A Message from Dean D'Elia
April 17, 2020
Let me begin by thanking each of you for making the most out of a fast-moving and fluid semester. I am so proud of how each of you has embraced change and adhered to the new procedures that LSU put in place to help to ensure your safety and that of others. Like many other universities, LSU has transformed almost overnight from mostly traditional classroom teaching to 100 percent online instruction. The incredible adaptability and hard work of our faculty, students, and staff are what made this impossibility possible.
Suddenly, everybody is working from home offices and laboratories and writing publications and research proposals remotely, yet business is being conducted pretty much at a normal pace. Our wonderful support staff, led by Leah Courville, has been nothing short of incredible. Furthermore, Associate Deans Sibel Bargu Ates and John White are doing remarkable work even in the face of these circumstances. Although many research projects have ground to a halt, others are ramping up. We have been awarded several research grants. For example, Paul Miller was awarded a $128,339 RAPID grant for “Effect of coronavirus-driven aerosol reductions on atmospheric dynamics in East Asia.” His project will relate how the stay at home order led to changes in aerosol concentration in the atmosphere and how changing temperature conditions may have impacted air circulation, cloud cover, and precipitation.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Tyler Mauney for his outstanding service in keeping the Energy, Coast and Environment building running during this global health crisis. Even now, he is seeing to the security of everyone’s labs and offices, restarting the boiler, dealing with the airflow system, receiving package and gas deliveries, helping to keep the entrance and elevator sanitized, delivering the mail around the building, and helping to check walk-in refrigerators and lab freezers to make sure samples stay preserved.
We are on track to having both the largest number of freshmen and the largest number of CES BS majors ever, thanks to the concerted efforts of many people, especially Vince Wilson, Tiffany Treloar, and Sibel Bargu Ates. And, we are offering more online classes for the summer than ever before, including the following.
Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences:
OCS 1005 (M. Polito) – Introduction to Oceanography
OCS 1006(H) (C. Glaspie) -- Introduction to Oceanography (for Honors students)
OCS 2007 (G. Mariotti) – Introduction to Marine Science: Physical and Geological Processes
OCS 2008 (M. Benfield) – Introduction to Marine Science: Life Processes
OCS 2011 (M. Hiatt) – MATLAB
OCS 4001 (D. Holstein) – Coral Reef Ecology
Department of Environmental Sciences:
ENVS 1126 (C. Johnson) - Introduction to Environmental Sciences
ENVS 7041 (M. Reams) -Environmental Policy Analysis
ENVS 7042 (M. Reams) -Environmental Conflict Resolution
ENVS 7043 (T. Douthat) -Environmental Law and Regulation
ENVS 7050 (N. Lam) -Spatial Modelling of Environmental Data
ENVS 7995 (M. Reams) -Environmental Seminar
ENVS 7997 (M. Reams) -Environmental Practicum
Additionally, our team has jumped into action to help with the COVID-19 crisis. Several CC&E laboratories donated personal protective equipment, including gloves, N95 masks, face shields, eye protection, disposable lab coats, and shoe covers. Mark Benfield is tracking COVID-19 medical litter in the environment and is asking for citizen scientists to help by sending geotagged-photos of discarded gloves and masks to covid19waste@gmail.com. CC&E’s Bill Gibson along with a team of innovators from the LSU College of Agriculture, College of the Coast & Environment, College of Science, and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety developed an ultraviolet light-powered mobile decontamination unit that increases the usability of personal protective equipment.
Unfortunately, we have had to postpone or cancel many important events. Although we worked hard to put together an ambitious, LSU-wide celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, those events were necessarily postponed until the fall. Instead, we hosted an online webinar about the environmental origins of COVID-19 that has been viewed more than 1,400 times. We had to cancel our Friday seminar series and postpone our Advisory Council meeting. Our April convocation ceremony was canceled and our May commencement plans are postponed, but LSU is considering other options for celebrating later this summer or next fall. Additionally, in light of an uncertain budget situation, we have canceled job interviews for our open positions.
I will provide another update as more information becomes available. In the meantime, I wish everyone well. Above all, stay safe and healthy.
Sincerely,
Dean D’Elia