Colorado State University’s seventh campus-wide International Colloquium will take place on November 14-15 at the Lory Student Center. The event, which concurrently celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, will feature 12 interdisciplinary panel sessions designed to give students, faculty, staff and the public a better understanding of issues surrounding ecosystem science for the 21st century. Topics include integrated research and engagement in Africa, ecosystems and climate change, environmental literacy, water and environmental sustainability in China, sustainable pastoral development in Mongolia, citizen science, and educating the whole student for global ecological challenges in the 21st century. This year, the Colloquium will also include graduate student Ignite talks, a poster session, and a half-day NREL symposium.

The Office of International Programs organized the International Colloquium jointly with the Natural Resource Ecology Lab, with support from the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Session Schedule

All sessions are free and open to the public and will be held at the Lory Student Center.

Tuesday, November 14

9 – 10:30 a.m.
Opening Plenary

10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Fukushima Reactor Accident Impact on the Local Environment
Water and Environmental Sustainability in China
Critical Knowledge Gaps in Soil Organic Matter Dynamics for Monitoring Soil C

12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century: Educating the Whole Student for Global Ecological Challenges

2 – 3:30 p.m.
Regional Climate Change Effects and Ecosystem Responses in the North Central U.S.
Use of Ecosystem Models at NREL During the Past 50 Years
Reinventing Discovery: Ecosystem Science Empowered by Citizen Science

4 – 6 p.m.
Research Ignite Presentations
Ignite Presentations Abstracts

Wednesday, November 15

9 – 10:30 a.m.
Environmental Science Literacy: A Framework for Addressing 21st Century Environmental Challenges
Ecosystem Approaches to Sustainable Pastoral Development in Mongolia

10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Integrated Research and Engagement in Africa: Looking to the Past and Designing Innovations for the Future
Applications of Ecosystem Science to Real-world Challenges

1:30 – 4:45 p.m.
NREL 50th Anniversary Symposium Schedule

• “Soil microbiology, ecology and biochemistry; An important past, exciting present and great future based on basic knowledge, unifying concepts, advanced methodology and sound thinking.”
  Dr. Eldor Paul, 2014 Award Co-Recipient; NREL Senior Research Scientist; Professor,
  Soil and Crop Sciences, CSU

• “Advances in Biodiversity Science: Predicting Species in Space and Time”
  Dr. Tom Stohlgren, NREL Senior Research Scientist

• “The Causes and Consequences of Microbial Biomass” (Ignite Talk)
  Dr. Ed Hall, NREL Research Scientist; Professor, ESS, CSU

• “Pikas, algae, and streams: A story of three citizen science projects at NREL” (Ignite Talk)
  Dr. Greg Newman, NREL Research Scientist

• “Water Realities: a Social-Ecological Assessment of Community-Scale Water Resources on the Border of Kruger National Park”
  Dr. Melissa McHale, NREL Research Scientist; Associate Professor, Urban Ecology and Sustainability, CSU

• “Developing a Sediment Budget for the Upper Elk River Watershed, Northwestern California: Do Natural or Anthropogenic Sources Dominate?”
  Dr. Lee H. MacDonald, Professor, ESS; NREL Senior Research Scientist

• “Putting the WOW into Undergraduate Research Experiences” (Ignite Talk)
  Dr. Stacy Lynn, NREL Research Scientist

• “Edge Effects: “Poachers” and Uncanny Animals on the Borders of South Africa’s Kruger National Park” (Ignite Talk)
  Dr. David Bunn, NREL Senior Research Scientist

• “Different Behavior Requires Different Management: The Difference Between Horses and Burros”
  Sarah R.B. King, NREL Research Scientist

• “Causes, Impacts, and Adaptations of Pasture and Climate Change Across Mongolian Ecozones from Integrating Herder and Instrument Observations” (Ignite Talk)
  Dr. Steven Fassnacht, Professor, ESS, CSU; NREL Research Scientist

• “A Biotic Awakening: Soil Biota and Feedbacks in a Changing Arctic”
  Dr. John Moore, Director, NREL; Department Head, Ecosystem Science and Sustainability (ESS), CSU

• “Understanding Long-Term Ecosystem Dynamics in a World with a Short Attention Span”
  Dr. Jill Baron, Ecosystem Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey; NREL Senior Research Scientist

NREL 2017 Ecosystem Science Awardee - Mary Firestone

4:45 – 6:30 p.m.
Poster Session
Poster Abstracts