Saros to direct Ecology and Environmental Sciences program
Jasmine Saros has been named director of the Ecology and Environmental Sciences program at the University of Maine.
Saros, a professor of paleolimnology and lake ecology in the School of Biology and Ecology and associate director of the Climate Change Institute, will serve a three-year appointment starting August 1.
She succeeds Brian Olsen, professor of ornithology in the School of Biology and Ecology and chair of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, who has served as interim director since September 1.
“Dr. Saros comes to this role with notable experience both as an administrator and educator. I look forward to seeing the Ecology and Environmental Sciences program thrive with her leadership,” says Mario Teisl, interim dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture that oversees the program.
At UMaine, Saros teaches courses in lake ecology. Through her research she reconstructs the history of environmental change in lake environments through a unique approach that applies information from both field observations and bioassays to lake sediment records. Saros then uses patterns in the sediment to pose testable hypotheses about the mechanisms driving observed changes. She also evaluates how Arctic, alpine, and boreal lake ecosystems respond to climate change in the present day.
Saros’ numerous awards include the University of Maine’s Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award and the college’s Outstanding Research Award. Prior to joining the University of Maine in 2007, Saros earned her doctorate at Lehigh University.
The Ecology and Environmental Sciences program is an interdisciplinary graduate and undergraduate program that offers broad-based training in both biophysical sciences and social sciences. Students graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary for careers that will address today’s complex environmental challenges.