Alumni News 2010

Greg Ralich (B.S. 2010) and Bianca Pettinicchi (BFA 2010) are spending the summer biking coast to coast to raise money for the Autism Society of America. As well as raising funds (their goal is $5000), they hope to make more people aware and to help improve the lives of everyone affected by Autism.

Greg and Bianca left on July 1, riding custom-made bikes from Geekhouse Bikes. The bikes were donated to both riders in recognition of Greg's internship with Geekhouse Bikes this spring. You can follow their trip by going to www.crosscountryforautism.tumblr.com. They are posting updates daily; sometimes several times each day.

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University alumnus Kenneth Sherman is one of the two 2010 recipients of the Göteborg Award for Sustainable Development, considered the environmental equivalent of the Nobel prize.

Sherman will share the award with Costa Rican activist Randall Arauz in a ceremony in Göteborg, Sweden on November 17.

Sherman (BS ’54) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientist and an adjunct professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. He is also director of NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Marine Ecosystem Studies and of the NOAA Fisheries Narragansett, RI Laboratory.

In the 1980s, Sherman, along with URI professor Lewis Alexander, pioneered the concept of large marine ecosystems (LMEs), a revolutionary way to view the oceans as a series of connected, yet distinct ecosystems based on topography, water depths, and productivity and food chain dynamics.

Today, 64 LMEs have been identified in the world’s oceans and more than 100 developing countries are implementing LME projects.

"Ken Sherman’s LME model is exceptional because it’s built on a holistic view with a system perspective," the award committee said. He "has worked tirelessly for decades, and become more and more successful in generating acceptance among scientists and politicians."

Randall Arauz, the other prize recipient, is the founder and president of the Costa Rican environmental organization Pretoma. He has worked to make people aware of and to stop the practice of shark finning in Costa Rica and internationally.

The two will receive the award from former award winners. Previous recipients include Al Gore and Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway. The Göteborg Award was founded in 1999 by the city of Göteborg and several businesses to recognize strategic work in national and international sustainable development.