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Karnosky to Receive International Forestry Award
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Jan. 18, 2005--Thirty years ago, when David Karnosky began documenting the harmful effects of ozone on forests, not everyone believed him.
Now, however, his groundbreaking research is accepted as proof that this industrial pollutant can seriously impact many species of trees and forest ecosystems. For this-and much more-Karnosky has been chosen by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations to receive its Scientific Achievement Award.
IUFRO presents a maximum of 10 awards once every five years at its World Congress, to be held in Brisbane, Australia, in August.
Karnosky, a professor in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, was instrumental in founding the Aspen FACE (Free Air Carbon dioxide Experiment) site in Rhinelander, Wis., in 1996 and is its director. The world's largest, open-air climate change research facility, it is the only FACE site where scientists can study the impact of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and ozone on forest ecosystems.
A total of 55 scientists from seven countries conduct research at Aspen FACE, producing more than 30 papers annually on their findings. "His vision, leadership and consensus-building skills have been instrumental in this project receiving some $10 million," said Kevin Percy, a senior scientist with Natural Resources Canada, in supporting Karnosky for the award.
Gerhard Mueller-Starck, professor and chair of forest genetics at the Technological University of Munich in Germany, cites Karnosky's ability to bring together disparate individuals for the common good. "There are only a few people worldwide who act as effectively as Dr. Karnosky in the field of international cooperation," he said. "He successfully bridges boundaries, particularly between the research fields of forest genetics and tree physiology."
MTU President Glenn Mroz, who nominated Karnosky for the award, also remarked on his capacity to build cooperation. "I believe that Dr. Karnosky's enthusiasm for working across borders is a distinction that has served the international forest research community well," he said.
Karnosky's research is broad based. His work on climate change, particularly on the effects of elevated levels of ozone and carbon dioxide in forests, delves into topics ranging from carbon sequestration and insect pests to natural selection and growth. As a result of his leadership in this field, he served as a consultant for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as it drafted ozone standards over the last 10 years.
He has also gained an international reputation in biotechnology and forest productivity. "He conducted cutting-edge forest biotechnology research on micropropagation, gene isolation and transformation of Larix and Populus species before the term 'forest biotechnology' became popular," said Gopi Podilla, chair of biological sciences at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Karnosky and his colleagues created the first genetically engineered conifer, an exotic larch, and he conducts ongoing research on developing hardier, faster-growing trees. Using traditional genetic and silviculture methods, as well as biotechnology, he has worked with area foresters to increase the productivity of Great Lakes forests, as well as increase their ability to sequester carbon and thus help reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Karnosky earned a BS in Forestry and MS and PhD degrees in Forest Genetics, all from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his career as a forest geneticist with the New York Botanical Garden, where he later cloned a disease-resistant species of Chinese elm from an ancient specimen in Central Park. In 2002, he brought 150 of the hardy trees back to China for research and propagation.
Karnosky came to Michigan Tech in 1983, and, among his many other honors, earned the university's Research Award in 1993. He has authored or coauthored approximately 300 publications and edited four books. In addition to publishing in top-tier journals such as Nature and Global Change Biology, he has been effective in disseminating science to the general public; stories on his work have appeared in the New York Times and on ABC.com and National Geographic Today.
Karnosky has also been active in IUFRO, leading its forest health division and serving on its executive board from 1995 to 2000, as well as organizing several international meetings.
"Dr. Karnosky has exemplified the IUFRO ideals through the openness of his laboratory and his willingness to host visiting scientists from around the world," said Provost and Vice President for Research David Reed, who received a Scientific Achievement Award in 2000. "I can think of very few scientists that have the scientific credentials and who exemplify the IUFRO ideas to a greater extent than Dr. Karnosky."
Karnosky is one of two members of the MTU community receiving IUFRO awards this year. Eugénie Euskirchen will receive an Outstanding Doctoral Research Award for work leading to her PhD in Forest Science. |
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