Dr. Dorothy J. Merritts - (Chair)
Franklin & Marshall College
Dorothy J. Merritts is a professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 2004-2005 she was the Flora Stone Mather Visiting Distinguished Professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She has expertise in streams, rivers, and other landforms, and on the impact of humans and geologic processes on landscape evolution. In the western United States, she conducted pioneering research on the San Andreas fault of coastal California, and her international work focuses on fault movements in South Korea, Indonesia, Australia, and Costa Rica. Her primary research in the eastern United States is on streams in the mid-Atlantic Piedmont, particularly in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Maryland, where she is investigating the impact on streams of the transformation of woodland and wetland forests to a predominantly agricultural and mixed-industrial/urban landscape since European settlement. She is the author of two textbooks and more than 40 scientific articles, and the editor and contributing writer for numerous scientific books. Dr. Merritts has done extensive work on inquiry-based learning in the classroom, particularly for non-science majors at the undergraduate level, and has assisted in presenting original inquiry-based materials and demonstrations on-line through the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College, Minnesota. Dr. Merritts received her B.Sc. in geology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, her M.Sc. in engineering geology from Stanford University, and her Ph.D. in geology from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Linda K. Blum
University of Virginia
Linda K. Blum is a research associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. Dr. Blum’s current research focuses on how microorganisms bring about geomorphologic changes in salt marshes. Her research includes a long-term interest in the linkage between microbial community spatial patterns and processes, and microbe-plant interactions. Dr. Blum was previously the chair of the NRC Panel to Review the the Department of Interior's Critical Ecosystem Studies Initiative, a member of the Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, and a previous and current member of the Committee on Independent Review of Everglades Restoration Progress. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in forestry from Michigan Technological University and a Ph.D. in soil science and microbial ecology from Cornell University.
Dr. Susan L. Brantley
Pennsylvania State University
Susan L. Brantley has served on the faculty of the Department of Geosciences at The Pennsylvania State University since 1986. She is currently a full professor. She is also director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute and Center for Environmental Kinetics Analysis at The Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests focus on the chemical, physical, and biological processes associated with the circulation of aqueous fluids in shallow hydrogeologic settings. She has published more than 110 papers that have discussed aspects of water-rock-biota interaction, the kinetics of dissolution and precipitation of minerals in the laboratory and in the field, surface chemistry of minerals, environmental water problems, biogeochemical cycles, volcano-water interactions, soil chemistry, and water interactions in metamorphic rocks. She has been awarded a David and Lucile Packard Fellowship, was an National Science Foundation (NSF) Presidential Young Investigator, and was an AGU Fellow. She has served on several National Research Council committees, including most recently her stint as vice-chair of the Panel on Solid-Earth Hazards, Resources, and Dynamics, established to write the solid-Earth contribution to “Earth Science Applications from Space: A Community Assessment and Strategy for the Future” (Decadal Study). She has also served on the advisory committee for the Directorate of Geosciences at NSF (2003-05), during which time she served on the Committee of Visitors to review the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) Instrumentation and Facilities Program (2004) and chaired the Committee of Visitors to review the NSF EAR Section on Surface Earth Processes (2005). She received her A.B. in chemistry and M.A. and Ph.D. in geological and geophysical sciences from Princeton University.
Dr. Anne Chin
University of Oregon
Anne Chin is Courtesy Professor in the Department of Geography of the University of Oregon. She is a fluvial geomorphologist with research interests in the energetics of mountain, dryland, and urban rivers. She seeks to understand how landscapes interact with a range of human impacts over diverse spatial and temporal scales. Her work also addresses landscape management and restoration. This line of inquiry explores the interplay between physical and biological processes on the one hand, and the social forces that shape policy on the other. Dr. Chin was the recipient of the 2004 Grove Karl Gilbert Award for Excellence in Geomorphological Research from the Association of American Geographers. Her work has appeared in a range of journals in the geosciences, including the American Journal of Science, Geophysical Research Letters, Geomorphology, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, The Journal of Geology, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Progress in Physical Geography, Environmental Management, and BioScience. She has served on numerous professional advisory boards and is Past Chair of the Geomorphology Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers. In 2006-2007, she was Visiting Scientist and Director of the Geography and Regional Science Program of the National Science Foundation. Dr. Chin holds a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University, both in geography.
