May 21, 2004

Snyder Named Director Of Environmental Science and Public Policy Research Institute

Walter Snyder, a geosciences professor at Boise State University who is currently working for the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., has been named the new executive director of the university’s Environmental Science and Public Policy Research Institute (ESPRI). Snyder will officially assume his new position in January when his work as a section head for research grants in the NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences is completed. In the meantime, ESPRI associate director Sarah Bigger will continue to direct ESPRI activities. Snyder’s expertise in earth and environmental science and his knowledge of the public policy issues surrounding those areas will provide leadership to this important research center, university officials said. Snyder received his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University and has been a professor of geosciences at Boise State since 1984. He previously worked for Phillips Petroleum Company and the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University. He is a member of the Geological Society of America’s Geology and Public Policy Committee and will become chair of that committee in mid-2005. ESPRI serves as an independent and objective resource to aid informed public policy development and decision making through the integration of science, technology, and policy analysis. It was established in 2002 as a joint venture between Boise State’s College of Arts and Sciences and College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs. More information on ESPRI can be found on the Web at http://espri.boisestate.edu -end- Contact Sarah Bigger ESPRI 208 426-1009 Media contact Janelle Brown communications and marketing 208 426-1790