Page 3 - DENIN-2015

TDirector’s Message
he Delaware Environmental Institute, founded in 2009,
is an interdisciplinary incubator of research, knowledge, and solutions dedicated to safeguarding the environment and addressing environmental issues.
In our first five years at the University of Delaware, DENIN has become a vibrant network of discovery and solutions, uniting
160 faculty affiliates and 20 fellows across disciplinary boundaries in the pursuit of socially acceptable, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable solutions to the complex, multilayered challenges we face if our planet is to continue providing for the needs of future generations.
DENIN leverages the combined talents of natural and social scientists, engineers and humanists to provide the integrated knowledge and perspectives decision makers need to formulate sound public policies. We provide academic, government, and industrial partners broad access to these experts in a collaborative effort to advance environmental science, promote environmental education and awareness, and devise innovative strategies for environmental preservation and remediation.
Thanks to the vision, support, and hard work of DENIN’s
affiliated researchers, our dedicated staff, our exceptional advisory
board, and the University of Delaware administration, we have
successfully navigated these critical formative years. Lately,
we have been engaged with internal and external constituents in a strategic planning process to envision our future. This report serves to summarize the accomplishments of our first five years as well as provide a glimpse of where we’re headed next.
At DENIN, we hold fast to the belief that, working together, we can create a world that meets human needs for food, water, energy, and a comfortable standard of living without depriving future generations of the ability to meet their needs or to enjoy the beauty of our planet. We invite you to join us in this endeavor, as a colleague, a student, a partner, or a donor — there is no pursuit more important or worthwhile!
Donald L. Sparks
Director, Delaware Environmental Institute
S. Hallock du Pont Chair of Soil and Environmental Chemistry University of Delaware
Don Sparks, director of the Delaware Environmental Institute, holds an informal meeting with some of his graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the University of Delaware’s Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory. A leading soil and environmental chemist for more than 35 years at UD, Sparks was awarded the 2015 Geochemistry Medal by the American Chemical Society.
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