The high point of the week is still to come. Tomorrow the Lamont Campus will open its doors to as many as 4000 visitors for the Lamont Open House (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news-events/events/open-house. From exhibits in our laboratories and facilities (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/files/uploaded/image/Lamont%20Open%20House%202014%20Online%20Program_100614.pdf) to hands-on science experiences in our city of white tents and four parallel sets of lectures and panel discussions (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/files/uploaded/image/14%20LDEO_OH_program_rev9.pdf), the breadth and excitement of the science conducted on this campus will be evident to all in attendance. On-campus parking will be extremely limited, but complimentary parking and a shuttle to Lamont are available at the Dolce Palisades Conference Center, and shuttle buses will run from Morningside to Lamont and back at 15-minute intervals starting at 9:15 am.
Lamont Weekly Report, October 10, 2014
New to the Lamont web pages this week is a Kim Martineau piece on Gordon Jacoby that nicely chronicles his life and the impact of his scientific contributions over several decades (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news-events/scientist-who-traveled-world-study-forest-and-trees). During tomorrow’s Open House, there will be a memorial wall inside the Tree-Ring Lab honoring Gordon. If you are on campus, I hope that you will pay a visit to the memorial and will consider sharing your written thoughts, memories, and photos on the wall at the laboratory that Gordon co-founded nearly 40 years ago.
The International Center of Photography launched an Instagram “takeover” last week to highlight the role of photography in understanding climate change. Over the next three months, a different photographer each week will post photos that focus on climate change and its impact. Among this week’s images are Joshua Wolfe photos of Nicole Davi, Mo Raymo, Tiffany Shaw, Adam Sobel, and Gisela Winckler (http://instagram.com/icp). An article describing the program on The Wall Street Journal Wednesday includes a photo by Jonathan Nichols of Billy D’Andrea collecting a sediment core from beneath an ice-covered lake in Greenland. (http://blogs.wsj.com/photojournal/2014/10/08/photographers-scientists-take-over-icp-instagram-account-for-climate-change/). (The photo is incorrectly credited to University of Massachusetts climate scientist Raymond Bradley in the caption.)
Also at the International Center of Photography, Robin Bell will give the first climate science walk-through at 6 pm this evening (http://www.icp.org/events/2014/october/10/friday-evenings-climate-scientists-robin-e-bell). Robin’s presentation on the impact of climate change on polar regions will be set against a backdrop of images of the Arctic by photographer Sebastião Salgado. The event has been highlighted by the editors of Art in America as one of the top art events in New York City this week (http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/previews/the-agenda-this-week-in-new-york--24/).
Yesterday I hosted a meeting of the directors of the four directors of Earth Institute units on the Lamont Campus, including Bob Chen (CIESIN), Lisa Goddard (IRI), and Pedro Sanchez (AgCenter). The focus of the meeting was a discussion of plans at each unit for fundraising from private donors, foundations, and industry, not only to share information on prospects and progress but also to explore opportunities for greater partnership in future fundraising efforts. Pete Sobel joined the discussion from the Observatory, as did Anna Bedsole, Greg Feinhold, and Casey Supple from the Earth Institute’s Office of Funding Initiatives. The exchanges were lively, and the group agreed that it would be sensible to regularize such meetings. Future agenda items will range from opportunities to take part in university initiatives to managing the financial operations of the campus and addressing issues of campus infrastructure.
Also yesterday, I was privileged to attend a reception staged by the Observatory in my honor, and I am delighted to thank Art Lerner-Lam, Miriam Cinquegrana, and their colleagues for handling the arrangements; Art, Peter deMenocal, and Steve Cohen for their generous comments; and all who attended for contributing to the convivial atmosphere of what was for me a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable event.
This afternoon, the Earth Science Colloquium will feature our own Natalie Boelman. Natalie will speak on “Arctic warming: What it means for the birds and the bees” (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/files/uploaded/image/file/Natalie%20Boelman.pdf). Whether you prefer birds or bees, I hope to see you there.
Sean