The Iceman 'Goeth' on Global Mission

For 20 years, Tom Lowell has traversed the globe to study melting glaciers and climate change.

In a UC Magazine story, the geology professor explains his research, which has taken him and students to destinations including Greenland, Bolivia, Chile, Canada, Antarctica and Tierra del Fuego, an island located at the southernmost tip of South America.

"We've been to places on the planet nobody else has been," he says. "I've seen some pretty dramatic changes. It sinks in a little more concretely when you see it with your own eyes."

By looking at glacial patterns over time, Lowell is able to reconstruct climate behavior from 1,000, 5,000 or 20,000 years ago. "Understanding what those patterns looked like in the past can tell us what is happening now and what might happen in the future," he says.

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UC students receive inaugural Arnold I. Miller awards

November 7, 2024

Two students have won the Arnold I. Miller Awards for Outstanding Rising Senior in the UC’s School for Environment and Sustainability (SEaS). Seniors Daoud Saadeh and Jennifer Tomak were the first two recipients of the honor. The award recognizes students for their involvement in the community and their work in the classroom. The award is named for Miller, an emeritus professor of geology, former senior associate dean, and a formative director of SEaS, which is part of UC’s College of Arts and Sciences. SEaS was established just a year ago, created in response to student and faculty demand for a comprehensive hub of environmental research and teaching. An interdisciplinary school, it offers students the opportunity to deep-dive into a curriculum that includes both robust environmental science and social sciences at the same time. It also includes opportunities for co-op, internship, research and study-abroad experiences. Although both Tomak and Saadeh are majoring in environmental studies, they both took a different path to get there.

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