Dr. Boyle is a watershed hydrologist with over 25 years of experience in the field of hydrology and water resources with an emphasis in the development, implementation, and evaluation of complex computer-based hydrologic models to simulate watershed response to precipitation (rainfall and snowmelt). Integrated computer-based modeling of hydrologic processes to understand the impacts of historic and future climate on water resources in arid and semi-arid environments using paleoclimate information (e.g., pluvial lake shore dating, tree ring records and other climate indicators), global climate model estimates (e.g., paleo, historic, and future precipitation and temperature estimates from both statistical and dynamically downscaled studies), and instrumental ground-based information (e.g., NWS Co-op data, NRCS SNOTEL data, and PRISM data sets). Additional research interests include streamflow forecasting, water leasing and banking, water markets, GIS, remote sensing, parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis, and automated multi-criteria optimization. Dr. Boyle is a former Director of the Nevada Water Resources Research Institute.
David Charlet
Dr. Charlet’s research concerns the natural history of arid regions. His studies focus on the Great Basin and Mojave Desert, a region that includes most of Nevada and some of each of the surrounding states. Most of his research involves how plants are distributed across landscapes and regions.
Elizabeth Leger
Dr. Leger is interested in the population biology of plants. She works on local adaptation and rapid evolution of native and invasive plants, and is interested in how genetic variation (below the species level) affects the distribution and abundance of species. She also works on the rapid evolution of adaptive traits, and is currently interested in how native species can respond to environmental perturbations such as species invasion and climate change.
In addition to her work on plant population biology, she does projects that gather basic ecological data about rare species and natural communities, providing information that is necessary to make appropriate management and restoration decisions.
Eric Marchand
Dr. Marchand’s research interests: Optimizing biological processes for the treatment of water and wastewater; development and testing of membrane bioreactor technology; novel water reuse strategies; bioremediation of acid mine drainage; microbial ecology in natural and engineered systems; and biogeochemical reactions in the environment.
Eric Wilcox
Dr. Wilcox’s research addresses the interactions among aerosols, clouds, and precipitation towards a goal of improved understanding of precipitation, cloud variability and radiative forcing of climate at regional scales. This work relies on satellite and in-situ observations, as well as simulations with numerical models of the atmosphere and climate.
Dr. Wilcox manages DRI’s climate modeling group, which implements a wide range of numerical models, including fine-resolution atmospheric models for regional climate studies and applied research in water resources and renewable energy projects, air quality and chemistry models, and global coupled ocean/atmosphere climate models.
Dr. Wilcox teaches Atmospheric Physics (ATMS 411/611) and Atmospheric Modeling (ATMS 746) at University of Nevada, Reno. He is an associate editor of the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, an associate director of the Nevada NASA Space Grant Consortium for DRI, and he serves as a member representative to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) on behalf of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Franco Biondi
Prof. Franco Biondi received a Laurea (Italian Doctorate) in forestry from the Università di Firenze in 1985, and a Ph.D. in watershed management and geosciences from the University of Arizona, Tucson in 1994. He is now a Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he is also the DendroLab Director, and a member of three interdisciplinary graduate programs: Environmental Sciences, Hydrologic Sciences, and Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology.
Together with his students and colleagues, he has conducted research projects in North America and Italy. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation (including a CAREER award in 2002-2008 and an EAGER award in 2012-2014), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Geographic Society.
Frank van Breukelen
Dr. van Breukelen is interested in the mechanisms that allow animals to survive in harsh environments.
Gannet Hallar
Dr. Hallar is an Assistant Research Professor with the Desert Research Institute, she directs Storm Peak Laboratory, a high elevation atmospheric science facility in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. This laboratory has undergone major changes under her leadership including new instrumentation, new research foci, new field courses, and a significant building expansion. Currently, at Storm Peak Laboratory, Dr. Hallar also work as adjunct faculty for the University of Nevada, Reno and teaches a graduate level field course in Mountain Meteorology.
The overarching theme of Dr. Hallar’s research is using high quality measurements of trace gases, aerosol physical and chemical properties, and cloud microphysics to understand connections between the biosphere, atmosphere, and climate, along with the impact of anthropogenic emissions on these connections. More specifically, currently her research uses high elevation sites, combined with airborne measurements, to study the formation processes of Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) and Ice Nuclei (IN) and how differing formation processes impact mixed-phase cloud microphysics. This research topic is stemmed in many potential formation mechanisms of aerosols, including nucleation, secondary organic aerosols, and primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP’s).
John “Jay” Arnone
My research focuses primarily on understanding the effects of global environmental change (a.k.a. “climate change”) on the functioning and structure of terrestrial ecosystems, and deciphering the underlying ecological mechanisms driving the responses. This includes the study of how rising atmospheric CO2, changes in ambient temperature, interannual climate variability (e.g. anomalously warm years or heat waves), reductions in biological diversity, and large periodic disturbances (e.g. wildfire) affect plant physiological processes, plant growth and survival, plant populations and plant communities, as well as ecosystem processes and feedbacks. Although my interests in ecology are broad, I am particularly keen on understanding how belowground processes are impacted by changing ambient environmental conditions (e.g. fine root dynamics, activity of soil fauna, soil hydrology and root biology). I attempt to bridge traditional ecological disciplines and seek out collaboration with scientists from other disciplines to address these wider-ranging ecological questions.
My research group and I also apply our expertise to directly address real-world environmental questions and challenges for clients such as the U.S. Department of the Interior, Southern Nevada Water Authority, Sempra Energy, American Vanadium, Washoe County Air Quality Management, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Gas Technology Institute.
Lawrence Rudd
Dr. Rudd’s professional interests are in the areas of science education and geomorphology. By following these interests throughout his life, Dr. Rudd has been involved in a delightful combination of learning, researching, and teaching. Regardless of what he is teaching, Dr. Rudd never fails to use science examples and demonstrations to keep learning active. An ardent believer in inquiry-based learning, students in Dr. Rudd’s classes learn science and science teaching methods through active participation in class activities.
Dr. Rudd has wide-ranging experience in education, including 20 years of teaching high school earth science, physics, and geology in Portland, Maine, Pinon, Arizona, and Tucson, Arizona. In Pinon, Arizona Dr. Rudd taught in the first high school built in a remote part of the Navajo nation. Working with diverse student populations is one of Dr. Rudd’s lifelong interests.
In addition to teaching education classes at Nevada State College Dr. Rudd maintains an active interest in the study of landslides and other Earth surface processes and thoroughly enjoys being able to do field work in Southern Nevada and the nearby Colorado Plateau.