Idaho State University Professor, Director Herbert Maschner receives Idaho Academy of Science Distinguished Scientist Award

Idaho State University's Herbert Maschner, research anthropology professor and interim director of the Idaho Museum of Natural History, has been awarded the 2011 Idaho Academy of Science Distinguished Scientist Award and will be honored April 1.

Maschner was selected because of his "very impressive and lengthy record of research accomplishments that span a wide range of interdisciplinary topics," according to Sara Heggland, president of the Idaho Academy of Science, and professor and chair of biology at the College of Idaho.

The ISU professor will be recognized at the 53^rd annual Symposium of the Idaho Academy of Science running March 31-April 2 at the College of Idaho.

Besides his other titles, Maschner is also the director of ISU's Center for Archaeology, Materials, and Applied Spectroscopy, a senior scientist at the ISU Idaho Accelerator Center, associate editor of the Journal of World Prehistory, and an executive director of the Foundation for Archaeological Research and Environmental Studies. In 2006, he was named ISU's Distinguished Researcher.

His primary research interests include using trans-disciplinary data to investigate human biocomplexity and the environment, resource and community sustainability, long‐term human impacts and interactions with marine and terrestrial ecosystems, human ecosystem engineering, Darwinian Theory and evolutionary psychology, warfare and inequality, and global historical ecologies.

His museum interests are in virtual museums and repositories, and in the development of integrated trans-disciplinary research. Methodologically his interests include 3D virtualization and database construction, historical ecology, elemental and isotopic analyses, geographic information systems and remote sensing, and complex systems analysis. His primary research area is the North Pacific Rim and Western North America, especially the eastern Aleutian region, Northwest Coast, western sub-Arctic, and Idaho. 

Maschner's research has been funded by National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Wenner‐Gren Foundation, and local agencies. He has been or is principle investigator or co‐PI on more than $7.2 million in grants, which includes being principal investigator on about $5.19 million from the National Science Foundation on 14 awards. He has nearly 100 publications.

The Idaho Academy of Science (IAS) was organized in 1958 to further the cause of science and science education in Idaho. The IAS seeks to improve the effectiveness of science education in Idaho, and to promote public understanding and appreciation of the sciences and applied technology in the modern world. It is the only statewide organization in Idaho, which embraces all scientific disciplines. The IAS has provided and remains available for consultative or advisory services on matters of science and technology to the Governor, and to Local, State and Federal Agencies.

Chartered activities of the Academy are to:

• Stimulate scientific education and research;

• Promote collegial relationships among those engaged in scientific work;

• Assist in the development and promotion of the scientific resources of the state of Idaho;

• Unify the scientific interests of the State; and

• Publish reports of scientific studies and applications.

The Idaho Academy of Science is an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Association of Academies of Science. Similarly, many science and engineering professional and technical societies in the state of Idaho are affiliates with the IAS.

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