September 20, 2023

Top Stories

SUNY ESF Welcomes New Faculty for 2023-24 Academic Year

ESF welcomes 22 new faculty members to the College for the 2023-24 academic year. Learn more about our newest educators, scientists, and researchers to join ESF’s ranks. 

Princeton Review Names ESF One of the Nation’s Best Colleges for 2024

A new report from The Princeton Review names ESF among the country’s Best 389 Colleges for 2024. ESF was also ranked the No. 2 college for being environmentally conscious and among the best colleges in the Northeast.

U.S. News Ranks SUNY ESF as a Best College

New U.S. News and World Report rankings named ESF a Best College and put us on five lists that highlight the College’s academics, value, social mobility, and engineering programs.

What makes the leaves change color?

Sunlight, rain, wind — Dr. Don Leopold explains how these factors impact the fall leaf colors.

WRGB

NASA's New DIY Gadget STELLA Can Measure Plant's Health

The Department of Environmental Resources Engineering is home to its one STELLA and Karen Karker says it’s an excellent visual aid, particularly in lessons related to the electromagnetic spectrum.

TechTimes

Native Perspectives on Climate Change

The Center for Native Peoples and the Environment and Neil Patterson were highlighted on Native Report for the work being done to protect vital plant life as it aims to pass down wisdom from both Indigenous and scientific knowledge to the next generation.

WCNY

Local professor weighs in on the future of wildfires in New York State

Climate change and a legacy of forest management decisions are major factors in the amount of wildfires in recent months. Dr. Andrew Vander Yacht talks about the science behind the fires and what New York’s fire future could look like. 

WSYR-TV

SUNY ESF Professor's virtual forest could inspire future stewards

Exploring a forest through virtual reality could be the latest way to inspire interest and action to protect the health of the real thing.  

Aidan Ackerman

WAER

Graduate student Sam Krebs published “Reductions in Coastal Salt Marsh Habitat for Wildlife From Sea-Level Rise in the United States” which examines how sea level rise will affect coastal salt-marsh wildlife through habitat alterations.

Sam Krebs, Dr. Karin Limburg, Dr. Michael Schummer

Case Studies in the Environment

A Shout Out from the Office of International Education to all the people who helped make our first field trip of the year a success! Special thanks to those who went above and beyond to resolve a problem that arose with two of the van keys. Thanks to the care and dedication of the following people, our trip was able to happen and our new international students were able to experience a beautiful place in New York and also what makes the ESF community so special – the people who form it.

Ebby Adukkalil, Joanna Lumbsden Pinto, Officer Michael Vezyrakis, Dispatcher Kim Ambrose, Sofia Hvozda, Jason Chagnon, Hui Chen, Kerrie Findlay, and our international students! 

Give a Shout-Out!

Know someone making an impact on campus? Tell us and we'll feature them in an upcoming issue! This could be an ESF student, faculty member, or staff member (or a department, office, or group) who:

• Goes above and beyond
• Demonstrates ESF’s mission to “Improve Your World”
• Contributes to our community in a positive way

What's Happening on Campus

Use Caution: One-Lane Traffic on Campus Drive

Campus Drive will be restricted to one lane Thursday, Sept. 21 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. to accommodate the installation of pollinator-friendly plants on the west side of Moon Library. 

Environmental Studies Kicks Off Fall Seminar Series

Krystin Mallon Andrews opens the Environmental Studies Seminar this fall. Andrews’ presentation – Engaging Diverse Publics Around Complex Environmental Issues - will address how mistrust shapes relations between researchers and the esearched. Andrews conducted 24 months of ethnographic research with fishermen and conservation officials in the Dominican Republic.

Friday, Sept. 22 I noon-1:30 p.m. I 103 Marshall Hall

Join the Mighty Oak Marcom Squad

Are you interested in communications and marketing? 

Are you passionate about ESF?

Do you like sharing your opinion?

Then you should join the Mighty Oak Marcom Squad! 

This is a group of enthusiastic and creative students — proudly sponsored by ESF's Office of Communications and Marketing — that meets monthly* to actively participate in helping to shape ESF's marketing materials. 

These trusted student ambassadors share insights and feedback on all things marketing and communications: social media, direct mail, website, messaging, and advertising. We want to know what genuinely resonates and connects with YOU. This group is also a place where students can voice their thoughts and ideas about what they'd like to see more of on ESF's marketing channels. 

Sign up to join and we'll follow up with meeting details. 

*Snacks provided!

Get Ready for Fall Career & Internship Fair

It’s never too early to think about your career aspirations and the Fall Career & Internship Fair is the perfect place to start. More than 100 organizations are coming to recruit for both full-time jobs and internships; all class years and majors are encouraged to attend.

Thursday, Oct. 5 I 10:30 a.m.– 2 p.m. I Gateway Center

Students should prepare for the fair by doing the following:

• Update their resume and bring multiple copies
• Research the organizations ahead of time in Handshake
• Dress professionally

A photographer will be available for free professional headshots from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Prescribed Burns Planned for Heiberg Forest

This fall, the first of many prescribed burns will occur on the Svend O. Heiberg Memorial Forest managed by the ESF. These burns have been approved by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, in accordance with related laws, and will support educational and research objectives at ESF. Students in Fire Ecology and Management will assist Dr. Andrew L. Vander Yacht and his lab’s fire-qualified staff in applying the prescribed fires.

Half of the 12 total 0.3-acre experimental units will be burned sometime this fall – each demonstrating a different firing technique – with the remaining units burned in the spring. The burns will be located north of Tully Truxton Road on abandoned pasture areas of the “Leonard” piece of Heiberg Forest. Burn conditions have been preselected to minimize the chance of fire escape and smoke impacts on nearby populated areas. Questions can be directed to Dr. Vander Yacht or Bob MacGregor, director of forest properties.

The Knothole, Now Available Online

The Knothole, ESF’s one-time student newsletter, is now available in the College’s new online repository.

Dating back to 1938 and with close to 1,400 issues, the newsletters are a wealth of campus history with columns and commentary by the ESF student body. 

Librarian Jane Verostek oversaw the scanning and metadata portion and Assistant Librarian Casey Koons oversaw the uploading and creation of the collection in the Experts online repository.

View Roosevelt Wild Life Photographs Now Digitized

The ESF Archives and Special Collections houses more than 6,000 photos taken by authors and researchers for the Roosevelt Wild Life Station publications. Over 1,500 of these photos were digitized during summer, thanks to a CLRC Access & Digitization grant written and received by Librarian Jane Verostek of. The images are available for the public to search and use via the New York Heritage online repository which also houses the ESF yearbooks, the Cranberry Lake yearbooks, and other digitized collections from the ESF Archives and Special Collections. 

Events

People can't come to your events if they don't know when they are! Remember to add them to the campus events calendar. And to find out what’s happening on campus this week visit the ESF Calendar and ESF Engage!



Download the CORQ app and stay up-to-date on all the events in Engage no matter where you are!

ESF News is the College's source for all ESF news, information, and events. This newsletter is issued on Wednesdays.