CadyLancaster

Wood Scientist

Ashland, Oregon



Istudythechemicalpropertiesofwoodinordertoidentifywoodthathasbeenillegallychopped down.


Illegalloggingisthethirdlargestinternationalcrime.Treesarecutdownandusedforallsortsofpurposes.Asawoodchemist,Iknowthateachtreespecieshasaunique“fingerprint”ofchemicals.Myjobistotraveltheworldtobuildadatabaseofeachtreespecies’fingerprint.Wecanusethedatatoidentifytreesthathavebeenillegallylogged.Thisisimportant.Ifwecan’tidentifythewoodthatisbeingtradedorcutdown,thenwecannotenforcethelawsthatprotectthe trees.


Iworkforensiccasesforlawenforcement,assistinginspectorsandagentstoidentifythespeciesofwoodinanythingfromfloorboardstoexpensivejewelry.Icarefullydisassemblewoodenobjectstocollectsliversfromhiddenlocations.ThenItakethesliverstoaspecialmachineto“burn”thesample.Thisreleasesthechemicalsinthewood,whichIthencomparetothe database.


Thisdatabasecanbeusedgloballytocatchcriminalsthathavebeenpoachingtreesfromsomeoftheworld’smostprotectedandbeautifulhabitats.Thesehabitatsareprecious,notonlytothetreesbutalsothewildlifethataresustainedbythem.Youcan’thaveorangutansswingingfromtreetotreeifyoucutdownallofthetrees.EverycaseIworkisanotherstepclosertoprotectingour environment.

DarrenJ.H.Sleep

Wildlife Biologist 

Ottawa,Ontario, Canada



Istudywildlifeandtheirhabitatstounderstandwhattheyneedto thrive.


MydadgavemesomeadvicewhenIwasyoung.Hesaid,“Findacareeryoulovesomuchyou’ddoitforfree.You’llneverhavetoworkadayinyourlife.”That’sprettygoodadvice,andI’mgladIfollowedit.I’vealwayslovedanimalsandbeingoutdoors.Workingasawildlifebiologistallowsmetobearoundbothandmakeadifferenceinthe world.


I’mverypassionateabouttheroleforestsplayinourworld.Myjobistoeducatepeopleaboutthenaturalworldandhowweinteractwithit.Ialsohelpforestrycompaniesmanagetheirlandinsuchawaythattheycontinuetomakeproductsthatarehealthyforpeopleandourplanet.Atthesametime,theyconservethethingswevaluelikewildlifeandwaterandcarbon(toreducetheeffectsofclimate change).

Icontributetothethinkingaroundnewideastoimprovehowweuseournaturalresources.Ispendalotoftimeinanoffice,butmyfavoritetimesarespentoutdoorsstudyingbirds,bats,owls,mice,andothercritters— especiallyatnight.I’vebeenattackedinonewayoranotherbymoreowlsthanmostpeoplehaveeverheardof!Here,I’mworkingwitha caribou.

AshleyCobletestswaterina stream.

AshleyCoble

Hydrologist 

Corvallis, Oregon



Istudyhowforestryactivitiesaffectwaterquantityandquality.Ihelpprotectourfreshwaterecosystems,theorganismsthatliveinthem,anddrinkingwater supplies.


Youmightfindmewadinginastreamandsamplingwater;usingmappingsoftware;ordeliveringpresentationstoshareresearchdatawithotherscientists.Partofmyjobistounderstandhowwatertravelsthroughtheforest,soaksintothesoil,orentersastream.Ialsomeasurethechemistryofastreamtodetermine­whatisinit.And,Iexaminelivingthingsin streams.


Mycareerhastakenmetomanyplacesacrosstheworld—fromtheGreatLakestotheBeringSea.TheresearchIdohelpsprotectthewaterquantityandqualityofstreams,rivers,wetlands,andlakes.Ihelpsafeguardwildlifeandourdrinking water.


Withclimatechange,understandinghowforestmanagementaffectsourfreshwaterresourcesisvital.Todothat,Ihavetothinkcreativelyaboutdesigningstudiestoaddressawiderangeofcriticalwater-relatedresearch questions.