Joint Intermountain Conference on the Environment, Geotechnical Symposium set Nov. 5-6 at ISU; Century High School teacher Givens to be honored

The joint 14th Intermountain Conference on the Environment and the 42nd Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering Symposium will be held at Idaho State University Nov. 5-6 in the Pond Student Union.

The theme of the conference is “Geotechnics, Environment, Energy, and Economics (GE3) – The Links for Sustainability.”

A highlight of the conference will be honoring Century High School (Pocatello) environmental and science teacher Bruce Givens who will receive the Intermountain Conference on the Environment Individual Achievement Award.

This award has been given out on a yearly/bi-yearly basis to an individual who has shown outstanding leadership qualities in identifying environmental concerns and in providing solutions to real environmental problems.  Past recipients of this award include John Welhan of the Idaho State Geological Survey and Syed Hashim, environmental coordinator at Idaho State University.
            

Givens is the first high school teacher to receive the award. He received it for his efforts encouraging and requiring students in his environmental science class to study, report on and present findings on such environmental concerns as channel rehabilitation of the Portneuf River through downtown Pocatello and in preserving the deer habitat south of Pocatello near Portneuf gap.  His efforts are extremely important in developing student awareness and in creating a strong environmental science program at Century High School.

The public is invited to attend the free opening and closing sessions at the conference.

Dr. Harold Blackman, director of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, will deliver the conference’s keynote address during the opening session from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in the Ballroom of the Pond Student Union.

The closing session from 3:45 to 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, in the Wood River Room will feature three presentations on storm water management in the Pocatello area.

Another conference highlight is a panel discussion on wind energy from 9:30 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. Friday, Nov. 6 in the Ballroom. This panel will feature representatives from Nordic Wind Power's Pocatello Plant; Blackhawk Wind Energy Systems, LLC of Boise; and the Power Supply Planning Group, Idaho Power Company. The panel will be moderated by Jay Kunze, ISU professor of nuclear science and engineering.

The conference is hosted by the Idaho State University's College of Engineering Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering, and the Environmental Science and Management Program; the ISU College of Arts and Sciences Departments of Geosciences, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Physics, and the GIS Center; ISU College of Business; and ISU Facilities Services.

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About Idaho State University

Idaho State University, a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution founded in 1901, educates approximately 14,000 students per year in more than 280 programs. It is Idaho’s lead institution in health professions and medical education. Its seven colleges engage in a broad range of innovative research, teaching, and learning in the natural and physical sciences, humanities, performing and visual arts, education, engineering, business, pharmacy, and technology. Visit ISU today at www.isu.edu