Provided by: OSU Forestry Media Center

How a Tree Physiologist Became a "Rocket Scientist" Steven W. Running, Professor/Director, Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group (NTSG), College of Forestry & Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT. and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the ICCP (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) As a graduate student at OSU, Steve Running measured transpiration and photosynthesis on individual leaves. At Colorado State University, he monitored and modeled transpiration on trees, and as a young professor at the University of Montana, he extended his scope to small groups of trees, and eventually to watersheds. And then NASA became interested, and with satellites orbiting the earth, Professor Running's research progressively expanded to encompass regions, continents, and finally, all terrestrial vegetation. He will explain how the basic physics and physiology must remain in a model while the detailed description of vegetation must be progressively simplified to project how it interacts with climate at larger and larger spatial scales.