Given all that has changed and what you anticipate for the future, what should EESI be doing differe

1
Given all that has changed and what you
anticipate for the future, what should EESI be
doing differently?

• in every grain of sand there is the story of
  the earth.
• Rachel Carson

2
We need to be able to understand past
transformations and predict future
transformations of the Earth. How can we
earthcast changes in the human-earth system?
3
Many if not most important environmental
processes are coupled with each other and coupled
with human activities. Earthcasting future
changes in the human-earth system requires
interdisciplinary understanding at a variety of
spatial scales and timescales.
4
EESI and EMS strengths We are one of the only
institutions providing

• Expertise that spans from meteorology to deep
  earth processes to human processes
• Expertise in both observational and modeling
  science
• Expertise in manipulation and visualization of
  large data sets
• A university context rich in related areas of
  agriculture, engineering, and materials science

5
EESI Helps Capitalize on these Strengths by
Trying

• To encourage interdisciplinary examination of the
  chemical, physical, biological, and anthropogenic
  processes acting to shape our environment and our
  response to that environment
• To facilitate the modeling and manipulation of
  environmental data in new and innovative ways
• To facilitate dissemination of environmental
  research findings
• To develop innovative, interdisciplinary research
  and education programs in environmental science

6
EESI History

• Began as the Earth System Science Center (ESSC)
  in 1985 when Eric Barron came to PSU as first
  ESSC director
• Brought together faculty in the Departments of
  Geosciences, Meteorology, Geography, Energy,
  Environmental, and Mineral Economics
• ESSC research included global change, the global
  water cycle, biogeochemical cycles, Earth System
  history, human impacts on the Earth system
• First centers CIRA and CECG in 1998

7
EESI History (Cont)

• ESSC renamed the Environment Institute in 1999
• EMS EI mission
• To enhance the visibility of EMS environmental
  research and educational programs,
• To create opportunities for collaborative
  research
• In 1999, computing and outreach components were
  also incorporated
• EI renamed the Earth and Environmental Systems
  Institute in 2004
• Currently hosts activity in five Centers

8
EESI by the Numbers
9
People

• 33 receive salary (either in total or in part)
• 22 EESI tenureline associates (Gen funds)
• 26 research faculty and staff (4 Gen and 22
  extramural)
• 7 administrative staff
• 40 EESI associates have offices in the EES Bldg
• EESI affiliates and associates from
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Geography
• Geosciences
• Materials Science and Engineering
• Meteorology
• Energy and Mineral Engineering

10
Budget

• Averaged 4.3/yr for the past three years
• Total for 05/06 8.2M compared to 4.7M in
  04/05
• 7M are extramural funds
• 1.1M provided as general funds (06/07)
• General funds expenditures
• 11 administrative staff support
• 8 tuition, grad assistantships, and student
  wages
• 9 supplies, materials, office operations
• 9 computational staff and system maintenance
• 7 other research initiatives (includes centers,
  commitments and misc. requests)
• 10 research faculty and staff salary support
• 46 tenure line faculty
• 81,097 RIF in 2006/2007
• 22 tenure line faculty releasing overhead

Only includes research awards administered by
EESI (424-07).
11
Proposals

• Averaged 47 proposals/yr for the past three years
• 22 tenure line EESI faculty experiencing proposal
  success
• Largest four awards 03-07
• Northeastern Regional Center of the National
  Institute for Climate Change Research Ken Davis
  David Eissenstat (1.4M)
• Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium Lisa Brown
  (1.9M)
• Center for Environmental Kinetics Analysis
  Susan Brantley (6.8M)
• Augmentation of the Pennsylvania Map Program
  Management and Administration Todd Bacastow
  Douglas Miller (15.1M)

12
Centers and Facilities Receiving Institute Funds
13
Earth System Science Center (ESSC)(22.5K/year)
Michael Mann

• Approach
• Multi-tiered approach to climate modeling
• Long-term, high resolution climate model
  integration experiments
• Emphasis on "process" to bridge problems on
  multiple timescales
• Combining Modeling, Empirical Analyses, and
  Fundamental Processes
• Development of new educational tools

14
Center for Carbon Cycle Science and Management
(CCSM) (4.5K/year)Kenneth J. Davis

• Formed in 2001
• Focuses on the science, engineering, economics
  and ethics of the global carbon cycle
• Collaborators are located primarily in
• College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• College of Agricultural Sciences
• Interactions with the College of Liberal Arts
  have been initiated
• Collaboration with the Dickinson School of Law
  being explored.
• A focus-area within the ESSC to promote
  interaction among carbon cycle scientists and
  those interested in other aspects of the earths
  climate system
• Northeastern Regional Center for the National
  Institute for Climatic Change Research (DOE, 2
  million/yr)

15
Penn State Ice and Climate Exploration (PSICE)
Center (4.5K/year) S Anandakrishnan/R B Alley

• Mission is to facilitate interactions between
  geoscientists, meteorologists, and numerical
  modelers
• Some of the areas of ongoing work include
• Research into ice sheet stability and mass
  balance.
• Improved models of rapid change in ice flow.
• Impacts on sea level interactions with climate.
• Web portal to Polar studies at Penn State and a
  virtual gathering place for Polar-interested
  researchers
• Hope to expand research into areas such as
• Satellite remote sensing
• Biology and ecology impacts of polar
  environmental chg
• Policy

16
Center for Environmental Chemistry and
Geochemistry (12.5K/year)Karl T. Mueller

• Sponsored by EMS and the Eberly College of
  Science
• Mission
• Promote research and teaching in environmental
  chemistry and geochemistry
• Promote the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas
  among chemistry, geochemistry, hydrology,
  meteorology, biology, agronomy, environmental
  engineering, and geology
• Provide funding for interdisciplinary research in
  environmental chemistry and geochemistry
• Promote interaction among faculty, staff, and
  students
• Provide support for environmental speakers and
  sabbatical visitors
• Center for Environmental Kinetics Analysis (1.7
  million)
• Cyberinfrastructure grant -

17
Center for Environmental Kinetics Analysis (CEKA)
(two tuition waivers/year)Susan L.
Brantley/James D. Kubicki

• Brings together chemists, geochemists,
  biochemists, soil scientists and engineers to
• measure and synthesize kinetic data for
  environmental systems, and
• promote modeling of the temporal evolution of
  such systems
• The primary research question is
• How can we predict geochemical rates in the
  field?
• Creates broad interdisciplinary educational
  opportunities
• Incorporates post-doctoral research, graduate and
  undergraduate training, and public outreach
  components

18
Environmental Computing Facility (ECF)John Miley

• A new model for HPC EESI partners with PIs to
  fund HPC units and EESI personnel buy in for
  5k/y for access
• 5k/y pays John Miley or Dave Pollard to assist
  each PI in getting science going on HPC clusters
• http//www.eesi.psu.edu/centers/ecf.php

19
EESI Strategic Plan 2005-2008 (written
1/6/2005)

• Further HPC and data storage capabilities
• Reach out to students with visualization tools
• Bridge Life and Earth Sciences to engage students
• Grow a relationship between EESI and UPR
• Provide competitive support of EESI centers
• Improve the grant-writing process
• Provide video conferencing facility in EES
  Building
• Develop the human-environment curriculum
• Promote observational environmental science
• Promote a small seminar series on the environment

20
EESI Strategic Plan 2005-2008 (goals implemented
in yellow)

• Established new model for HPC and data storage
• Established GeoWall in EMS museum
• Initiating Earth Systems Ecology Search led by
  Taylor
• Promoting 2 proposals with UPR/PSU, REU ongoing
• Competitively chose 5 centers to receive funds
• Promoted Denise Kowalski to facilitate grant
  writing
• Provide video conferencing facility in EES
  Building
• Facilitated committee on Human-Environment issues
• Funded activities in Shavers Creek watershed
• Established EarthTalks seminar series on Mondays

21
The Big EESI ProblemsWe need to

• Improve budget and funding success
• Increase quality of life for EESI folks
• Improve communication
• Increase participation in and diversity of the
  Institute
• Clarify and work toward vision

