DRI Research Highlights: 2024, Volume 1

Dear Friend of DRI,

Many exciting things are happening at DRI! I’m pleased to share our semi-annual report highlighting some of our recent research and community outreach and celebrating 25 years of the Wagner Award.

The projects featured are a sample of the research conducted to better understand and address pressing environmental challenges. The cover story spotlights DRI’s Luminescence Research Laboratory—the largest luminescence dating lab in North America! We also highlight research on how climate change may impact the Lake Tahoe Basin, management of Nevada’s wetlands, water scarcity in the West, and desert forests. In addition, we feature briefs on how our scientists are using their expertise to improve flood control on Mount Charleston, protect a historical cemetery, and partner with students on climate research.

I hope you enjoy the stories about the impactful science and the inspiring solutions we have highlighted.

Kumud Acharya, Ph.D., President

The Peter Wagner Memorial Endowment was established in 1981 by Sue Wagner, his wife and former longtime Nevada legislator and Lieutenant Governor, along with his family and friends. Peter Wagner was an atmospheric physicist at DRI who was killed, along with three of his DRI colleagues, on March 3, 1980, when a research plane crashed over the Sierra. A memorial plaque is on display in the courtyard of DRI's Northern Nevada Science Center. The Wagner Endowment provides annual support for the  Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences  and the Peter B. Wagner Medal of Excellence for DRI Scholars in the Early Stages of Career Development. This year, the  25th Wagner Award  was presented to Andrea Gordon from the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. We thank Sue Wagner, her family, and friends, for establishing this endowment in Peter's memory and their continued support. For more information on how you can support impactful science that inspires solutions, please contact the DRI Office of Advancement at (775) 673-7300 or foundationinfo@dri.edu.

We are Nevada’s non-profit research institute, founded in 1959 to empower experts to focus on science that matters. We work with communities across the state–and the world– to address their most pressing scientific questions, while building bridges between scientists and policymakers to enact positive change.  

We’re proud that our scientists continuously produce solutions that better human and environmental health. We pioneered the use of chemical fingerprinting to identify sources of air pollution in Nevada’s cities and reduce haze in National Parks across the country. We work with communities downwind of historic atomic testing at the Nevada National Security Site to monitor radiation exposure. We used ice trapped below the surface of Greenland to connect historic levels of lead pollution with the rise and fall of ancient economies like the Roman Empire. For decades, we have been using satellite technology to locate, and build, drinking water wells for communities in Ghana and we have enhanced precipitation throughout Nevada, the driest state in the nation, using decades of research on cloud seeding.  

Scientists at DRI are involved with students at other Nevada System of Higher Education institutions, offering research positions and teaching support, but are not expected to take on the heavy teaching loads of university professors. Instead, they are encouraged to follow their research interests across the traditional boundaries of scientific fields, collaborating across DRI and with scientists worldwide. We reach thousands of young Nevada students annually with specialized science and robotics lessons and free continuing education for teachers. All faculty support their own research through grants, bringing in nearly $5 to the Nevada economy for every $1 of state funds received. With more than 600 scientists, engineers, students, and staff across our Reno and Las Vegas campuses, we have conducted more than $47 million in sponsored research focused on improving peoples’ lives.  

At DRI, science isn’t merely academic – it’s the key to future-proofing our communities and building a better world.