Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability

William W. Taylor received the Fisheries Excellence Award -- the highest honor that the North Central Division of the American Fisheries Society offers to a member who has made outstanding contributions to the fisheries profession. Taylor has devoted much of his professional life to fisheries research and conservation and is an exemplary recipient that the award attempts to recognize. The award was presented at the 65th annual Midwest Fisheries and Wildlife Conference on Dec. 13, 2004 in Indianapolis.

Anita Morzillo, CSIS doctoral student, received a NASA Earth System Fellowship and honorable mention for the Canon Park Scholarship. Morzillo also received grants from the Texas Parks Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for her to work on an integrated ecological and socioeconomic study of the Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas.

Vanessa Hull, CSIS doctoral student, received an NSF Graduate Fellowship and MSU’s University Distinguished Fellowship.

Nils Peterson, doctoral student, received a Budweiser Conservation Scholarship.

Jack Liu, CSIS director, has been appointed by National Academy of Sciences to serve on the new Committee on Independent Scientific Review of Everglades Restoration Progress. The committee was established to meet a congressional mandate to review the $8 billion restoration project in Florida. Other committee members include Rita Colwell, former director of the National Science Foundation.

William J. Mitsch, Ohio State University distinguished professor and recipient of the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize, spoke Nov. 11. Mitsch gave the laureate address that he delivered when receiving the prize, "Applying Science to Conservation and Restoration of the World's Wetlands." Mitsch also attended a lively breakfast meeting with students in the Systems Modeling and Simulation class on Nov. 12.

David Anderson, professor at Colorado State University and U.S. Geological Service researcher, gave a special seminar, "Model Based Inference in Ecology" on Oct. 28. He also delivered a guest lecture to the Systems Modeling and Simulation class on Oct. 28. Anderson has made enormous contributions to ecology science and wildlife conservation; he is the author of 15 books and numerous journal articles and book chapters and also teaches and conducts workshops around the world. He has won many awards, including a number of best publication awards and the 2004 Aldo Leopold Memorial Award and Medal, which is the highest honor bestowed by The Wildlife Society and is considered the ultimate recognition for a professional wildlife ecologist.

Jacqueline Geoghegan, professor at Clark University, presented a special seminar about the effects of government policies on land use and residential development on Dec. 2, 2004. She also gave a guest lecture to the students in the Systems Modeling and Simulation class on the same day. Since receiving her doctorate from the University of California-Berkeley, Geoghegan has been a faculty member of the Department of Economics and Graduate School of Geography at Clark University. She also is affiliated with Clark's Environmental Science and Policy Program. Geoghegan's research focuses on developing spatially explicit models of land use change using geographic information system (GIS) and other quantitative methods.

Li An, former CSIS member who earned his doctorate in 2003, has recieved the 2004 MSU Gill-Chin Lim Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in Global Studies. MSU recognizes and awards one graduate student each year for an outstanding doctoral dissertation, completed the preceding year, focusing on global studies. This award is named after Gill-Chin Lim, former dean of International Studies and Programs. Li will be honored at the 14th Annual International Awards Ceremony on March 29. Li is doing his postdoctoral research on an NSF biocomplexity project at the University of Michigan.

Chris Lepczyk and Marc Linderman, former CSIS members and doctoral students, have received NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Ed Laurent, doctoral student, has received a NASA Fellowship and a Budweiser Scholarship for his work on integrating field data with satellite imagery to describe landscape patterns in ways that promote a strong inference approach for investigations into causal mechanisms.

Scott Bearer, doctoral student, has received a fellowship on GIS and remote sensing from the Smithsonian Institution.

Nils Peterson, doctoral student and University Distinguished Fellow, is expanding the study of household impacts on biodiversity and the environment.

Mason Bradbury, professorial assistant and Alumni Distinguished Scholar -- one of the top 20 students in the 2003 class of more than 6,000 freshmen -- who is studying long-term changes in household sizes.

Paul Ehrlich, of Stanford University, was named the McPherson Endowed Professor for the Understanding of Science in 2004. He visited MSU April 13-16, 2004 and gave a public lecture to the MSU community and a seminar to the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Program.

Jane Lubchenco received an honorary doctoral degree from MSU in May 2003. She was also the first ecologist and environmental scientist to be chosen as a commencement speaker in the history of MSU.

CSIS Goes Green

The CSIS commitment to sustainability is not just the foundation of a research agenda, it also permeates day-to-day operations. The center has embraced the sustainability motto -- reduce, reuse, recycle -- as the guiding principle in the renovation and furnishing of its new facilities.

The Center is re-using existing premises in the Manly Miles Building, avoiding the environmental costs of new construction. In concert with MSU Physical Plant and Construction Management and Interior Design, renovations were planned to minimize demolition (reducing solid waste), replacing approximately 70 feet of permanent walls with partitions that can be reconfigured for many uses. The existing windows, window treatments, and heating and air conditioning units were reconditioned. The main office’s generous East- and West-facing windows provide ample natural lighting for the perimeter offices that are separated by mid-height partitions with glass that allows daylight into the open-plan interior spaces. Existing ceiling light fixtures were reconditioned rather than replaced and the electrical switching was modified to ensure only occupied space is lighted.

One of the most important principles in green construction and renovation is minimizing transportation costs byd using local suppliers. Michigan is home to a number of furniture manufacturers, some of whom also share a commitment to sustainability. The bulk of furnishings came from the Steelcase Corporation, based in Grand Rapids. The company strives to fulfill its environmental promise, made nearly a hundred years ago, to act as stewards of the environment. CSIS used Steelcase's Answer® wall system, which has MBDC’s Cradle-to-Cradleâ„¢ Silver certification and meets GREENGUARD® indoor air quality standards.

The remaining furniture comes from the Haworth Corporation, based in Holland, Mich, including the Zody chair, a Cradle-to-Cradleâ„¢ Gold certified product. It is GREENGUARD® certified as a low-emitting furniture product and is free of PDBEs, PVC, CFCs and chrome. It is made from 51 percent recycled materials and is 98 percent recyclable. Two of the most recyclable materials on earth – steel and aluminum – make up almost 77 percent of Zody’s materials, by weight, simplifying recycling. Disassembly takes less than 15 minutes, and customers can return any or all of their Zody chairs to Hayworth for recycling of these valuable materials. The center used Haworth’s LifeSPACE floor-to-ceiling wall system, which is also GREENGUARD®certified.

CSIS is pleased to be an early adopter of green floor coverings at MSU. Entropy carpet tile from Interface, based in Grand Rapids, was installed. The carpet is manufactured from more than 70 percent recycled content and uses a non-directional pattern that reduces installation waste. The tiles are designed to be replaceable in case of damage or renovations that require access to the subfloor. Combined with durable construction, these features extend the lifecycle of the flooring materials.

Besides the lighting scheme already mentioned, the center used Energy Star appliances in the kitchen and takes full advantage of computer power management features. The office infrastructure has been designed to minimize paper use by reproducing documents centrally and using electronic file sharing. The center uses paper and other supplies with high recycled content whenever possible. CSIS also takes full advantage of the excellent recycling services provided by MSU’s Office of Recycling and Waste Management.

The Manly Miles Building is close to CATA bus stops that travel to the center of campus frequently throughout the day. Many CSIS members commute to the Manly Miles Building by bicycle.