News & Announcements
Working to Solve our Most Challenging Environmental Problems
DRI’s research calls on the expertise and methods of scientists from multiple scientific disciplines. More than 600 highly-skilled scientists, engineers, technicians, students, and staff work collaboratively within and across three research divisions, focused on understanding and answering critical science questions about global climate change, water quality and availability, air quality, the sustainability of desert lands, life in extreme environments, education, and more.
DRI Internal Award Winners 2019
At our annual Celebration of Science event in September 2019, we recognized our incredible DRI family. In addition to honoring faculty and staff celebrating service milestones with the Institute, we also presented internal awards to some of our outstanding faculty and...
Emissions from cannabis growing facilities may impact indoor and regional air quality, new research shows
RENO, Nev. (Sept. 16, 2019) - The same chemicals responsible for the pungent smell of a cannabis plant may also contribute to air pollution on a much larger scale, according to new research from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) and the Washoe County Health District...
NSHE Board of Regents Appoint Interim President of DRI
Dr. Kumud Acharya, an ecological engineer and long-time Desert Research Institute faculty member, was given a two-year contract. Media Contact: Francis McCabe, (702) 290-8971, fmccabe@nshe.nevada.edu CARSON CITY – Dr. Kumud Acharya, an ecological engineer whose...
Lead pollution in Arctic ice shows economic impact of wars, plagues, famines from Middle Ages to present
Photo: Dr. Joe McConnell and graduate student Nathan Chellman work in the ice lab at the Desert Research Institute, in Reno, Nev., on Wednesday, May 15, 2019. Photo by Cathleen Allison/Nevada Momentum. RENO, Nev. (July 8, 2019) – How did events like the Black...
Alison Murray selected to co-lead NASA’s Network for Ocean Worlds
New initiative will guide search for life in ice-covered water worlds beyond Earth (Reno, Nevada – June 24, 2019) – Desert Research Institute microbial oceanographer and Antarctic researcher Alison Murray, Ph.D., has been selected to co-lead a new National Aeronautics...
DRI President Kristen Averyt Resigns, Dr. Kumud Acharya Named Officer in Charge
LAS VEGAS – Desert Research Institute (DRI) President Dr. Kristen Averyt on Monday announced her resignation for personal reasons effective June 30, 2019. Dr. Kumud Acharya, an ecological engineer currently serving as DRI’s Interim Vice President for Research, has...
Researchers identify connection between more frequent, intense heat events and deaths in Las Vegas
Photo: Hotter temperatures and longer, more frequent heat waves are linked to a rising number of deaths in the Las Vegas Valley over the last 10 years. Las Vegas, Nev. (June 4, 2019) - Over the last several decades, extreme heat events around the world—particularly in...
Statement on the passing of Robert and Robin Holman
On behalf of the faculty and staff of the Desert Research Institute and the Board of Trustees of the DRI Foundation, we were deeply saddened to learn this week of the unexpected deaths of newly appointed DRI Foundation Fellows, Robert and Robin Holman.
Free citizen-science app lets users assist in research, report findings, and help Keep Tahoe Blue
South Lake Tahoe, CA (May 20, 2019) - With apps like iNaturalist and Instagram hashtags like #trashtag trending, there are increasingly more ways for budding citizen-scientists to contribute data, report concerns and get involved in ongoing research. Now, thanks to a...
Traces of Roman-era pollution stored in the ice of Mont Blanc
Researchers drill ice cores from a field camp on Mont Blanc in the French Alps. Credit: B. Jourdain, L’Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement. RENO, Nev. (May 8, 2019) – Last spring, an international team of researchers led by Joe McConnell, PhD, Director...
Population health study “Healthy Nevada Project” goes statewide, adding 25,000 participants
Las Vegas, Nev. (May 8, 2019) – The Healthy Nevada Project, a first-of-its-kind, community-based population health study combining genetic, clinical, environmental and social data, is expanding enrollment to Las Vegas. The Project aspires not only to offer genetic...
North Atlantic Ocean productivity has dropped 10 percent during Industrial era
Researchers use a drill to extract one of the Greenland ice core samples that became the basis for this research. Credit: Joe McConnell/DRI. RENO, Nev. (May 7, 2019) - This week, new research outlining the steady decline of phytoplankton productivity in the North...