The premiere of the UCSB “Rooftop Research Collaboration” was successfully held on Wednesday, November 5 on the rooftop deck of the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. The event was designed to address requests to increase collaborations between faculty, professional research colleagues, and postdocs, and the initial group (and sponsors) included Bren, Geography, Earth Science, and the Earth Research Institute.
This event was the first of several such receptions to be held throughout the year, and it is hoped that this series of events will provide participants an opportunity to connect with colleagues in related departments and expand research connections across the campus. The reception was attended by over 60 people, including Tim Cheng, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, who emphasized that the UCSB Office of Research is highly supportive of efforts to build new collaborations.
The Department of Geography hosted this kickoff event, and the original plan was to have it on the third floor roof of Ellison Hall. That plan got shot down at the last minute, but Bren allowed us to move the reception to their deck/rooftop. A big “thank you” to their team for allowing us to move and for providing logistical support (BJ Danetra, Events Manager) and photographs (James Badham, Media Liaison). Mo Lovegreen, Geography’s Executive Officer, did a bang up job of decorating the reception area with a fall theme and coordinating the catering. Geography Professor Oliver Chadwick provided the opening welcome speech in which he challenged the participants to meet at least one new person and find out about their research during the reception.
Editor’s note: More photos of the Rooftop Research Collaboration have been posted on Geography’s Event Photos page.
