Laguette Named Chair of ESSP Department

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences
Contact: Karen Ryba/Phone: 701-777-4761
July 17, 2008

Laguette Named Chair of UND’s Earth System Science and Policy Department

(Grand Forks, North Dakota): Dr. Soizik Laguette has been named the new chair of Earth System Science and Policy (ESSP) at the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences located on the University of North Dakota (UND) campus. Laguette earned her Ph.D. in agricultural engineering at ENGREF (French Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Environmental Engineering) in Paris, France. Dr. Laguette has been at UND since 1999 and was a founding member of the ESSP program. Dr. Laguette’s research interests involve the use of switchgrass as a bioenergy crop in the Northern Great Plains and the adoption of switchgrass into the traditional cropping system; the rapid integration of remote sensing data into in-field management decisions and the use of satellite data in crop modeling as well as on helping end-users integrate remote sensing data and technology as a tool in land management practices.

Dr. Laguette succeeds Rodney Hanley as the Chair of the ESSP program. Dr. Hanley took the position of Dean of Science at the University of Winnipeg.

About UND Aerospace:
UND Aerospace, which includes the Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota and the UND Aerospace Foundation (UNDAF), is an international leader in collegiate and contract aviation education and training services flying over 100,000 hours per year in over 120 aircraft. UNDAF also has facilities in Spokane, Washington, with Spokane Falls Community College; Lumberton, North Carolina, with Robeson Community College; Phoenix, Arizona, in conjunction with Chandler-Gilbert Community College; Williston, North Dakota, with Williston State College; and Crookston, Minnesota, with the University of Minnesota in addition to its home-base in Grand Forks, North Dakota. With more than 2,000 students from throughout the world, the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is the second largest college at the University of North Dakota. Undergraduate and graduate programs leading to a variety of rewarding careers in aerospace are offered through five different academic departments: aviation, atmospheric sciences, computer science, earth system science and policy, and space studies. The UND Aerospace training complex is the most technologically advanced environment for aerospace education, training and research in the world.

In 2008, UND Aerospace will be celebrating its 40th anniversary. A series of regional alumni gatherings will be held across the country, as well as several events during UND’s Homecoming and 125th anniversary on October 13-18. For an updated listing of events, see www.undaerospace.com or www.undalumni.org.

– # –

The Odegard School news releases are available on-line at http://www.aero.und.edu and click News for a list of news releases.