WASHINGTON, DC — The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Robert W. Corell, Global Change Program Director at The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, and Senior Policy Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, on Thursday, January 17, 2008 in Washington, D.C. Given for a lifetime of leadership and achievement in advancing environmental science and its use in decision-making, the award will be presented during NCSE's 8th national conference, Climate Change: Science and Solutions, at a special ceremony at 5:30 p.m., at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

Dr. Corell is engaged in research on the science of global change as well as the interaction between science and public policy, particularly research activities focused on global and regional climate change and related environmental issues. He serves as chair of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, an international assessment of the impacts of climate variability and change in the Arctic. He also chairs an 18-country international planning effort to outline major Arctic research challenges.

"The Heinz Center congratulates Bob Corell on his extraordinary record of achievement, and we look forward to being part of his many achievements in the future," said Heinz Center President Thomas Lovejoy, who is among the NCSE conference plenary speakers.

Before joining the Heinz Center, Dr. Corell served as a Senior Research Fellow in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Previously, he was Assistant Director for Geosciences at the National Science Foundation. During his tenure at NSF, Dr. Corell served as chair of the President's National Science and Technology Council's Committee, which oversees the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Throughout his career, he has served as chair and principal U.S. delegate to numerous international bodies focused on climate and global change research.

NCSE Senior Scientist David Blockstein said, "If you follow the history of any global change research program in the U.S. -- and much of the world -- you will find Bob Corell's vision and guiding hand."

Previous recipients of the NCSE Lifetime Achievement Award include The Honorable Russell Train, first chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and chairman emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund, and Dr. Ruth Patrick, distinguished limnologist at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

At the NCSE conference Dr. Corell will also discuss the Global Energy Assessment, which he co-chairs, during a plenary session and will lead a breakout session on the U.S. Global Change Research Program's future.

Following Dr. Corell's acceptance of the Lifetime Achievement Award, John Holdren, President of The Woods Hole Research Center, and Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard, will present the 8th annual John H. Chafee Memorial Lecture: "Meeting the Climate-Change Challenge."

Other conference speakers include:

• Mohan Munasinghe, Vice Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• James E. Rogers, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Duke Energy Corporation
• Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University
• Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson, Mayor, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Representative Jay Inslee, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington's 1st District
• Ralph Cicerone, President, National Academy of Sciences
• Mindy Lubber, President, CERES
• Arden Bement, Jr., Director, National Science Foundation

The conference is January 16-18, and is free to credentialed media. To learn more about NCSE and its annual conference, visit www.NCSEonline.org.

NCSE is dedicated to improving the scientific basis for environmental decision-making by bridging the gap between the scientific knowledge required to resolve environmental problems and the process of implementing viable solutions.

Contact Info:

Anne Hummer
Director, Communications and Development
The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
Telephone: 202-737-6307
E-mail: hummer@heinzctr.org

David Blockstein
Executive Secretary
National Council for Science and the Environment
Telephone: 202-207-0004
E-mail: David@ncseonline.org

Website : the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment