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Superfund Research Program
Brown SRP hosts interdisciplinary workshop to understand Superfund impacts
A team of scientists, community members, legal, regulatory, and redevelopment practitioners gathered in Providence, R.I., on May 9-10 to educate one another on the full spectrum of impacts of living in proximity to Superfund sites. The Brown University Superfund Research Program (SRP) hosted the interdisciplinary group at a workshop entitled “Social, Psychological, and Economic Impacts of Superfund and Other Contaminated Sites”.
During the workshop, participants shared their viewpoints regarding contaminated neighborhood or site issues, then discussed and identified possible research topics for which one or more of the social sciences could provide a more holistic understanding of the effect that hazardous waste sites have on communities. Attendees also shed light on how practitioners and decision-makers consider critical issues, such as science, economics, and health care when considering the future of a given site.
The participants will develop a white paper summarizing the state of the field, which they will submit for publication and intend to share at the 2012 SRP Annual Meeting. For more information about the meeting, contact James Rice, Ph.D. (James_Rice@brown.edu), at Brown University.
Brown Trainee Receives Switzer Fellowship
David Ciplet, a graduate student in the Brown University Superfund Research Program, has been named a 2012 recipient of a prestigious Switzer Foundation Fellowship Award. Ciplet is one of 20 students nationwide selected to receive the fellowship.
Switzer Fellows are highly talented graduate students in New England and California whose studies are directed toward improving environmental quality and who demonstrate the potential for leadership in their field. Ciplet will receive a cash award to support his graduate study as well as networking and leadership support from the foundation.
Program staff would like to offer their congratulations to Ciplet. For more information on the fellowship, visit the Switzer Foundation website
Folt appointed interim president at Dartmouth
Carol Folt, Ph.D., a member of the Superfund Research Program team at Dartmouth College since it started in 1995, was appointed interim president of the college April 17.
Folt’s areas of expertise include ecotoxicology, health-environment interactions, and science education. Metal toxicity and the effects of dietary mercury and arsenic on aquatic life and human health is her research focus. She and her colleagues developed new technologies to assess mercury environmental exposure and its effects. They also conduct cross-cutting research on chemical signaling, restoration and conservation of Atlantic salmon, and global climate change. Folt serves on federal scientific review panels and foundation boards, reviews for journals, and has held elected offices in international scientific societies. She became a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences in recognition of her contributions to environmental science and higher education.
A faculty member since 1983, Folt was previously named Provost in May 2010, which made her the second ranking officer at Dartmouth. Folt received a B.A. in aquatic biology and an M.A. in biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara; a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis; and was a postdoctoral fellow at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station.
A press release about Folt’s appointment is available from the Dartmouth College Office of Public Affairs.
