vqarticles.html
A sampling of my articles in Vermont Quarterly:
What ice can tell us about heat: studying climate change in Antarctica
Summer 2008
The fate of the world’s sea levels restslargely on the ice of
Antarctica, where scientists such as UVM geologist Thomas Neumann are
searching for clues to the future in the frozen past.
Engineering a speedy hybrid
Summer 2008
The bleachers at New Hampshire International Speedway stand empty as a
Roman ruin. A team of UVM engineering students sits in the infield
eating sandwiches and watching a perky red car from McGill University
weave deftly around orange cones. Their own sits motionless in a nearby
garage. They have nothing left to do but go home.
A keen eye to the ground helps guide conservation
Spring 2008
A track is more than a mark in mud or snow that says a fox or flock of
turkeys passed by. It’s a lens into a shadowed world of animal
intentions. It’s a Proustian naturalist’s cake dipped in
tea, the single strike of claw and toe pad summoning a vast ecological
narrative for those with skill to read what’s there.
Grant Funds New Approach to Lake
Champlain
Winter
2008
A watch is
complicated, but a watershed is complex. Remove one gear
from the hundreds in the watch and it, predictably, stops working.
Pollute one river with excess phosphorous and the whole watershed is
likely to change in hundreds of ways, but nobody can be quite sure if
or when or where a beach-closing toxic algae bloom will appear in Lake
Champlain. But that may be about to change.
UVM's Natural Areas
Fall 2007
Alpine arctic tundra to lowland bog, UVM's Natural Areas preserve
distinct corners of the Vermont landscape. Hit their trails with
notebook in hand and an expert by your side, and you'll come away with
more than a nice walk in the woods.
A Look at Plant Biology
Spring 2007
In a state that takes its name from the verdant landscape, it’s fitting
that the study of plants has long been a central focus at the
University of Vermont. In the nineteenth century, UVM’s first doctoral
degrees were awarded to botanists. Turning forward to more recent
history, the initial warning signs of acid rain’s impact on northern
forests came through Professor Hub Vogelmann’s research on Camel’s
Hump. As today’s scientists explore issues from invasive species to
climate change to sustainable agricultural methods, the study of plants
and the soil they’re rooted in remains vital to the well-being of
Vermont and the world.
Seeking better ways with stormwater
Winter 2006-07
Alexey Voinov holds a glass over his desk. “If you pour it on a sponge,
all your water will soak in and then evaporate or slowly trickle out,”
he says. Then he runs his hand across the smooth desktop. “Or, if you
spill on this table, it will flow down onto the floor with a big
splash.”
From soybean fields to Frialators, can we fill
the tank on biodiesel?
Spring 2006
Ken Oldrid leans over the counter of Ahli Baba’s Kabob Shop on
Main Street in Burlington and asks, “got any grease today?”
He’s not ordering the falafel. He’s looking for used
cooking oil to power his diesel car.
A profile of forester--and deep ecologist--David Brynn
Fall 2005
When you first meet forester David Brynn ’76 G’91 you’re more likely to
think of Paul Newman than Paul Bunyan. Tall, gray at the temples, and
easy to smile, Brynn has an affable grace that would serve him on a
movie set — but he has more important work to do in the forests of
Vermont.
Protecting a wild but fragile forest
Fall 2004
To see the Northern Forest, climb to the top of Mount Mansfield on a
fine day. Leave the last brave spruces and continue on above treeline,
hopping from rock to rock over lichen and sedge until you stand on the
blunt summit, in the wind. Here you can see the tallest peaks in three
states.
Last modified October 02 2008 11:07 PM