22
The Big EESI ProblemsWe need to

• Improve budget and funding success
• Increase quality of life for EESI folks
• Improve communication
• Increase participation in and diversity of the
  Institute
• Clarify and work toward vision

23
Grants

• 06/07 6/42 proposals were funded 06/07 to date
• 05/06 18/53 proposals were funded (33)
• 04/05 11/45 proposals were funded (24)
• Average ask constant 29.5 M/yr vs. 24 M/yr
  03/04
• Awards up from 1.9 M/yr in 03/04 to 5.2 M/yr
• RIF increased from 65,331 05/06 to 81,097 06/07
• EESI-administered research expenditures increased
  from 3M/yr 03/04 to 7.06M in 05/06 (58
  increase)
• EMS-administered research expenditures increased
  from 29M/yr 03/04 to 39.7M in 05/06 (27
  increase)

24
EESI budget has improved!

• We have decreased the deficit
• We can again provide stipend and tuition support
  for graduate students through a
  nomination/competition process
• We still do not have great flexibility in
  non-assigned funds

25
Tuition waivers

• 16 one-semester waivers available per year
• Allocated as match or for special projects by
  request to Director
• Also now being provided on a competitive basis
  with stipend support

26
The Big EESI ProblemsWe need to

• Improve budget and funding success
• Increase quality of life for EESI folks
• Improve communication
• Increase participation in and diversity of the
  Institute
• Clarify vision

27
Wilson Travel funds

• Available to EESI Associates
• Made at the discretion of the Director and on a
  first-come first-served basis
• Must match the guidelines provided by the Deans
  Office
• Apply at http//www.eesi.psu.edu/WilsonFunds/W
  ilsonFunds.php

28
SIR (Scholars in Residence)

• Application Deadline Nov. 15
• http//www.eesi.psu.edu/SIR.pdf
• EESI offers the dept of the SIR 10k to free the
  recipient from teaching responsibilities for one
  semester
• Recipient will use office in EESI
• Recipient will act in some advisory capacity to
  EESI Director

29
Fixed Term and Research Faculty Review Process

• Instituted policy with respect to review
• Constituted first review committee, coordinated
  with e-Education and Energy Institutes
• Promoted several faculty
• Increased responsibilities, reporting, and
  feedback

30
Some EESI benefits will only be available to
salaried associates

• Tuition and/or research support for graduate
  students
• Money for postdocs
• Eligibility for the Scholars in Residence program
  (limited to tenure line folks)
• Space in EES Building

31
Support for Nontenureline EESI Associates

• Support can include space, tuition waivers,
  salary, other funds
• Limited to activities that involve the greater
  EMS community
• No term limits (as compared to EESI tenureline
  associates)

In 05/06, some salary on EESI general funds was
provided to Bacastow, Brown, Pollard, Miley
(Miley is now staff)
32
Some benefits will be available to both
Associates and Affiliates

• Access to EESI staff services, e.g., proposal
  preparation
• Access to EESI-supported computer facilities

33
The Big EESI ProblemsWe need to

• Improve budget and funding success
• Increase quality of life for EESI folks
• Improve communication
• Increase participation in and diversity of the
  Institute
• Clarify vision

34
Increase communication

• Adding info to This Week
• Strategic Planning workshop held
• Annual All-Hands meetings
• Semi-regular coffee hours
• Instituted an EESI Advisory committee with an
  elected member
• Regular meetings with Steering committee and
  Center directors

35
EESI Governance Committees

• EESI Steering Committee (Yaw Yeboah, Bill Brune,
  Tim Bralower, Roger Downs)
• EESI Center Directors Committee (Doug Miller,
  Karl Mueller, Ken Davis, Michael Mann, Sridhar
  Anandakrishnan)
• EESI Advisory Committee (Dave Pollard, Andrew
  Carleton, Richard Alley, Jenni Evans, Alan Taylor)

