UNL researchers featured at upcoming AAAS annual meeting

Three University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers will give presentations Feb. 16-18 at the largest science research conference in the United States: the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Christopher Fielding, Kenneth Cassman and Mary Anne Holmes were invited to present and discuss their research in front of thousands of peer scientists at the event in San Francisco.

The AAAS annual meeting is an international science and technology extravaganza that influences science professionals around the world and generates extensive news coverage to further the public understanding of science. The range of topics makes it the year's most important gathering for the growing segment of the science, technology, and engineering communities interested in interactions among disciplines. This year's theme is "Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being," and brings together provocative thinkers and decision-makers to address global and national issues in health, energy, the environment, economic development, education, terrorism, science frontiers and more.

Cassman, a professor of agronomy and horticulture, is director of the new Center for Energy Sciences Research at UNL. His talk Feb. 18 is "The Science of Sustainability in U.S. Agriculture," as part of a symposium on "Science, Sustainability and Subsidies for Agriculture and Resource Conservation."

Fielding is a professor of geosciences and will talk Feb. 18 about "Reconciling Timing, Duration and Character of Late-Paleozoic Glaciations." His talk builds on his research co-authored by UNL researcher Tracy Frank and J.L. Isbell from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on an overview of their research on the rock record that shows repeated fluctuations of warming and cooling in eight glacial intervals, each 1-8 million years in duration. Fielding's presentation is part of a session on "Geosystems and Climate Lessons from Earth's Last Great Icehouse." Fielding, Frank and associates published a paper on associated climate-change research in the Jan. 5 issue of the international journal Science.

Holmes, a research associate professor in geosciences, will discuss barriers to the advancement of women in academia, both from structural impediments and inadequate preparation of women students for academic life. "Strategies To Improve the Retention of Women Science Professors," is part of a Feb. 16 session "Achieving and Sustaining a Diverse Science Work Force," and based on a paper co-authored with Suzanne O'Connell from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn.

Information about AAAS and the annual meeting is at www.aaas.org.

CONTACTS: Kenneth Cassman, Director, Center for Energy Sciences Research, (402) 472-5554;
Christopher Fielding, Professor, Geosciences, (402) 472-9801;
Mary Anne Holmes, Research Assoc. Professor, Geosciences, (402) 472-5211