Renowned watershed ecologist Grimm to deliver Minshall series lectures Oct. 3-4

Noted watershed ecologist Nancy Grimm, Ph.D., will deliver the public presentation “Urbanization of the desert: patterns and processes of a socioecosytem” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3.

Grimm’s lecture will be in the James E. and Beverly Rogers Black Box Theatre in the Idaho State University L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center. It is the first “G.W. Minshall Lecture in Ecology,” a new lecture series sponsored by the ISU Department of Biological Sciences that will become an annual ISU event.

She also will give a professional research seminar titled “A long-term perspective on biogeochemistry of desert streams” at 4 p.m. Oct. 4 in Room 10 of the ISU Lecture Center.

Grimm, a professor of life sciences at Arizona State University, is one of the world’s leading ecologists and has recently served as the president of the Ecological Society of America. She has been a pioneer in the study of arid-land ecosystems and ecology of urbanized watersheds.  

“Her public lecture is a great opportunity for University and community members to learn about the ecological effects urbanization is having on the West, including processes that are happening in our own Portneuf Watershed,” said Colden Baxter, ISU assistant professor of Biological Sciences.

The ISU Department of Biological Sciences established the G.W. Minshall Lecture Series in Ecology to provide lasting recognition of the scientific contributions of Dr. Wayne Minshall, an ISU professor emeritus who has been an international leader in the study of streams and rivers.

 “Nancy is one of the world’s leading ecologists and it is especially fitting she is the first recipient of this lectureship because her roots in the field are similar to Minshall’s,” Baxter said.

Baxter also noted that like Minshall, Grimm is an exceptional scientist and has an outstanding record of public service within and outside of her field.

Grimm has been a faculty member since 1990 at ASU, where she earned both her master’s and doctoral degrees. Her research interests center on the cycling and retention of the element nitrogen. She has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and 20 book and symposia chapters.

In addition, the ASU professor has also demonstrated exceptional leadership during her career. As co-director of the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network, she oversees and coordinates interdisciplinary research in urban ecology involving over 100 scientists in more than 10 departments. Grimm has served on numerous advisory panels and review teams for the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.

For more information on this lecture call (208) 282-3765 or visit www.isu.edu/bios/.