Note: The date of the first seminar in the Natural Resources
Management series included in this release (sixth paragraph) has
been corrected to read Thursday, March 4.
UVI is pleased to announce the arrival of two new faculty members
with expertise in Natural Resource Management. The new faculty
members will be teaching courses in the Division of Science and
Mathematics (DSM), and in the Master's of Marine and Environmental
Science (MMES) Program. They will also be conducting research in
the Center for Marine and Environmental Science (CMES) at UVI and
are supported in part by the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to
Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR) funding from the
National Science Foundation.
Dr. Kostas Alexandridis, Research Assistant Professor of Natural
Resource Management in the Center for Marine and Environmental
Studies, has recently joined UVI from Australia, where he worked
for the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Organization (CSIRO) in the area of natural resource management,
sustainable livelihoods, and community-based participatory
research. Dr. Alexandridis' work emphasizes community participation
and grassroots approaches to managing our environment and our
natural resources. He has worked with planners and natural resource
managers in the Midwestern USA, and in many areas across the
Southern Asia, Oceania and the South Pacific regions. His
community-based research experience includes also many culturally
diverse societies and communities, from desert to rainforest-based
Aboriginal Australian groups, to indigenous Melanesian tribes in
the Solomon Islands.
Dr. Angela Dikou, Assistant Professor of Natural Resource
Management in the Division of Science and Mathematics has applied
her education, knowledge, and experience in marine biology,
ecology, and natural resources management in the IndoPacific, the
Caribbean and the Mediterranean at the interface of science and
management. Her research interests are in the assessment and
interpretation of individual and cumulative impacts of human
development on the marine environment and the effectiveness of
management tools, such as integrated coastal zone management,
cumulative impact assessment, and marine protected areas.
In addition to these permanent positions, VI-EPSCoR is
supporting a visiting fellow in Natural and Cultural Resource
Management during spring term 2010, Dr. Gary Cummisk who is an
Associate Professor of Geography and Anthropology at Dickinson
State University in North Dakota. His research interests include
ecologically sustainable management practices on private and public
lands. He has worked in environmental interpretation for a number
of agencies including state parks and the National Audubon
Society.
Over the next two months, VI-EPSCoR in collaboration with DSM and
CMES, will invite academicians and resource managers to present on
a variety of topics aimed at integrating the ecological, social and
economic angles of managing natural resource capital as part of the
Natural Resource Management Seminar Series. The seminar series is
designed to initiate and further facilitate interaction among
teaching, research, governmental and non-governmental organizations
and agencies in their efforts to manage our valuable natural
resources. It is open to the public.
The first seminar in the Natural Resource Management series will be
presented by Dr. Raul Cano, Director of the Environmental
Biotechnology Institute at California Polytechnic State University.
He will be discussing his work on environmental and biotechnology
related research. His seminar is on Thursday, March 4 from 12-1
p.m. in the Chase auditorium on the UVI St. Thomas Campus with
videoconferencing to Evans Center 401 on the St. Croix campus. All
interested persons are urged to attend. Information on subsequent
seminars is available on the UVI website.
Natural Resource Management is one of the focus areas for students
in the MMES program. This program provides students with the
training and skills necessary for planning, conducting, and
evaluating research in marine and environmental science.
Additionally, students explore how to utilize research to manage
natural resources, with a particular focus on the issues and
challenges related to natural resource management in the Caribbean
region. The program draws upon the expertise of faculty within
several units of UVI, in particular CMES and DSM. Further, it is a
bridge between academia and natural resource management sectors
within the US Virgin Islands, the greater Caribbean, and beyond.
The program structure allows students to become conversant in the
language of both research and resource management, and then to
focus on their area of particular interest. Graduates of the
program are prepared for a wide array of careers in academic,
government, non-profit, and private sectors.
Applications for the MMES program are now being accepted for Fall
2010. The application deadline is March 15, 2010. For further
information on the program visit http://mmes.uvi.edu or contact Dr.
Sandra Romano, Interim Program Coordinator, at 693-1389.