award to encourage women to study in that field.
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 $37 million operating budget consists of research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists.
-END -