Behind the Science Blog

DRI’s “Behind the Science” blog featuring our people and projects

Read the stories below to learn more about the amazing people and projects happening at DRI.

Tracking the Restorative Effects of Good Fire

Tracking the Restorative Effects of Good Fire

A few miles south of Yosemite’s famed Glacier Point, ringed by striking granite domes, lies the Illilouette Basin. This small stretch of the Sierra Nevada Mountains has become a sort of fire laboratory, a place where natural wildfires have been allowed to burn since 1972. In contrast with the long-supported program of fire suppression that has dominated American forests since the late 19th century, resulting in dense and unhealthy forests, the Illilouette Basin’s story is about the benefits that natural fire can bring to the landscape.

read more
Meet Graduate Researcher Dante Staten

Meet Graduate Researcher Dante Staten

Meet Dante Staten, a Ph.D. student in environmental science with an emphasis in environmental chemistry. Staten recently graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Master's Degree in environmental science. At DRI, Staten is working with...

Meet Kristin VanderMolen, Ph.D.

Meet Kristin VanderMolen, Ph.D.

Kristin VanderMolen, Ph.D., is an assistant research professor and social scientist with the Division of Atmospheric Sciences at the Desert Research Institute.

Preserving Nevada’s Lost City using drones

Preserving Nevada’s Lost City using drones

Ruins of adobe houses, Lost City of Nevada. Credit: Special Collections, University of Nevada, Reno Libraries. Nevada’s “Lost City,” located northeast of Las Vegas on a terrace above the Muddy River, has been lost twice before – first abandoned by...

Meet Josh Sackett, Ph.D.

Meet Josh Sackett, Ph.D.

Josh Sackett, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher with the Division of Hydrologic Sciences at the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas.

Meet John Watson, Ph.D.

Meet John Watson, Ph.D.

John Watson, Ph.D., is a research professor of air quality science with the Division of Atmospheric Sciences at the Desert Research Institute in Reno. John specializes in air quality measurements, source apportionment (tracing pollutants to their...

Meet Jim Hudson, Ph.D.

Meet Jim Hudson, Ph.D.

Jim Hudson, Ph.D., is a research professor of physics with the Division of Atmospheric Sciences at the Desert Research Institute in Reno. Jim specializes in cloud physics, and has worked throughout his career to gather and analyze field...

Putting the Knowledge Fund to Work

Putting the Knowledge Fund to Work

Created in 2013 by the Governor's Office of Economic Development, the Knowledge Fund spurs research, innovation, and commercialization in Nevada. Thanks to support from the Knowledge Fund, researchers across the Silver State have been busy...

Meet Erick Bandala, Ph.D.

Meet Erick Bandala, Ph.D.

Erick Bandala, Ph.D., is an assistant research professor of environmental science with the Division of Hydrologic Sciences at the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas. Erick specializes in research related to water quality and water treatment,...

Meet graduate researcher Meghan Rennie

Meet graduate researcher Meghan Rennie

Meet Meghan Rennie, a Master's student in atmospheric sciences. At DRI, Rennie is working with Dr. Hans Moosmüller from the Division of Atmospheric Science (DAS) to study aerosols and mineral dust for their optical properties that effect Earth's...

Q&A with AGU presenter Christine Albano

Q&A with AGU presenter Christine Albano

Christine Albano is a hydrologist and graduate student pursuing her Ph.D. She'll be attending AGU for the first time this year. DRI: In a couple of sentences, what is the ‘plain English’ summary of what you are presenting at AGU? Christine...