Press release: June 13,2006
STEPS Fellowships and Awards announced for 2006

The STEPS Institute has named the recipients of this year’s STEPS research fellowships and biodiversity research award. All the recipients have a strong background in research and training that crosses traditional research disciplines.

The STEPS Institute is now in its fourth year since its establishment at UCSC. Its goal is to foster interdisciplinary research that will help our society cope with the major rapid changes occurring in all major ecosystems. Much of the work concentrates on ecosystems along California’s Central Coast. Over the past four years, the institute has been able to assist in the research of more than seventy faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates at UCSC.

STEPS FELLOWSHIPS

The STEPS fellowships were established by an anonymous donor who has generously provided fellowship and grant support for graduate and undergraduate students undertaking research on the major STEPS research initiatives. These fellowships were named in honor of three individuals known for forging links between science and society: M.R.C. Greenwood, Frans Lanting, and Christine Eckstrom. The three recipients of these fellowships for 2006 are Elizabeth Bastiaans, Nina Nowshiravani, and Daniella Schweizer

MRC Greenwood Biodiversity Research Award

The MRC Greenwood Biodiversity Research Award was established through generous donations by Diane and Don Cooley to foster graduate environmental research that has the potential for immediate application to major environmental issues. The Biodiversity Research Award recipient for 2006 is Amy Morris.

Amy Morris is conducting interdisciplinary research with the UCSC Department of Community Studies and Department of Environmental Studies. Amy is evaluating the process by which conservation easements are created and recorded. Easements are becoming an increasingly important part of public and private conservation measures, but Morris's research is one of the few assessments of how easements are distributed across regions and how well easements are functioning in achieving conservation goals. Morris is the recipient of a previous STEPS grant that helped initiate her innovative research. Amy will be working with Dr. Julie Guthman in the Department of Community Studies, and Dr. Daniel Press in the Department of Environmental Studies.

Christine Eckstrom Fellowship Recipient:
Elizabeth Bastiaans has experience in linking ecological and molecular techniques to the study wild animal populations, which she hopes to apply in her graduate research to analyses of how populations of many species are now occurring in many ecosystems. She is also interested in how ongoing rapid evolution may affect the ecological interactions of species.She has a bachelor’s degree in the biological sciences from University of Chicago. Elizabeth will be working with Dr. Barry Sinervo in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Frans Lanting Fellowship Recipient:
Daniella Schweizer already has previously worked in conservation biology and sustainable development, especially in tropical environments. She received her undergraduate degree in biology from Simón Bolivár University in Venezuela and a Master’s degree in conservation biology from the University of Maryland. She has worked as a field biologist for coral reef restoration projects in Venezuela, as a researcher for Conservation International’s Andes Program, and as a Fellow in the biodiversity program at the UN. She plans to focus her doctoral research on the biological and social processes affecting forest recovery programs. Daniella will be working with Dr. Karen Holl in the Department of Environmental Studies.

MRC Greenwood Fellowship Recipient:
Nina Nowshiravani plans to use her background in evolutionary biology to evaluate how environmental change is altering the genetic structure of species. She has a bachelor’s degree in evolution and ecology from UC Davis, where she worked after receiving her degree on the genetic diversity of plant and insect populations. She is currently conducting research on the genetic structure of invertebrates in Sweden. Nina will be working with Dr. Bruce Lyon in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

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