UBC Forestry would like to congratulate Dr. Cindy Prescott and Dr. Shannon Hagerman on receiving the Scientific Achievement Award through the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO).
About Cindy’s Research
Cindy’s research has improved our scientific understanding of the interactions between trees and the belowground ecosystem, and the influences of forestry practices on soil organic matter and nutrient availability. It has also improved our ability to restore forests on poor or degraded soils. Dr. Prescott has contributed to scientific publishing of forest research, serving for 20 years as editor of two major forest science journals – the first woman in both cases. Cindy has contributed to graduate education in forest sciences through her own supervision and by overseeing the graduate program at the University of British Columbia.
About Shannon’s Research
Shannon’s research addresses urgent societal challenges at the nexus of people, climate change, and forests. She pioneered the field of novel environmental interventions and has led forestry in new directions, underpinned by nuanced social data sets. Working with colleagues around the world and her graduate students, her research is highly original, methodologically innovative, integrative, and collaborative. She publishes in high-impact journals and influences policy discussions and decision-making at international, regional and community scales. As an award-winning teacher and Associate Dean in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC, she is also training the next generation of forestry researchers.
About the Scientific Achievement Awards
At each World Congress, IUFRO recognizes outstanding achievements of up to ten scientists. Awards are presented for research results published in scientific journals, proceedings of scientific meetings or books, or appropriate patents or other relevant evidence that clearly demonstrates the importance of the scientific or technical achievement to the advancement of regional or world forestry or forest research.
The UBC Faculty of Forestry has had ten past award winners (Namkoong, Kimmins, Saddler, Innes, Mansfield, El-Kassaby, Kozak, Hamelin, Aitken, Sunderland), making it the most celebrated institution in IUFRO’s 130-year history.