Coupling Humans and Complex Ecological Landscapes
2009 US-IALE Symposium
Snowbird, Utah | April 12-16, 2009
US-IALE 2009 Half-Day Workshops
- NASA-MSU Student Workshop: Interviewing For Landscape Ecology Jobs
- What is Landscape Ecology up to in the Climate Change Debate?
- Challenges and Opportunities in Research on Complexity of Coupled Human and Natural Systems
- Hot Topics and Random Discussions Room
NASA-MSU Student Workshop: Interviewing For Landscape Ecology Jobs
| Date: | Tuesday, 14 April |
| Time: | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
| Cost: | Free |
| Organizers: | Martin Simard (University Wisconsin-Madison) and Namrata Shrestha (University of Toronto) |
| Enrollment: | Must pre-register on registration page. Maximum of 40 individuals. |
| Location: | TBA |
| Note: | This workshop is organized by the US-IALE Graduate Student Representatives and is targeted towards graduate students, post doctoral fellows, early career faculty, and other interested individuals. |
For the non-initiated, the whole interview process leading to landscape
ecology jobs in academia, government, and NGOs is sometimes unclear, if
not totally obscure. The types of interviews in these different
institutions vary greatly, ranging from research and teaching talks
for large audiences, to phone/video and one-on-one interviews.
Expectations also differ between institutions, depending on their mandate,
mission or culture. This workshop will bring together young professionals
who recently went through the interview process, as well as more senior
professionals who have been on search committees, to share their
experience and insight into interviewing for landscape ecology jobs. A
panel of speakers working in different types of organizations will talk
about the qualities that make good candidates in their respective
institutions, and talk about some pitfalls to avoid. We invite graduate
students, post doctoral fellows, early career faculty, and other
interested individuals to participate.
Detailed workshop description …
What is Landscape Ecology up to in the Climate Change Debate?
| Date: | Tuesday, 14 April |
| Time: | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
| Cost: | Free |
| Organizers: | Felix Kienast (Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL) and K. Bruce Jones (U.S. Geological Survey) |
| Enrollment: | Must pre-register on registration page. |
| Location: | TBA |
| Note: | This workshop is organized on behalf of the IALE Executive Board and is linked with a Special Symposium on Tuesday morning with the same title. |
The IALE Executive Committee wants to enhance exchange of ideas among
members on how landscape ecology can help inform and resolve some of
the world's greatest environmental problems. On the website, every
half a year a new key topic will be presented and discussed, which might
help scientists to interact and find out about approaches that are being
developed by landscape ecologists from around the world. Thus, IALE
intends to facilitate building networks of scientists, evoke opinions
about future challenges, and share new insights and activities related
to each key topic. Every 6 months, a new key topic will be launched at
the IALE website and be opened for discussions, comments, and invitations
to cooperate. Apart from researchers, landscape planners and architects
as well as young researchers and students are especially invited to
share their thoughts on the subject. The first key topic will
highlight how landscape ecology can inform decisions about adaptation
to climate change research.
Detailed workshop description …
Challenges and Opportunities in Research on Complexity of Coupled Human and Natural Systems
| Date: | Tuesday, 14 April |
| Time: | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
| Cost: | Free |
| Organizers: | Jianguo (Jack) Liu and William McConnell, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Michigan State University |
| Enrollment: | Must pre-register on registration page. |
| Location: | TBA |
| Note: | This workshop is linked with a Special Symposium on Monday, and Tuesday morning entitled "Complexity in Human-Nature Interactions across Landscapes." |
Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS) are integrated systems in which
humans and natural components interact (e.g., human-environmental
systems, social-ecological systems, ecological-economic systems). While
some work has been done on CHANS complexity (see example reviews in
Science 317: 1513-1516 (2007) and Ambio 36:639-649 (2007), many
challenges still remain. Recently some new opportunities have emerged to
address these challenges.
This workshop will build on the symposium "Complexity in Human-Nature
Interactions across Landscapes", part of the activities of the new
NSF-funded project "International Network of Research on Coupled Human
and Natural Systems (CHANS-Net)". It will facilitate more in-depth
discussion on topics related to the symposium. While we will reserve
time for questions and discussion during the symposium, some substantive
issues are bound to arise that merit more detailed exploration than can
occur in the symposium itself. During the symposium, audience members
will be encouraged to submit questions, ideas and suggestions they would
like to pursue in the workshop. These will be collected and organized
prior to the workshop, which will begin in panel format, with the
Symposium presenters responding to the questions, ideas and suggestions
relating to their respective presentations, and to further issues raised
by the workshop participants. The outcome of this session will be the
distillation of a number of key substantive and methodological issues
that merit further discussion.
Detailed workshop description …
Hot Topics and Random Discussions Room
| Date: | Tuesday, 14 April |
| Time: | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
| Cost: | Free |
| Organizers: | Local committee |
| Enrollment: | Open. Pre-registration is not required. |
| Location: | TBA |
A major function of the annual meeting is to encourage discussion among landscape ecologists. To that end, this years' local committee is hosting an informal setting for discussion among meeting attendees. We have set aside a room that will be open throughout the afternoon where attendees can schedule meetings with colleagues, or simply wander in and begin discussion. Free coffee will be available for the entire afternoon.