Dr. Benjamin Santer (right), one of the world’s leading scientists in the identification of human-caused climate change, will deliver the fourth annual Fred Keeley Lecture on Environmental Policy on Thursday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Media Theater at UC Santa Cruz. Dr. Santer's talk is entitled:

"Climate Fingerprints: How do we know human activities have influenced global climate change?”

Benjamin Santer has been a key contributor to the Scientific Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.

“Ben Santer made seminal contributions to the Nobel Prize-winning work of the IPCC,” said Susan Solomon, Co-Chair of the IPCC Working Group. “In particular, he was the key scientific leader in the pioneering statement of the second assessment report that there was a discernible human influence on climate. Since then, he has continued to contribute remarkable scientific work to the field and to IPCC.” Bio: Ben Santer

This UCSC lecture series is named in honor of Fred Keeley (left), civic leader and former member of the State Assembly, who for many years has contributed to shaping environmental policy in California.
Bio: Fred Keeley

The STEPS Institute was established in 2002 as a campus-wide effort to facilitate interdisciplinary environmental research across the university’s Division of Physical and Biological Sciences, Division of Social Sciences, and Baskin School of Engineering. Since September 2007, marine biologist and ecologist Dr. James A. Estes has assumed responsibilities as the STEPS Interim Director.

Programs: The STEPS Institute works to increase dialogue among environmental researchers, civic groups, and policymakers through a variety of interdisciplinary lectures, seminars and workshops. These efforts are leading to broader collaborations among all these diverse groups and promoting innovations in environmental research. The Institute also provides research grants to faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Most of the funds are for research projects that either link multiple research laboratories at UCSC or link UCSC laboratories with outside agencies or policy makers.These activities have been made possible through generous contributions from donors, and through funds from UCSC. We hope in coming years to explore an even wider range of interdisciplinary collaborations within the Institute’s two major initiatives.

Mission Statement: The increased pace and magnitude of human activities over the past century have created rapid environmental changes worldwide. These changes are interconnected, and they are rapidly altering all ecosystems on earth. Our societies have produced, in effect, intertwined global experiments whose long-term effects are unknown. The STEPS Institute fosters research and policy that explore these potential effects. Our efforts have coalesced into research on three major initiatives:

• The effects of climate change
• Conservation of biodiversity
• Alterations in the earth's water systems

Through these initiatives, we are forging new collaborations among faculty researchers, policy makers, and environmental managers. STEPS is also assisting in the development of new multi-user environmental research facilities at UCSC.

Last updated:4/22/08