Mason to take over environmental research institute

Dr. Jagadish Shukla will be directing the new Institute of Global Environment and Society (photo courtesy of Jagadish Shukla)

The newest innovation at George Mason University is the establishment of a new research institute, the Institute of Global Environment and Society.

The institute, approved by Mason’s Board of Visitors at their Oct. 3 meeting, will be directed by Dr. Jagadish Shukla.

According to the BOV website, the IGES is a non-profit research institute founded by Dr. Shukla, a professor of climate dynamics at Mason. The institute is currently registered in the state of Maryland, but Dr. Shukla has proposed to move IGES with all funding, intellectual resources and the trademark to Mason.

“We expect the institute to be fully on campus by next fall, arrangements are just being finalized for its location in Research I when Science and Tech reopens,” said Peter Stearns, Mason’s provost.

The main goal of this institute will be to continue to conduct the current research the IGES performs on climate variability, said the BOV website. The institute would also create research in the future implications between human interactions with the environment.

The institute was initially founded to perform research on climate variability and climate predictability. The Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere-Studies (COLA), one of the main focuses of IGES, will also be brought to Mason.

As stated on the IGES website, COLA is committed to understanding the changes in the Earth’s climate due to the interaction with atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces.

Shukla believes that bringing this institute to Mason will expand the breadth of the research for both the university and IGES.

“This is a great idea for GMU to establish such a research institute because COLA is working on the physical climate system,” Shukla said. “The university has multiple groups already who work on other aspects [of environmental research] for example biodiversity, sustainability, climate communication, climate and ethics and so the institution will facilitate interaction among multiple groups.”

The hope is that IGES will help lead Virginia and the nation in understanding the importance of the environment.

 “I see no significant disadvantages [of the institute] -- obviously, space is required but I can't think of a better use. This is a distinguished set of researchers on a vital set of topics that will expand both research, including externally funded research, and education on environmental and related social issues at Mason,” said Stearns in an email.

Monetarily, the institute is covered each year by $4 million in federal research funds.

On a personal level, Shukla feels that Mason is a good place to have IGES located. The institute will provide students with research opportunities and it will expand the scope of the research already occurring.

 “How do we manage our planet in the 21st Century? That is a major role. We have many problems: environmental problems, population problems, all big issues that we need to do research on to help manage the planet,” Shukla said.