Blog posts by Bill Dennison
REU students with Bill Dennison at the Alex Haley Monument.

Annapolis walking tour

Bill Dennison ·
29 June 2010
Learning Science | 

Following a science communication training session with the Research Experience for Undergraduate program at the Chesapeake Bay Program, we took a brief walking tour of historic downtown Annapolis. We stopped at the Alex Haley monument, U.S. Naval Academy, Maryland State House, Thurgood Marshall statue, and pointed out the Banneker-Douglass Museum. We crossed the bridge from Eastport into Annapolis and our first stop was the Alex Haley monument.

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Chesapeake Bay Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) website

Joining Chesapeake Bay Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee

Bill Dennison ·
25 June 2010
Applying Science | 

I have just joined the Chesapeake Bay Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) as a member, but I have experience with various other review panels and STAC-type groups in various parts of the world. Thus I bring a fresh perspective, but without a deep appreciation of Chesapeake Bay STAC history and dynamics. There are some important elements of what I consider a successful STAC:

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GRCA staff with their International Riverprize trophy.

Visit with Grand River Conservation Authority

Bill Dennison ·
22 June 2010
Applying Science |     1 comments

Ten years ago, the Grand River Conservation Authority was the recipient of the 2nd annual Theiss International Riverprize in Brisbane, Australia. Peter Krause was the chair of the authority board at the time and he traveled to Brisbane to receive the award. I was on the Riversymposium planning committee while teaching at the University of Queensland and met Peter at this time.

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Anoxia prediction for early summer, 2010.

The Next Frontier: Ecological Forecasting

Bill Dennison ·
17 June 2010
Applying Science | 

The weather is often the main topic of discussion amongst friends, around the office water cooler, and even between strangers. The professional meteorologist is one of the most maligned positions in our society. Yet everyone cares about the weather forecast; so much so there is even a 24-hour cable station dedicated to providing every detail about temperature, humidity and the relative chance of precipitation at 3,000 locations nationwide.

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Walter Boynton, the new TMAW Chair.

Dr. Walter Boynton becomes Tidal Monitoring Analysis Workgroup chair

Bill Dennison ·
4 June 2010
Applying Science | 

Beginning June 10 2010, Dr. Walter Boynton, a professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), will be the new Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Program Tidal Monitoring Analysis Workgroup (TMAW). Walter has been actively researching Chesapeake Bay for over 30 years and has published dozens of scientific papers and book chapters from this research.

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Governor O'Malley speaking at the report card release.

Chesapeake Bay report card release

Bill Dennison ·
2 June 2010
Environmental Report Cards | 

The 2009 Chesapeake Bay report card release was held at Gunpowder Falls State Park in Baltimore City on May 18. It was a cold rainy day, and the intrepid folks who braved the weather huddled under a pavilion waiting for Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. This is the first time that the Chesapeake Bay report card produced by the EcoCheck team, a partnership program between NOAA and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), was released with elected officials.

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Kathy Boomer speaking at the IAN Seminar Series.

Discussion following Kathy Boomer seminar on the role of watershed modeling in local land management decisions in Maryland communities

Bill Dennison ·
26 May 2010
Learning Science |     1 comments

This blog post discusses the seminar given by Dr Kathy Boomer, of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, at the IAN Seminar Series on May 20, 2010. A lively discussion took place following Kathy's seminar, focused on the use of models, particularly the use of multiple models, for planning and resource management.

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REU students sampling oysters on board the RV Rachel Carson.

Research Experience for Undergraduate students arrive at UMCES

Bill Dennison ·
21 May 2010
Science Communication | 

Each summer, undergraduate science majors arrive in Maryland to join a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation entitled Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. The Maryland effort is led by Dr. Fredricka Moser from Maryland Sea Grant. Fredricka assembles a panel in the spring to select students from a huge number of stellar applications, and the panel also matches students with faculty mentors.

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