Student Work
Environmental science students initiate practical learning experiences on their own. Chris Aldassy is doing just that. “I’m going down to South America in the cloud forest to study herbal medicine.” Aldassy was first exposed to the area when a scientist who helped teach his forest biology class showed some slides of the area. Aldassy started corresponding with the scientist. “He gets an assistant, and I get school credit,” Aldassy adds. “It works out well for both of us.”
When Senior Kaola Swanson became an environmental science major, her primary interest was sustainable forestry, but spending a term in India changed all that.
"I knew I wanted to do more hands-on work," Kaola explains. With the help of the Office of International Education and Exchange, Kaola obtained an IE3 Global Internship with ATREE, a non-governmental organization specializing in environmental research.
She spent the first part of the program visiting field sites where she was exposed firsthand to the region's startling biodiversity. She then spent a month in Singimpatty, Tamil Nadu doing her own research in a wetlands area that was a major destination for migratory birds. "I recorded new species of birds practically everyday," Kaola says.
Her culminating project was to create a community education program based on her research. Kaola put together an activity and lecture that was presented to area children to help them become more knowledgeable about their local environment.
The experience shifted Kaola's interest from pure research to more community-centered concerns. "It made everything we were learning in the classroom much more tangible. It also made me think about the importance of community involvement. Everything I've written about since has been somehow tied to that experience."
Selected Faculty Work
The many faculty members affiliated with the environmental science program represent dozens of academic disciplines and bring a variety of expertise into the classroom.
Geography Professor Patrick Bartlein is a leader in the study of global climatic change.
Biology Professor Michael Lynch studies the role of mutation in evolution and extinction as well as the evolutionary consequences of mutation and small population size.
Geography Professor Patricia McDowell investigates how best to restore salmon habitat.
Geological sciences Professor Mark Reed focuses on the modeling of geochemical processes in natural waters, and geography.
Career Prospects
Internship opportunities
To help students line up meaningful internships, the program hosts internship fairs several times a year. From the Center for Appropriate Transport to the Native Forest Council to the Oregon Water Resources Research Institute, local internship opportunities with regional organizations and environmentally oriented buisnesses abound.
Career opportunities
Undergraduate adviser Galen Martin has high hopes for future students. “I have no doubt that half of our majors will continue in graduate programs,” he says. “The other half will have no trouble finding jobs with government agencies such as the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Forest Service. And,” he says, “private organizations and industries will likely call on them to conduct environmental assessments of their own projects and operations.”