Sunrise Session
Inside Research at Utah State University
At Utah State University's Sunrise Sessions, faculty and students share their research with alumni, community and business leaders from the Salt Lake area. Held quarterly in downtown Salt Lake City, these early-morning presentations detail how USU research is addressing pressing issues such as the obesity epidemic and hearing loss in children. All are invited to attend these events at no charge thanks to generous sponsorship by Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Next Sunrise Session
Utah’s Climate Symphony
 |
Dr. Robert R. Gillies
|
Friday, May 10, 2013
7:30 a.m.-9 a.m.
Little America Hotel
500 South Main Street, Salt Lake City
Dr. Robert R. Gillies grew up in Scotland. His received his bachelors in geography from the University of Glasgow, and his master’s in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University. He was a research associate at Penn State while working on a PhD in meteorology and remote sensing from the University of Newcastle. Dr. Gillies joined the faculty of USU in 1996 with a joint appointment in the departments of Geography and Earth Resources and Plants, Soils and Climate. In 2006, Dr. Gillies became director of the Utah Climate Center, where he set a new course for the center by making the center’s databases of Utah climate information accessible on-line. Dr. Gillies is an author or co-author of dozens of refereed journal articles and official reports. He has conducted numerous presentations within the State of Utah, as well as at national and international venues in the science behind temperature inversion prediction, climate precipitation cycles (particularly for the Intermountain West), and global climate change.
Future Presentations: |
| August 9 - Maria Norton (EEJ College of Education) |
| November 1 - Cathy Hartman and Ed Stafford (JMH School of Business) |
Past Presentations:
Douglas Jackson-Smith
The People Puzzle: Using Social Sciences to Address Water Sustainability Challenges in Utah
Christine Hailey
The Move to Engineering Education in High School: Investing in our Nation's Future
Vonda Jump
Overcoming Trauma: Promoting Optimal Outcomes for Babies in Orphanages
Layne Coppock
Empowering Women to Transform Drought-Ravaged Communities
Randy Lewis
Spider Silk: An Ancient Biomaterial for the Future
Noelle E. Cockett
Sheep Genomics: Lessons Learned From Science
Utah’s climate is puzzling: Tree ring data shows that the last 100 years in Utah have been anomalously wet when compared to the past, a combined result from a significant increase in rainfall and a minor decrease in snowfall. Likewise, the 2013 winter was the 16th snowiest on record, but, at the same time, there was less measureable precipitation – about half the norm. How is Utah both wetter and drier at the same time? Dr. Gillies will describe recent climate science research that the Utah Climate Center has uncovered as well as describe what hydroclimate changes have occurred in Utah and the associated implications for present and future regional water use strategies.
