Melody Brown Burkins, senior director for research and strategic initiatives in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate College was appointed vice chair of the National Academy's U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Geological Sciences (USNC/IUGS) in July 2009.

Founded in 1961, the IUGS is one of the largest and most active non-governmental scientific organizations in the world and a member of the International Council of Science. The mission of IUGS is to promote and encourage the study of earth systems, especially those of world-wide significance, and supports and facilitates international and interdisciplinary cooperation in the earth sciences.

"This is a great honor for Dr. Burkins and for UVM," said Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate College, Domenico Grasso. "It is not surprising that Melody continues to be recognized as a leader in her work to advance research and policy excellence both at UVM and in national and international circles."

Burkins earned degrees in earth and ecosystems science from Dartmouth College and Yale University, with time spent working in Mexico, the Bering Sea, southeast Alaska, and Antarctica as well as the Swiss Alps. An advocate for the effective translation of academic research and knowledge to decision-makers, she received a highly-competitive AAAS Congressional Science and Technology Fellowship sponsored by the Geological Society of America and U.S. Geological Survey in 1999 and subsequently served as the energy and environment aide to U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy in Washington, D.C. before returning to Vermont.

Burkins has held several positions at UVM, including director of federal relations and associate dean of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. In addition to her current role, she serves as the interim director of the Vermont Advanced Computing Center and recently co-edited a book with Vice President Grasso, due out in January 2010, titled, Holistic Engineering Education: Beyond Technology.