~ for immediate release

 news release  May 3, 2007

DRI’s Lancaster earns Regents’ Researcher Award

DRI President Dr. Stephen Wells, Dr. Nicholas Lancaster, and Regents' board chairman Bret Whipple

Reno, Nev.—Dr. Nicholas Lancaster received the Nevada System of Higher Education's Regents' Researcher Award for 2007—marking the third year in a row that a DRI faculty member has received this honor.  Lancaster, research professor and senior director of DRI's Center for Arid Lands Environmental Management (CALEM), received B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in geography from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Since then, he has established himself as one of the world's foremost experts on sand-dune systems and eolian, or wind-driven, processes. His research has included studies of the deserts of Namibia, Botswana and parts of South Africa as well as the Gran Desierto in northwestern Mexico and the Mojave Desert of California and Nevada. 

He also has applied his knowledge and skills to understanding the deserts of Mars while expanding studies in deserts in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the cold environment of Antarctica.  Lancaster is noted for developing landmark concepts in eolian process studies, including the Dune Mobility Index, a numerical method for evaluating the stability of areas affected by wind erosion in relation to climate changes that is used by researchers throughout the world.  Lancaster's scientific contributions have been essential to evaluating areas affected by wind erosion, estimation of past climate conditions and perhaps most importantly, forecasting potential effects of changes in climate and land use. 

Lancaster has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers and given more than 110 presentations throughout the world during his career.  Additionally, he is an active educator in advising graduate students, teaching courses and lecturing in many countries.  He has been acknowledged through many awards and honors, such as the Dandini Medal of Science in 1994, the Gladys W. Cole Research Award for Geomorphology and the Farouk El-Baz Award for Desert Geomorphology.

ABOUT THE AWARD: The Board of Regents established the Regents' Researcher Award in 1992. This award is bestowed upon faculty members with a substantial record of accomplishments, including a significant amount of research and scholarly work with recognition, clear evidence of the national and/or international stature of the research, and in the case of grants and contracts, must have been competitive on a national or international level. The honoree receives a $5,000 stipend and a medal.

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 of Nevada provides critical funding in support of DRI's administration, operations, and maintenance through the NSHE education budget.  While DRI’s portion of the NSHE budget is approximately one percent, the institute leverages these funds to enhance its competitiveness.