In Brief

Chameides Appointed to National Climate Change Committee

William L. Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School, has been appointed vice chair of America’s Climate Choices, a new, multidisciplinary study by the National Academies.

The study was launched in the fall at the request of Congress to provide policy-relevant advice, based on scientific evidence, to guide the nation’s response to climate change.

Experts representing government, the private sector and research institutions will serve on four panels and an overarching committee. They will release five consensus reports in 2009 and 2010 to examine and evaluate the actions and strategies available to limit the magnitude of future climate change; help society adapt to climate change impacts; advance climate change science; and inform effective government and industry decisions and actions.

Chameides is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and an internationally recognized expert on atmospheric chemistry and climate change. He is the author of the widely cited The Green Grok environmental blog, thegreengrok.com.

The National Academies serves as the nation’s advisers on science, technology and medicine. The Academies are comprised of four
organizations: the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.

Susan Lozier Named Fellow of American Meteorological Society

M. Susan Lozier, professor of physical oceanography and chair of the Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the Nicholas School, has been named a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS).

Lozier is a physical oceanographer with interests in large-scale ocean circulation and its links to global climate change. Her studies have appeared in Science, Nature and other top peer-reviewed journals.

A member of the Duke faculty since 1992, Lozier was the recipient of a National Science Foundation Early Career Award in 1996, a Bass Chair for Excellence in Research and Teaching in 2000, and a Duke University Award for Excellence in Mentoring in 2007.

She was inducted as an AMS Fellow in January at the society’s annual meeting in Phoenix.

Founded in 1919, AMS has a membership of more than 11,000 professionals, professors, students and weather enthusiasts.

Bruce Corliss Named Chair-Elect of University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System

Bruce H. Corliss, professor of earth and ocean sciences at the Nicholas School, has been named chair-elect of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) Council.

UNOLS is an organization of 61 academic institutions and national laboratories involved in oceanographic research. Members advise federal agencies on oceanographic research and infrastructure, and work together to coordinate research vessels and facilities.

In addition to his research and teaching, Corliss has served since 2001 as director of the Duke/University of North Carolina Oceanographic Consortium. The consortium operates the R/V Cape Hatteras, an ocean-going research vessel owned by the National Science Foundation. The Cape Hatteras’ home port is at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C.

Corliss will serve a two-year term as the UNOLS Council’s chair-elect, two years as chair, and two years as immediate past chair.

Former Coca-Cola Executive Leads Duke University’s Corporate Sustainability Initiative

Dan Vermeer, former director of the Sustainability Value Chain initiative at The Coca-Cola Company, is the new
executive director of the Corporate Sustainability Initiative (CSI) at Duke University.

CSI is an interdisciplinary program designed to examine corporate environmental practices from the perspectives of both business strategy and public policy. It pools the academic resources and research expertise of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, the Nicholas School and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

At Coca-Cola, Vermeer directed companywide efforts to integrate sustainability into Coca-Cola’s core business practices, including business planning, procurement, employee engagement, customer relationships, communications and brand positioning. He founded and led Coca-Cola’s Community Water Partnerships program, resulting in 125 public-private water sustainability projects in 50 countries. Vermeer also designed an industry “gold standard” Environmental Assessment Methodology, identifying risks and priorities at more than 800 manufacturing facilities in 200 countries.

Vermeer received his bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Hope College, his master of arts degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Virginia, and his PhD in learning sciences from Northwestern University.