Matthew Oliver, assistant professor of oceanography in the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE), has been selected to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

“Science and technology have long been at the core of America's economic strength and global leadership,” said President Barack Obama in announcing the awards on Nov. 5. “I am confident that these individuals, who have shown such tremendous promise so early in their careers, will go on to make breakthroughs and discoveries that will continue to move our nation forward in the years ahead.”

The University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) has recently taken a leadership role in organizing and presenting at two international symposia in Beijing, China. Through an ongoing partnership with China Agricultural University (CAU), CANR officials say they hope to provide sound advice and direction for the latest agricultural issues in China.

In 2008, UD signed an agreement with CAU and the University of Pennsylvania Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, to participate in joint research and exchange activities.

The fourth International Symposium on Phosphorus Dynamic in the Soil-Plant Continuum (ISPDSPC) provided a forum for international scientists to share their latest research findings and knowledge on phosphorus dynamics and management in food-producing and other managed and unmanaged ecosystems.

Researchers at the University of Delaware played a lead role in advancing the global marine biodiversity agenda during the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP-10) in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010. The meeting was attended by 17,000 people.

Biodiversity -- the variety of life on Earth -- has taken center stage in 2010, which is designated as the International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations. Parties to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, an agreement by 193 of the world's governments, gathered in Japan to assess progress in achieving global biodiversity targets and decide on actions to reduce biodiversity loss in the next decade.

The latest issue of the award-winning UD Research magazine highlights the “eco-innovation” of University of Delaware environmental researchers. The issue includes several articles related to DENIN: a question-and-answer interview with DENIN director Don Sparks, a feature on the Christina River Basin Critical Zone Observatory, and an article on sea-level rise research at UD that includes several DENIN affiliates and EPSCoR-sponsored work on the ethical and policy aspects of sea-level rise.

David L. Kirchman, Maxwell P. and Mildred H. Harrington Professor of Marine Biosciences, will present his Francis Alison Inaugural Lecture, “A Journey Into our Unseen World: Marine Microbes and Global Cyces,” at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 17, at the Roselle Center for the Arts.

Kirchman received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1982, and he joined the UD faculty in 1986. His research focuses on the role of microbes in the carbon cycle and in other biogeochemical processes of the oceans.

The Science, Ethics, and Public Policy Program (SEPP) at the University of Delaware will continue its Science Café program with a presentation Monday, Nov. 15, on “Materials for the Bionic Woman.” The event will be held from 5-6:30 p.m., Monday, at Catherine Rooney's, 102 E. Main St., Newark. David C. Martin, Karl W. and Renate Böer Professor and chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, will be the guest speaker.

A significant number of songbirds were silenced last week in Delaware when their southerly migration ran afoul of circumstantial weather conditions that led to their flying into glass windows causing mortal injuries to nearly a dozen species of thrushes and sparrows, common and rare birds alike.

The Chesapeake Bay is a national focal point for water quality issues. New environmental regulations will require Delaware and the other five bay states -- Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York -- and the District of Columbia to significantly reduce pollution entering the bay and its tributaries.

These rigorous federal and state program aims to restore the bay's water quality by 2025.

Because the two main pollutants that are under consideration are nitrogen and phosphorous, agricultural entities in Delaware and the other bay states have a vital role in this process.