The State of the Institute

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State of Institute

The State of the Institute

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Introduction. General information about our mission and organization.
2005-2006 Biennial Report (PDF, 5 Mb)
- See Reports for high resolution versions and older reports.

A Message from the Director

James P.M. Syvitski
INSTAAR Director

What are we? INSTAAR is an Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, with facilities and laboratories located in Boulder, Colorado. INSTAAR is one of seven research institutes located at the University of Colorado, Boulder. It has the honor to be the oldest. It was inaugurated in 1951 but its origins extend back to the Mountain Laboratory in Tolland, Colorado (1909-1919), and to University Camp located at Niwot, Colorado (1914-1920). University Camp was renamed Science Lodge in 1921, and in 1951, the Mountain Research Station (MRS). The MRS remains an important field station supporting INSTAAR research. INSTAAR environmental field research now extends to all major oceans (Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern), coastal seas (Mediterranean, Gulf of Mexico, Hudson Bay), and all major landmasses (North through Central to South America, Africa, Australasia, Europe, Asia, and Ocean Islands) and the Polar Regions.

Who are we? At the end of 2006, the governing body (Directorate) comprised 35 Fellows and Research Scientists led by the Director, an Associate Director and an Executive Committee. The Directorate consisted of 16 teaching faculty (3: Biology; 3: Geography; 5: Geology; 2: Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering; 2: Environmental Studies; 1: Anthropology); 6 Fellow/Professor-Emeriti; 3 Federal Research Scientists (NOAA, USGS); and 10 Research Faculty. The Directorate receives support from 40 professional scientists, 8 post-doctoral scientists, and 65 graduate students. Other Ph.D.-level Institute scientists include 39 Research Affiliates (USGS, NCAR, NOAA, other Universities, private companies) and 5 Visiting Scientists. During 2005-2006, the Institute supported 90 undergraduate research assistants. Institute members are loosely subdivided into three research groups (Ecosystem Science, Geophysics, and Past Global Change), but considerable cross-group collaboration occurs. Staff and faculty within our Center for Geochemical Analysis of the Global Environment are included in these groups. Our Mountain Research Station has a staff of 7 including faculty and instructors. The Institute’s administrative staff of 10 includes an Information Officer; the Managing Editor of Arctic, Antarctic & Alpine Research; the Chief Finance Officer; the Director’s Executive Assistant; a Systems Administrator; a Web Master and 5 accountant technicians and clerks; to support the activities of our 291-member Institute (for details see our People page).

Research is expensive: The majority of our $18.4M revenue for 2005 - 2006 came from federal agencies (59%), followed by the state of Colorado (CU: 19%), auxiliary lab operations (13%), and non-federal sources (9%). Of the federal agencies, NSF remains the largest source of revenue, followed by the Departments of Commerce, Defense and Interior. INSTAAR research involves about 220 contracts, grants and gifts, at any one time. The total operating expenditures for 2005 – 2006 were of $16M, 61% as salaries, tuition and scholarships, 14% as operating expenses, 14% as recharges and indirect cost recovery by CU, 7% for equipment, 4% in travel.

Active research Programs 2005 or 2006

Honors, awards and recognition:

John C. Behrendt was elected President of the prestigious American Polar Society in spring 2006.
Robert S. Anderson was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union for “fundamental and pioneering contributions in quantitative geomorphology, geochronology, hydrology and glaciology."
John T. Andrews was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union for his "seminal contributions to the Quaternary history of North America and the North Atlantic Basin."
Gifford Miller received the Easterbrook Distinguished Scientist Award at the Geological Society of America's (GSA) 2005 annual meeting. The award is given annually by the Society's Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division to an individual who has shown unusual excellence in published research, as demonstrated by a single paper of exceptional merit or a series of papers that have substantially increased knowledge in Quaternary geology or geomorphology.
Alan Townsend is named Director of the International Nitrogen Initiative’s North American Nitrogen Center; and separately was named as a member of the Ecological Society of America’s Rapid Response Team.
The ISI Web of Knowledge names James W.C. White as one of the most highly cited geoscientists for the period 1981-2006. This select group comprised less than one-half of one percent of all publishing researchers -- an extraordinary accomplishment.
Tim Seastedt won the 2005 Boulder County Pacesetter Environment award from the Daily Camera newspaper for his work on biological pest control of diffuse knapweed, an aggressive noxious weed that infests about 100,000 acres locally and 3 million acres in the West.

Books: With great effort and dedication, INSTAARs published a series of books and special journal issues over the last couple of years. These include:

Behrendt, J.C. 2005. The Ninth Circle; a Memoir of Life and Death in Antarctica, 1960-62, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 255 pp.
Hoffecker, J.F. 2005. A Prehistory of the North: Human Settlement of the Higher Latitudes. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 140 pp.
McKnight, D., and Emerling, D. 2006. The Lost Seal. Moonlight Publ., Lafayette, 34 pp.
Trincardi, F., and Syvitski, J.P.M. (Eds.) 2005, Mediterranean Prodelta Systems. Marine Geology 222-223: Elsevier, 520 pp.

Hearty hellos: Marcia Kelly has joined INSTAAR as the Executive Assistant to the Director, transferring in from the CU-Denver campus where she helped to manage the Mathematics department. Dr. Diana Nemergut joined the Directorate as an Assistant Professor with expertise in environmental microbiology, and Dr. Cory Cleveland joined the Directorate as a Research Faculty member with expertise in terrestrial biogeochemistry, and its interactions with soil microorganisms.

Fond farewells: Connie A. Woodhouse, Fellow of INSTAAR and Physical Scientist of Paleoclimatology Branch of the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, has taken up a faculty position at the University of Arizona. Dr. Woodhouse specializes in paleoclimatology, dendrochronology, and climatology. Research Faculty Irina Overeem has taken a position as Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology and will continue her research into stratigraphy, numerical modeling of fluvio-deltaic processes, and arctic fluvial environments. MRS Climatologist Mark Losleben has departed after 25 years to take a position at the University of Arizona as the Assistant Director of the National Phenology Network – Arid Lands Research. Vicky Nelson, Executive Assistant to the Director has retired from CU after a full career working with a number of campus units. Vicky is remembered for her organizational skills, fabulous holiday parties, and strong interest in all things Icelandic.

Finally in a few months time, and after 12 years at the helm (1995-2007), I am stepping down as INSTAAR Director. During these years, the number of INSTAAR employees has doubled, along with our research income and operating expenditures. Our income portfolio has diversified, although the Institute still relies strongly on competitive grants from the National Science Foundation. Funds from the Department of Energy have been replaced with funds from the Department of Defense. The Institute has diversified its research agenda around the broader theme of earth and environmental systems. INSTAARs have championed CU graduate certificates in Hydrological Sciences, and in Oceanography. INSTAAR is affiliated with ever more departments, including Anthropology, Atmospheric & Ocean Sciences, Environmental Sciences, and Civil & Environmental Engineering, in addition to the historical association with Geological Sciences, Geography, and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. During a campus period of declining graduate student enrollment, the number of INSTAAR graduate students has continued to grow. Our outreach program is large, with educational books for lower school science students, programs for middle school students, high school science fair awards, and education programs for high school teachers. INSTAAR continues to mentor and train undergraduate students in a wide variety of programs. With new large research programs on the horizon, I leave the Institute in good shape and with a bright future. I join with INSTAAR’s prior directors, Mark, Bill, and Jack, in wishing the new Director a steady but deft hand in dealing with the coming turbulence of the 21st century.