Wednesdays, noon to 1 p.m.
IonE Seminar Room 380
VoTech Bldg., St. Paul campus (map)
Free and open to the public; no registration required

Join us online via UMConnect

This fall, the Institute on the Environment is breathing new life into the old lecture series. Frontiers in the Environment explores the frontiers of knowledge in climate change, renewable energy, land use, food security and many other environmental hot topics. Our speakers go easy on the PowerPoint slides and heavy on the big ideas. They provide the audience with a true understanding of the issue, its global significance and breakthroughs on the horizon. Join us Wednesdays for a presentation and Q&A session, followed by a casual get-together in the IonE Commons. The lectures also air live on the Web and are archived for future viewing.

Fall/Winter 2009 Frontiers schedule:

Sept. 23
“The Other Inconvenient Truth: Feeding and Fueling the World”
Jonathan Foley (bio)
Director, Institute on the Environment
Foley’s archived presentation

Sept. 30
“Resilience in the (Designed) Environment”
Thomas Fisher (article)
Dean, College of Design
Fisher’s archived presentation

Oct. 7
“Solar After Dark: Storage Options”
Jane Davidson (bio)
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Davidson’s archived presentation

Oct. 14
“Food, Energy and Global Climate: Solving the Trilemma”
David Tilman (bio)
Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Tilman’s archived presentation

Oct. 21
“Fixing our Toxics Problem: Ivory Tower or White Castle?”
Deborah Swackhamer (bio)
Co-director, Water Resources Center
Swackhamer's archived presentation

Oct. 28
“Mind the Gap: Building Bridges to Mainstream the Value of Ecosystem Services in Everyday Decisions”
Stephen Polasky (bio)
Professor, Applied Economics/Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Polasky's archived presentation

Nov. 4
“Plastics from Plants: Tomorrow’s Advanced Materials”
Marc Hillmyer (research group)
Professor, Chemistry
Hillmyer's archived presentation

Nov. 11
“Mud in the Eye of the Beholder: Unraveling Climate Past and Future in the African Tropics”
Tom Johnson (bio)
Professor, Large Lakes Observatory
Johnson's archived presentation

Nov. 18
“Does Scale Exist?”
Steven Manson (bio)
Associate Professor, Geography
Manson's archived presentation

Dec. 2
“What Happens When 4,000+ Classrooms in 30 Countries Explore the Arctic Together?: Environmental Stewardship”
Aaron Doering (bio)
Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction

Dec. 9
Sustainable Cities: Urban Design for Human Health and the Environment
Julian Marshall (bio)
Assistant Professor, Environmental Engineering