November 21, 1994 Contact: Robert Irion (408/459-2495)

UC SANTA CRUZ PALEOCLIMATOLOGIST EARNS HONOR FROM NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--James Zachos, an assistant professor of earth sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is one of 197 outstanding scientists to receive a Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, the foundation announced last week.

The award helps universities attract and retain outstanding faculty researchers who might not otherwise pursue teaching careers. Each winner receives a base award of $25,000 per year for five years from NSF, plus up to $75,000 per year through a combination of federal grants and funds from industry, for a maximum annual award of $100,000.

Zachos specializes in paleoclimatology, the study of earth's ancient climate. Scientists in this field try to reconstruct global patterns of temperature, ice cover, atmospheric gases, and other aspects of climate from millions of years ago by looking for clues in rocks and fossils. In particular, Zachos studies the shells of tiny marine organisms, which settle to the ocean floor and eventually form thick layers of sediment. Scientists drill into the seafloor, retrieve the sediments, and study the chemical compositions of the ancient shells. This reveals the temperature of the water in which they lived. In this way, Zachos has created maps of the ocean's temperature at various times in the past, dating to tens of millions of years ago. His work has helped show that earth's climate can change abruptly, for reasons that researchers do not yet grasp.

Zachos, 35, received a B.S. in geology and economics from the State University of New York, College at Oneonta, an M.S. in geology from the University of South Carolina, and a Ph.D. in geological oceanography from the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. He joined the UCSC faculty in 1992. In 1993, he was one of six scientists chosen for the prestigious Joint Oceanographic Institutions/U.S. Science Advisory Committee Distinguished Lecturer Series.

Since 1987, twelve scientists at UCSC have received the NSF awards, previously known as Presidential Young Investigator Awards. The program began in 1983.

Press Releases Home | Search Press Releases | Press Release Archive | Services for Journalists

Maintained by:pioweb@cats.ucsc.edu