Dr. William E. Dietrich
University of California, Berkeley
William E. Dietrich (NAS) is a professor at the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California at Berkeley. He also has an appointment in the Department of Geography and the Earth Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and is affiliated with the Archeological Research Facility. He is co-founder of the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping and a member of the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics. His Berkeley-based research group is focusing on mechanistic, quantitative understanding of the form and evolution of landscapes and the linkages between ecological and geomorphic processes. He has numerous publications and honors, including being named a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, both in 2003. Dr. Dietrich received his B.A. from Occidental College, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
Dr. Thomas Dunne
University of California, Santa Barbara
Thomas Dunne (NAS) is a professor in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a hydrologist and a geomorphologist, with research interests that include field and theoretical studies of drainage basin and hillslope evolution, sediment transport and floodplain sedimentation, and sediment budgets of drainage basins. He served as a member of the NRC Committees on U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Research; Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences; Alluvial Fan Flooding; and Future Roles, Challenges, and Opportunities for the U.S. Geological Survey. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1988 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1993. He has acted as a scientific advisor to the United Nations; the governments of Brazil, Taiwan, Kenya, Washington, Oregon; and several U.S. federal agencies. He is a recipient of the American Geophysical Union Horton Award. Dr. Dunne holds a B.A. from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in geography from the Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Todd A. Ehlers
University of Michigan
Todd A. Ehlers is an associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Michigan. Dr. Ehlers’s research interests are in the topographic evolution of mountain belts, including the interactions between topography and geomorphic processes with the atmosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Techniques he uses in his research include: (1) measurement of low-temperature thermochronometer samples ((U-Th)/He and fission track methods) from bedrock and detritus from modern rivers and sedimentary basins; (2) development of forward and inverse thermo-kinematic and landform evolution numerical models, and testing of these models against thermochronometer and cosmogenic radionuclide data; and (3) paleoclimate modeling to quantify the climate and erosion histories of mountain belts. Dr. Ehlers applies these techniques to study a wide range of problems involving the topographic evolution of mountains. Active areas of research include the heavily glaciated Coast Mountains of British Columbia and the topographic evolution of the Nepalese Himalaya and Andes mountains. Dr. Ehlers served as a member of the National Science Foundation Panel for Collaborations in Mathematics and Geosciences in 2006. He is an associate editor for Tectonics (2005-present) and an editor-in-chief for Earth Science Reviews (2006-present). Dr. Ehlers received M.S. degrees in geophysics and geology (1996, 1997 respectively) and a doctorate degree in geophysics (2001) from the University of Utah. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Dr. Ehlers was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Washington (2001) and a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology (2001-2002).
Dr. Rong Fu
The University of Texas at Austin
Rong Fu is a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences of the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Fu's research aims at understanding the dynamic and physical processes of the atmosphere's
hydrological and energy cycles and their links to the terrestrial ecosystem and ocean surface conditions in the tropics using a variety of observations, especially those from satellite remote sensing. She has served on national and international panels and programs such as the review panels for NASA Carbon Cycle Science Program, Cloud and Aerosol Program, NOAA Cooperative Institute for Climate Science at Princeton University, NSF Drought in Coupled Models Project, and panels for the U.S. and International Climate Variability and Predictability projects. She received her B.S. degree in geophysics from Peking University in 1984, and her Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from Columbia University in 1991. She then worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences in the University of California at Los Angeles, and as a visiting scientist fellow at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamic Laboratory at Princeton University. She was previously a faculty member in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Institute of Technology and in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Christopher Paola
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Christopher Paola is a professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, where he has been since 1983. He worked for the U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory from 1988-1990 and has held visiting appointments at the University of Genoa (Italy) and Columbia University. Since 2003 he has served as director of the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics, a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center devoted to transdisciplinary research on the evolution and behavior of the Earth’s surface. He has published over 60 papers on surface dynamics and stratigraphy. He is a fellow of the Geological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union. Dr. Paola graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. in environmental geology and an M.Sc. in applied sedimentology from the University of Reading (U.K.). After receiving an Sc.D. in marine geology from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program in Oceanography in 1983, he joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Kelin X. Whipple
Arizona State University
Kelin X. Whipple is a professor at the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. Previously, he was a professor at the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT. Dr. Whipple's research focuses on the interaction of climate, tectonics, and surface processes in the sculpting of the Earth's surface; mechanics of river incision into bedrock; dynamics of channel and sedimentation processes on alluvial fans; and experimental and field study of debris-flow rheologies. His current research activities focus on the geomorphic evolution of fluvial bedrock channel and alpine glacial valley systems. His active projects and interests span a range from small-scale modeling and investigation of the physics of bedrock channel erosion; to reach-scale modeling of the dynamics of bedrock channel evolution; to neotectonic studies of active deformation using geomorphic tools; and to quantitative investigation of linkages between tectonics, climate, and surface processes at mountain range scale. Dr. Whipple is editor of AGU Editor’s Choice: Surface Processes and associate editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research – Earth Surface, and has served as associate editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research – Solid Earth. He is chair of the American Geophysical Union’s Sediment and Landscape Dynamics Committee, and sits on the AGU Erosion and Sedimentation Committee. Dr. Whipple received his Ph.D. and M.S. in geology from the University of Washington, and his B.A. in geology from the University of California at Berkeley.
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Tel:
202.334.2000 