36
The Big EESI ProblemsWe need to

• Improve budget and funding success
• Increase quality of life for EESI folks
• Improve communication
• Increase participation in and diversity of the
  Institute
• Clarify and work toward our vision

37
EESI tenureline associates will now have TERM
limits

• Hire new associates for 7 yr term
• All EESI associates should be evaluated every 5
  yrs (or 7 as above)
• Review to be done by Director and Advisory
  Committee
• Faculty maintaining appropriate ties with
  institute retain salary through institute and
  those that do not return to departmental funding
• For new hires that do not stay with EESI, funds
  return to EESI
• For historical hires that do not stay with EESI,
  funds should be traded for another faculty within
  the same dept by negotiation
• Advisory committee is beginning the review now on
  the basis of Fac. Activity Summaries

38
Plan for new hires

• EESI will work with department heads of co-funded
  faculty to put an EESI/dept-written memo on file
  registering expectations for each co-funded
  faculty.  EESI will co-evaluate each faculty
  member at the beginning of the fifth year since
  appointment (or previous renewal) to determine
  whether to continue co-funding.  All EESI
  co-funding will be managed with the expectation
  that a co-funded faculty member in good standing
  that is contributing to EESI goals will be
  supported by the EESI until they retire or
  leave.  In no way should the decision to remove
  EESI funding from a faculty associate be
  accomplished in such a way that it harms
  promotion or tenure considerations for a faculty
  member in good standing.

39
Responsibilities of EESI Associates (draft)

• An EESI tenureline Associate will contribute to
  EESI goals. Status as a tenureline associate can
  be terminated at the end of the 5- or 7-year
  appointment. The EESI Director (and Advisory
  Committee) will decide whether an Associate is
  satisfying their part of the bargain. Meaningful
  contributions to EESI could include participation
  in EESI functions and strategizing, participation
  in institute-related research initiatives,
  relevant teaching or mentoring in
  cross-disciplinary areas, and/or supervision of
  graduate students in relevant, cross-disciplinary
  research.

40
The Big EESI ProblemsWe need to

• Improve budget and funding success
• Increase quality of life for EESI folks
• Improve communication
• Increase participation in and diversity of the
  Institute
• Clarify and work toward vision

41
EESI Advisory Committee implemented spring 07

• SIR (Carleton)
• 1 nontenure-line EESI associate (Pollard)
• 1 tenure-line EESI associate (Evans)
• 1 non-EESI associate (Taylor)
• 1 member voted at large (Alley)

42
Draft Vision Statement from the EESI Advisory
Committee

• EESI will be the international leader in crossing
  disciplinary boundaries to understand dynamics of
  the human-earth system.

43
Draft Mission Statement from the EESI Advisory
Committee

• To foster understanding of environmental change
  by facilitating the creative pursuit of novel
  ideas, linkages, and tools.

44
To truly earthcast, we need to promote Earth
Systems Ecology

• For 35 years the number of science,
  mathematics, engineering, and technology
  graduates has oscillated around one-third of the
  total B.A. pool. (Norman Fortenberry, head of
  NSFs undergraduate Programs, as cited in
  Science).

45
Population shifts among U.S. students in science
and engineering
..there have been shifts within the natural
sciences and engineering, as interest in
particular fields have waxed and waned.
Declining interest in fields such as physics
has been more than offset by a spectacular rise
in the life sciences, up 83 in the past decade
after a dip during the 1980s Overall, data from
the National Science Foundation (NSF) show that
the fraction of U.S. undergraduates choosing to
major in science and engineering has stayed
remarkably constantroughly one in threefor more
than a generation (Mervis, J. Science, 2001)
46
EMS needs to hire in Earth System Ecology for two
reasons

• We cannot understand earth system without
  ecologists
• Life sciences attracts more women students and we
  need to increase diversity

47
Conclusions

• Scientifically interesting time with respect to
  environmental issues
• EESI experiencing significant improvements
• Budget issues have significantly improved but we
  still lack budgetary flexibility
• We are planning to implement a new Strategic Plan
  during 07/08

48
Your thoughts?

• brantley_at_eesi.psu.edu