| DRI | 2006 News Releases | ||
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~ for immediate release news release August 14, 2006
Contact: Heather Emmons, DRI PIO, heather.emmons@dri.edu, Reno (775) 673-7313 (w), (702) 743-3435 (c) Dr. Alison Murray to be honored with DRI's 2006 Wagner Medal of Excellence
In a ceremony
today at DRI, Murray will receive a $1,500 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. The Wagners'
son, Kirk, will present the
award at the ceremony. Murray’s research involves the use of biotechnology and genomics to study microorganisms and how they interact with the environment. Murray works in a variety of aquatic environments, many of which lie at the extremes of temperature both hot and cold. Because many of the organisms which live in nature are not cultivatable in the laboratory, her research often takes her into these harsh environments where she spends time in locations such as Antarctica and 7,500 feet under the ocean’s surface in Alvin, a three-person research submersible owned by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “We
have been fortunate to apply new genomics technologies developed for
studying the human genome to address questions about marine plankton
and sea-ice associated organisms living in the Antarctic,” Murray
said of her research. “We’re interested in questions concerning
survival and adaptation in the ice-covered, constantly cold, high latitude
environment, since we really know very little about how organisms have
come to thrive under the extreme conditions found there.” Murray’s
research will lay the foundation for future studies in Antarctic marine
sciences to gain a better understanding of how the microbial communities
will respond to environmental change. Since joining DRI in 2001, Murray has established a stellar research record including many high quality publications and an impressive array of national and international invited presentations. Murray has also developed an exemplary record of funding support, been active in teaching and graduate student training and has fulfilled important leadership duties for her profession and for DRI. ABOUT
THE AWARD: Peter B. Wagner's widow, Sue Wagner, a Nevada Gaming
Commission member and former Nevada Lieutenant Governor, 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. ABOUT DRI: A nonprofit, statewide division of
the Nevada System of Higher Education, or NSHE, DRI pursues a full-time
program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national,
and international scale. More than 500 full- and part-time scientists,
technicians, and support staff conduct more than 300 research projects
at DRI annually. DRI generates $50 million in total revenue consisting
predominately of competitively won research contracts and grants. The State
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