About this Event
The annual Spring dinner of the Environmental Science and Sustainability Programs in the Creighton University College of Arts and Sciences, with special recognition of the graduating seniors in both programs.
Guest Speaker this year is John Schalles, PhD, of the Department of Biology at Creighton, whose presentation is titled, "Environmental Drivers of Plant Production in Inland and Coastal Waters and Wetlands: Nutrients, Climate, and Location, Location, Location."
Dr. Schalles is Professor of Biology at Creighton University, Co-Founder and Director for 17 years of the Environmental Science Program, former two-term Chair of Biology, and an Adjunct Professor of Marine Science at the University of Georgia. He earned his B.S. (Biology) at Grove City College in 1971, M.S. (Zoology) at Miami University in 1973, and his Ph.D. (Biology) at Emory University in 1979.
Since 1979, he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Creighton in marine and freshwater ecology, toxicology and environmental physiology, remote sensing, ecosystem modeling, and zoology. He has broad interests in aquatic ecosystems. Much of his work is collaborative and cross-disciplinary and is reported in over 50 peer-reviewed publications. His research focuses on primary production patterns, trophic support, and external drivers of coastal and freshwater marshes, pelagic waters (lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, and offshore), phytoplankton blooms, coral reefs, and mangroves.
Schalles is a PI for the NSF Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research study and his research documenting long-term, serious declines in coastal marsh vegetation is recognized as Transformational Science for the project.
Since 2002, he has led NOAA and NSF projects for geospatial analyses of vegetation communities and productivity in 44 East Coast and Gulf of Mexico locations using in situ surveys and drone, airborne hyperspectral, and Landsat, ESA Sentinel 2, and Worldview satellite imagery. He has brought nearly $1.5 million in extramural funding to Creighton – much of which has supported student research.
He has mentored 115 undergraduate and 29 graduate research students and taken nearly 900 Creighton students into the field for experiential learning and research based at 17 field stations in eleven U.S. states, Honduras, and Israel.
Dr. Schalles is retiring this May and will immediately transition to Professor Emeritus of Biology. He looks forward to traveling with his wife Nancy, more time with family and friends, scuba diving, hiking and camping, photography, reading history, and music.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Harper Center, 602 North 20th Street, Omaha, United States
USD 10.00 to USD 16.00