Dr. Colby Moorberg, Department of Agronomy

We welcome Dr. Colby Moorberg from the Department of Agronomy and Dr. Matthew Sanderson from the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work as the newest members of the NRES Board of Directors.

Dr. Matthew Sanderson, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work

Dr. Moorberg is an agronomist with teaching and research interests in soils, particularly soil-root interactions with both agronomic and ecological applications.  He takes over for long-time NRES board member Dr. Mickey Ransom who moved on and is currently serving as the interim head of the Department of Agronomy.  Dr. Sanderson is a sociologist interested in understanding the relations between people and the ecosphere in the context of globalization.The terms for both new board members run from 2018-2021.

Current board member Dr. Trisha Moore, Biological and Agricultural Engineering was re-elected to another three year term that will also expire in 2021.

During our Spring 2018 meeting, the NRES Governing Board approved the following courses as a new block electives within the NRES curriculum:

ANTH 310 Environmental Anthropology: Living with Change in the Anthropocene
Social Sciences/Humanities

BAE 643 Life Cycle Assessment
Applied Sciences and Technology

BAE 664 Green Stormwater Infrastructure Design & Assessment
Applied Sciences and Technology

GEOG 600 Mountain Geography
Social Sciences/Humanities

The NRES Secondary Major is pleased to include this course to our list of approved block electives.  If you have a suggestion for a new course that should be considered for inclusion in the program, please see the procedure outlined in our Suggest a New NRES Course web page.

THE NRES SECONDARY MAJOR IS SUPPORTED FINANCIALLY BY THE OFFICE OF THE PROVOST, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES, DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL & AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING, AND GENEROUS ALUMNI AND DONORS LIKE YOU!

Campus Creek is a small tributary of the Kansas River that runs through the Manhattan campus of Kansas State University.

Eleven students – from three colleges and eight different majors – successfully completed the NRES capstone course in Spring 2017.  Faculty advisors were Dr. Aleksey Sheshukov (Biological & Agricultural Engineering) and Dr. Arnaud Temme (Geography).

Students worked on two different projects including “Environmental Assessment of K-State Campus Creek” and “Road Cuts in the Flint Hills:  An Overview of Ecological Health and Structural Integrity.”  Project reports and scientific poster presentations can be viewed and downloaded from the NRES website.

Congratulations to students Dayton Allen (Park Management & Conservation), Nathan Fischer (Park Management & Conservation), Chris Greve (Geology), Morgan Hammes (Psychology), Logan Hay (Agricultural Technology Management), Russell Hicks (Park Management & Conservation), Kristina Keehn (Park Management & Conservation), Amy Kruse (Agricultural Economics), Sarah Lamm (Chemistry), Chad Olney (Civil Engineering), and Chad Touslee (Geography).

In February 2017, the Kansas State University Faculty Senate approved language allowing all degree-seeking students, including graduate students, to pursue the NRES Secondary Major.  This new option will be especially attractive to students in bachelor-to-master’s programs who previously were not eligible to participate.

Enrollment procedures for graduate students seeking the NRES Secondary Major are the same as those for undergraduates.  Those who are interested should begin by completing the NRES Online Enrollment Form.

During their Spring 2017 meeting, the NRES Governing Board approved the following course as a new block elective:

AT/ID 350 Our Sustainble World:  Current Challenges and Future Opportunities
Social Sciences/Humanities

The NRES Secondary Major is pleased to include this course to our list of approved block electives.  If you have a suggestion for a new course that should be considered for inclusion in the program, please see the procedure outlined in our Suggest a New NRES Course web page.

Dr. Kim Hiller presents “The Environmental Secrets Hidden in Your Closet” on February 28, 2017.

The Spring 2017 NRES Seminar Series featured guest presentations by four K-State faculty.  Special thanks to John Briggs (Biology and Konza Prairie Biological Station), Doug Goodin (Geography), Kim Hiller (Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design), and Jennifer Vallenga (Theatre) for their engaging and though-provoking discussions.  The talks from each of the spring presenters can be viewed on the NRES YouTube channel in the NRES Seminar Series playlist.

The seminar series helps us achieve our student learning outcomes by expanding students broad-based knowledge of natural resources/environmental science and by illustrating the commonalities (and differences) in academic perspectives for studying and solving contemporary natural resources issues.

This series, which continues to grow in popularity since its inception in Spring 2014, is focused on undergraduate students and was established to help build a sense of community, an appreciation for the breadth and depth of issues and approaches, and awareness of current research in natural resources and environmental science fields.