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.

Dr. Steve Running, a Regents Professor in the College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana, will discuss the paradox of why forests in the West are growing faster while simultaneously suffering from higher die-off rates. Running is a member of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and was the lead author on a 2007 report analyzing North America's contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide and its impacts on the global climate. Series: Perspectives on Ocean Science.