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Patricia McDowell, Mentor
Geography

Monika Bilka, McNair Scholar

Patricia F. McDowell is Professor of Geography and Professor of Environmental Studies. She received her Ph.D. in geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1980, joined the faculty at the University of Oregon in 1982 and served as Associate Vice President for Research and Chair of the Department of Geography. She is a natural scientist who teaches courses in water resources and geomorphology. She has recently become interested in how scientific principles have been translated into policy, and the effectiveness of laws and policies in managing the environment. Her research, focusing on response of river systems to human impacts and environmental change, has been supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service and Bonneville Power Administration. Recent publications include “Evidence of Quaternary Climatic Variations in a Sequence of loess and related deposits at Birch Creek, Alaska: Implications for the stage 5 climatic chronology” (with M. E. Edwards) Quaternary Science Reviews (2001); and “Human impacts and river channel adjustment, northeastern Oregon: Implications for restoration,” in Wigington, P.J., and Beschta, R.L., eds., Riparian Ecology and Management in Multi-Land Use Watersheds, Middleburg, VA: American Water Resources Association (2000).