1) As an advanced PhD Student, I am thinking about career options, which include a university faculty position.  A position on this committee would allow me to experience first-hand how Research-I universities such as Duke operate, including non-research/teaching responsibilities of faculty, and faculty-administrative interactions.  Additionally, this position would allow me to "practice" being faculty by engaging in discourse and affecting decisions regarding Duke's research and teaching priorities.  I am a Fellow in Duke's Preparing Future Faculty program this year, and serving on this committee would provide a nice foil to my experiences at other universities in the area.

2) I have devoted my education and career to studying environmental and sustainability issues.  My undergrad research studied effects of anthropogenic nitrogen impacts on alpine plant communities and water quality. My dissertation research is focusing on the effects of land use conversion on carbon sequestration or emission, and on constructing rubrics for measuring carbon in ecosystems in order to calculate carbon credits in a future cap and trade scenario.  I am an avid conserver of water and electricity in my own home, and am passionate about improving others' and institutions' commitments to conservation.

3) I have been at Duke for many years now: 4 years of undergrad and now entering my 4th year of a PhD.  As both a current student and an alum, I would like to help Duke to not only maintain its reputation for academic and institutional excellence, but also to continue to live up to that reputation.  Incidents such as the Duke lacrosse party and the Fuqua cheating incident cause me to worry that expectations of integrity and excellence are not being communicated to students, and thus causing erosion of Duke's reputation.

I have not served on any University committees.

1) Preparing Future Faculty Fellow 2009-2010

2) I am a 4th year student in Nicholas School of the Environment.  My undergraduate degree (with Distinction, from Duke) is in Environmental Science.  My research focuses on carbon cycling and carbon sequestration in a southeastern loblolly pine forest.  I worked for one year as an environmental consultant.  I think, talk, and write about environmental and sustainability issues on a daily basis.  I recently coauthored a publication comparing the ability of several carbon accounting protocols to calculate appropriate amounts of carbon offset credits, to be sold in a future cap and trade carbon market.

3)Many years at Duke: 4 years of undergraduate study (including one semester with Duke's Marine Laboratory and one semester with the Duke-led OTS course in Costa Rica), one year as an employee, plus 3+ years PhD study.  Additional courses in Research and Scientific Ethics beyond RCR requirements.

This committee did not meet this month.