What's New
New Degree and Graduate Certificate
The Department of Environmental Studies has been approved to add a bachelor of arts in Environmental Studies (fall 2013), and a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems (fall 2012). Although neither program will begin immediately, students can enroll in courses now.
The new undergraduate major in Environmental Studies will provide students with the necessary skills to engage in the many processes that are necessary to confront the challenges citizens, businesses, governments, and non-governmental organizations, among others, face in light of rapidly changing modern global environmental issues. The BA will equip students with the analytical tools for understanding and engaging in concerns related to the natural and social world. The program will offer multi-disciplinary curriculum with interdisciplinary learning goals, incorporating the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities, to ensure that graduates will gain a holistic understanding of complex environmental concerns and their natural, social, and ethical implications. [Please note that applications are not currently being accepted. Contact Dennis Ruez (druez2@uis.edu) for more information about this future program.]
The Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a 12-hour program administered by the Department of Environmental Studies. The purpose of the certificate is to give students the opportunity to gain valuable GIS knowledge and skills that can be applied to careers in both academia and practice. Upon completion of the certificate coursework, students will be able to
- Describe, distinguish, and apply the fundamental concepts, principles, and tools of geographic information systems (GIS) to understand social, environmental, and economic issues;
- Demonstrate a mastery of basic skills and techniques of using GIS software;
- Identify, describe, diagnose, and offer possible solutions to social, environmental, or economic issues of interest using GIS technology;
- Demonstrate skills to develop and present a concise but effective presentation with geospatial data;
- Demonstrate abilities to work effectively with students from different backgrounds in accomplishing a team project.
Dr. Ruez Discusses Fossil Mammal Research
Dr. Dennis Ruez, assistant professor of Environmental Studies, researches how climate change has affected fossil mammals. Dennis has had a chance to dig for fossils across the U.S. and around the world, and he has dozens of publications related to the topic. His most recently published works focus on mammals that lived more than 3 million years ago in North America.
Dr. Ting Speaks at Sustainability Conference in San Diego
T
he 2010 Conference of the Association for Integrative Studies was held in San Diego with the title “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Integrating Ethics and Sustainability.” There, Dr. Ting gave a talk entitled “Fuzzy Buzzwords and Interdisciplinarity” that explored the terminological challenges within sustainability.
Dr. Ruez Attends the 2010 American Quaternary Association Meeting
Dennis attended the biennial conference of the American Quaternary Association that focused on the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary in the Americas. This is the general time when many large mammals in North and South America became extinct, people migrated to the Americas, and large ice caps covered much of the Northern Hemisphere. Dennis’ work used the diversity of fossil rodents, insectivorans, and rabbits to create estimates of the paleotemperatures across the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary.
This sample image shows a longitudinal temperature gradient in Illinois during the late Pleistocene due to the presence of a glacier in the northeastern portion of the state. Today, there is a latitudinal gradient, with colder temperatures in the northern part of Illinois.
Although the conference was in Laramie, Wyoming, naturally Dennis found a giant head of Abe Lincoln on a 30-foot granite pedestal. Once you move to Springfield, it’s hard to miss the random monuments to our past president.
Dr. Ruez Challenges U.S. Representative John Shimkus’ Comments on Climate Change.
The past winter's cold temperatures have heated the debate about climate change. Dr. Dennis Ruez responds to statement by U.S. Representative John Shimkus in a recent State Journal -Register article.
- Follow this link to read Dr. Ruez's comments about the climate change debate.
Dr. Ruez Discusses the Northern Illinois Earthquake
Following the earthquake in the Chicago area, Dennis Ruez was interviewed by WAND regarding the potential for earthquake hazards. Watch the video of Dr. Ruez's interview.
- Follow this link to view USGS maps and images of the Chicago earthquake.
