Grad student Carl J. Legleiter recently received a coveted 2006 Canon National Parks Science Scholarship, only eight of which were awarded to PhD candidates throughout the Americas. The $80,000 scholarship is made possible by a collaboration between Canon U.S.A., Inc., the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the U.S. National Park Service. Begun in 1997, the program annually awards doctoral dissertation scholarships to support graduate student research in national parks and “to encourage the best and brightest graduate students in all relevant disciplines to conduct research important to the future of national parks, expand scientific knowledge concerning conservation and sustainability and share this knowledge broadly, develop future world leaders in science and conservation, demonstrate ‘kyosei’ in an innovative partnership, and help preserve the national parks of the 21st century”
(http://www.nature.nps.gov/canonscholarships/2006_App_Guide.cfm).
Carl is definitely one of our “best and brightest” students. He won the Department’s Geography Excellence in Research Award for 2004/05 for his quality and breadth of research record in the Department, and in May 2006 he was awarded a Science and Engineering Research Grant from the Graduate Division. His field of study is “Fluvial geomorphology,” and his PhD committee consists of Tomas Dunne (chair–Bren), Phaedon Kyriakidis, and Dar Roberts. Carl’s dissertation topic/research proposal for the Canon Scholarship is “Characterizing spatial patterns of river morphology and hydraulics: Remote mapping and geospatial modeling of a dynamic fluvial system.” Currently, Carl is a graduate student assistant with the California Department of Water Resources (San Joaquin District River Management Section) and a research associate with the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center where he works pro bono as a scientific advisor for river research.
In case you wondered, “kyosei” is a Japanese term connoting a credo or spirit of cooperation in which individuals and organizations work together for the common good. Canon, Inc. claim that it is part of their corporate philosophy, geographers consider it part of their mission, and Carl’s dedication certainly embodies it. Click here for Carl’s research summary and bio sketch.
