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Columns::October 15, 2001
Annual homecoming rituals celebrate ‘New Year--New Memories’
Louise McBee Lecture examines ways to enrich college experience
Online and accessible
Moore College will be rededicated as new home of Honors Program
American art history photos will be digitized
‘A mediated version of horror’
Public relations professor bridges the gap between intent and action
School of Music names new director
Coach named for new equestrian program
Newsmakers
Campus News
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| SREL 2001 |
Golden opportunity
University’s Savannah River Ecology Lab observes 50 years of environmental research
By Beth Roberts
beth@uga.edu
UGA’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory will celebrate 50 years of environmental research this week with a daylong
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| Eugene Odum (center) initiated research at SREL. Photo by Rick O’Quinn |
symposium Oct. 19 in the SREL conference center on the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. The symposium, “The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory: 50 Years of Ecological Diversity,” begins at 9 a.m. and is free and open to the public.
The mission of the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory is to better understand the environment by acquiring and communicating knowledge that contributes to sound environmental stewardship.
“SREL has a rich history of excellence in ecological and environmental research, education, and outreach,” says Paul Bertsch, director of SREL. “We appreciate the support provided by the university and the U.S. Department of Energy over the past 50 years and we look forward to meeting the challenges of the next half century.”
Speakers at the symposium will be SREL “alumni,” scientists whose research at the site strongly influenced their later research and their understanding of ecological issues. Their presentations will highlight the scientific accomplishments of SREL over the last half century.
John Avise, UGA Research Professor of Genetics, will speak about the development of ecological genetics. Ray Semlitsch of the University of Missouri, Columbia, will address the influence of SREL on conservation biology. Peter Stangel, program manager with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, will discuss environmental conservation. Ward Whicker, E.O. Lawrence Award winner and chair of radiological health sciences at Colorado State University, will speak on radioecology
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| Ecology professor Whit Gibbons heads environmental outreach and education at SREL. |
studies at SREL and elsewhere. John Pinder, also of Colorado State University, will address SREL’s significant influence on the study of old-field succession. John Giesy, zoology professor and director of the Institute of Environmental Toxicology at Michigan State University, will talk about environmental chemistry at SREL. James R. Spotila, Betz Professor of Environmental Science at Drexel University, will discuss thermal ecology.
SREL had originally planned a celebratory ceremony and open house for the day before the symposium, but those events had to be canceled because of security concerns following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Savannah River Site was originally called the Savannah River Plant; operated by the Atomic Energy Commission, the plant produced nuclear materials for many years. UGA and the University of South Carolina carried out environmental surveys for the AEC before work began at the site in 1951. Since then, the University of Georgia has contracted with the Department of Energy to carry out ecological research there; currently UGA has a $53 million, five-year cooperative agreement with DOE.
UGA’s Eugene Odum, Alumni Foundation and Callaway Professor Emeritus of Cellular Biology, conducted the first research on the site, studying land use, succession, and animal populations. He realized that the site offered the opportunity to study not only the changes which might result from the nuclear-materials production, but also more basic ecological relationships in a setting that would be largely undisturbed by humans. Although the initial AEC grants were small, SREL was born of the research of Odum, his colleagues and graduate students. Since then a great many scientists have studied the local ecosystems and the effects of the industrial activities on the site. The lab attracts students from across the country and around the world who do field work under the supervision of faculty ecologists. An active outreach program brings the lessons learned into classrooms and to civic organizations.
In 1972 the Savannah River Site was named the first National Environmental Research Park. As such, it serves as an outdoor laboratory for research scientists from throughout the country.
Research at SREL is divided into three main areas: ecological stewardship; ecotoxicology, remediation and risk assessment; and radioecology. Ongoing research includes studies in population genetics, wetlands ecology and long-term research on biodiversity, behavioral studies of wildlife in natural settings, work in remote sensing and geographic imaging, and more.
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