"Tree Rings: A Hidden History of Water in the West"
Matthew F. Bekker is a professor of geography at Brigham Young University and recipient of the Martin B. Hickman Outstanding Scholar award in the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. His research includes applications of tree-ring analysis to reconstructions of climate variables, forest-environment interactions, and historical archaeology. He is a founding member of the multi-institutional and interdisciplinary Wasatch Dendroclimatology Research Group, with a goal to improve our understanding of climatic controls on variation in precipitation, and thus provide a more robust assessment of the risk of extreme events in water resources management in northern Utah.
Bekker’s work includes multicentennial to millennial-length reconstructions of flow for all of the major Wasatch Front rivers as well as Great Salt Lake levels. These reconstructions are being incorporated into operational models of flow and storage by water management agencies, and the research has been regularly featured by media outlets.
Student mentoring is a key component of Bekker’s research, and he has served as an instructor for several dendrochronology field schools in North America and Africa. When not drilling holes in trees, he can be found birding, attending a baseball game, or listening to music.
About the Hickman Outstanding Scholar Award
The BYU College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences established the annual Martin B. Hickman Outstanding Scholar Award to recognize a distinguished faculty member of the college who emulates the example of its first dean. After serving for 12 years as dean of the College of Social Sciences at BYU, Dean Hickman undertook the momentous job of restructuring and unifying the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences when it was formed in 1980. He was a remarkable leader of this new college and instead of engaging in work to advance his own career, he was recognized as one who advanced the good of the Church, the university, the college, and its faculty and associates.
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