I-Cares day, Oct. 19, to feature talks by Raven, Kidder

The International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES) will celebrate its inaugural I-CARES day, on Oct. 19. The celebration will feature a talk by Peter H. Raven, PhD, former president of the Missouri Botanical Garden and Engelmann Professor Emeritus of Botany at Washington University in St. Louis , and a presentation by T.R. Kidder, PhD, professor and chair of anthropology. There will also be activities for students, including a QR-code scavenger hunt.

This free event will begin with a reception at 11 a.m. in the Whitaker Hall atrium. Students, staff, faculty and the broader community are invited to share in I-CARES day and its celebration of the programs and partners I-CARES supports.

I-CARES was formed in 2007 to encourage and coordinate collaborative research in the areas of renewable energy, the environment, and sustainability — including biofuels, solar energy and carbon dioxide mitigation.

The purpose of the day is to throw the spotlight on research at Washington University addressing these urgent problems that will shape the future of everyone now living. “It is our hope that our community will come away with a better understanding of the work taking place under the umbrella of I-CARES,” says Dr. Himadri Pakrasi, the Myron and Sonya Glassberg/Albert and Blanche Greensfelder Distinguished University Professor and director of I-CARES.

“We are excited to host presentations from both Peter Raven and T.R. Kidder during I-CARES day. Their talks will provide insight into the effects that human activities are having on our planetary ecosystems today and have had in thedistant past.”

Raven will speak on “Climate Change and Biodiversity” at 4:30 p.m. in Room 100, Whitaker Hall. Raven is a world renowned botanist and environmentalist who has worked to preserve biodiversity for the past 30 years. Described by Time magazine as a “hero for the planet,” Raven has won many accolades for his scholarship and advocacy,  including the U.S. Medal of Science and a MacArthur fellowship. The American Association of Plant Taxonomists established an award in his honor for, among other things, “exceptional efforts at outreach to nonscientists.”

Kidder will speak on “The Anthropocene: a new era in human history?” at 8:30 p.m. in Umrath Lounge. The Anthropocene is a term coined by ecologist Eugene F. Stoermer and popularized by atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen to mark the transition to a new geological era, one in which human activity has extensively altered the Earth’s lithosphere and atmosphere. Many scientists are now using the term.

Kidder is a third-generation archeologist whose research examines the effects of prehistoric global climate change on human settlements large river valleys, including the Mississippi river in the U.S. and the Yellow river in China. Kidder is an active participant in the I-CARES Topics for Conversation Climate Change group and also a recipient of an I-CARES research award in 2012.

For more information on this event contact Kate Woerheide, Communications and Outreach Coordinator at I-CARES, 314-935-8093 or woerheidek@wustl.edu