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Mentors

Mentors in IDES are faculty or researchers with the various program partners whose interests are cover important topics in the Earth Sciences.  Each student works directly with a mentor in their research program and work on a project throughout their time with IDES.

Below are some of the mentors that have worked with the IDES program:

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Matthew Constantino Matthew Constantino is a Geography Instructor at Portland Community College, and has worked with Chris Wade and Ron Perry.

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Chris DailyChris Daly

Dr. Daly’s professional background spans several disciplines, including meteorology and climatology, geography, and ecology. Since 1990, Chris has been at Oregon State University. He is currently a research professor with a dual appointment in the Department of Geosciences, College of Science, and the College of Oceanographic and Atmospheric Sciences.

Chris Daly is the founder and director of the PRISM Group, a unique group dedicated to producing the highest-quality spatial climate data sets and analyses worldwide. The PRISM group is developing an emerging sub-discipline of climatology called “geospatial climatology,” which is a powerful combination of climatology and spatial analysis. Chris is the developer of the PRISM spatial climate modeling system, which produces state-of-the-science spatial climate products currently used in thousands of applications worldwide. Spatial data sets include official USDA temperature and precipitation maps for the United States and possessions, the US climate atlas, detailed climate maps for China/Mongolia and the European Alps, and a century-long monthly time series of digital maps of temperature, precipitation, and dew point for the US spanning 1895-present. For his efforts in developing PRISM spatial climate data sets for users worldwide, Chris received the 2004 Applied Meteorology Award from the American Meteorological Society, the highest award in his discipline.

Dr. Daily has worked with Yuritzy Pena.

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Shan de SilvaShan de Silva (go here for his professional page)

Shan is the Principal Investigator of the IDES (Increasing Diversity in the Earth Sciences) program (http://ides.science.oregonstate.edu). He is also a mentor in the program. Shan has worked with Kevin Weldon and with Michelle Neeson

"Students and I try to understand how volcanoes, particularly supervolcanoes, work. My philosophy for students is to explore interesting volcanic problems in the field and then use the volcanologists "toolbox" to solve those problems - an approach I call "Volcano Forensics" - a sort of CSI apporach to volcanic processes. I am also interested in Planetary Geology. I like to use the terrain, landforms, and processes on the Earth as analogs for Mars. Projects on the Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars and the origin of Gravel Megripples are now underway."

Shan runs a popular website called VolcanoWorld (http://volcano.oregonstate.edu). 

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Rob HarrisRobert Harris: "I am interested in using thermal processes to understand the Earth. All geologic processes involve the transfer of energy. Heat (energy) and temperature are fundamental to many earth processes, and quantifying the flow of energy and thermal budgets leads to an appreciation and understanding of Earth dynamics. These interests have led me along three paths: Marine heat flow, climate change inferred from borehole temperature-depth profiles, temperature and rheology"  Rob has worked with Andrea Jacobo and with Mindi Hartzell-Jones

 

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Roy HaggertyRoy Haggertyis a hydrologist. He and his students study how solutes (nutrients, contaminants, or inert chemicals) and heat move in and are transformed in natural waters.  He is interested in how streams are modified by their interactions with groundwater and what these interactions will be like in the future. Approximately 10 undergraduate have completed projects with him, and several of these students have co-authored scientific papers with him. He has been at OSU for 15 years and is an avid runner. Roy has worked with Sarah Ackers.

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Julia JonesJulia Jones  

Specialty: Spatio-temporal statistics, forest hydrology, landscape ecology, surface processes, biogeography

Research Interests: Land use, climate change and disturbance effects on hydrology, geomorphology, water quality.  

Julia has worked with  Olivia Poblacion.

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Carly LetteroCarly Lettero: is the Program Director of Energize Corvallis, a Corvallis Environmental Center program that works in collaboration with the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition. She is an interdisciplinary researcher, writer, and community organizer who specializes in climate change, residential energy use, and environmentally responsible behavior.  Among other projects, she is currently developing the the Community Carbon Challenge, which is a neighborhood-based approach to reducing energy use through no-cost and low-cost actions. The goals of the Community Carbon Challenge are to engage a broad base of residents, create community around energy issues, and establish a base of energy-aware residents who will then be invited to participate in other Corvallis energy programs.  Carly has worked with Amber Ross.