January 15, 2015
Kevin Burke, a Nelson Institute master’s candidate in Environment and Resources, has been awarded an Outstanding Student Paper Award in the Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology category for the poster he presented at the American Geophysical Union 2014 fall meeting, held in December in San Francisco.
Kevin Burke
The Outstanding Student Paper Awards (OSPAs) are awarded to promote, recognize and reward undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. students for quality research in the geophysical sciences. It is a great honor for young scientists at the beginning of their careers. Typically the top 3-5 percent of presenters in each section are awarded an OSPA.
Burke studies atmospheric particle transport and pollen dispersal. His poster was titled “Improving estimates of regional vegetation: Using pre-settlement vegetation data and variable wind speed to quantify pollen dispersal and source area.”
UW-Madison professors Simon Goring, John Williams and Tracey Holloway served as co-authors on the study. Both Williams and Holloway are faculty affiliates of the Nelson Institute. Williams, who also directs the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research, serves as Burke’s advisor.