Holly Barnard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Holly René Barnard
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Barnard in 2020
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| Alma mater | Oregon State University Colorado State University University of Washington |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Colorado Boulder University of Wyoming |
| Thesis | Inter-relationships of vegetation, hydrology and micro-climate in a young, Douglas-fir forest (2009) |
| Doctoral advisor | Jeffrey J. McDonnell and Barbara J. Bond |
Holly René Barnard is an American geographer and a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. She studies how plants affect how water moves in rivers and streams. In 2020, she received a big grant of $7 million from the National Science Foundation. This money helped her create a special research center called the Critical Zone Observatory at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Holly's Journey to Science
Holly studied forestry and ecosystems at the University of Washington. There, she worked with scientists Tom Hinckley and Linda Brubaker. She was inspired to work in environmental science.
After that, Holly went to Colorado State University for her master's degree. She studied forest engineering and learned about how trees work. Her advisors, Michael Ryan and Dan Binckley, taught her about ecological methods.
After graduating, Holly worked as an environmental consultant. She collected samples of water from the ground and rivers. In 2004, she became a certified ecologist.
Later, Holly became a doctoral student at Oregon State University. She worked with Jeffrey J. McDonnell and Barbara J. Bond. She studied how plants use water, how water moves, and how climate affects them. She also took part in a program that helped minority students in Earth System Science. This program helped her attend a big science conference.
In 2009, Holly received a special fellowship from the National Science Foundation. This allowed her to join the University of Wyoming. There, she studied how much water forests lose.
Exploring Water and Plants
Holly Barnard wants to understand how plants affect water flow. She also studies how water flow influences plants in mountains.
She has studied the mysterious fairy circles in Namibia. These are bare spots in dry grasslands. She used experiments and computer models to learn about them. In 2017, she visited Namibia with an all-women research team. They did experiments in the Namib desert to understand how these circles form. Holly and her team showed that grazing animals help keep the circles in place.
She has also looked at how climate change affects coniferous forests. These are forests with cone-bearing trees like pines. She studied how carbon dioxide moves between these forests and the air.
Research and Education
At the University of Colorado, Holly is part of a program called CIRES. This program helps people learn more about the environment. It also helps train the next generation of scientists for careers in sustainability.
In 2020, Holly received a large grant to start the University of Colorado Boulder Critical Zone Observatory. This observatory studies how plants, water, and rocks change in areas prone to fires and droughts. These areas are common on the West Coast of the United States.
As part of this project, Holly created special devices. These devices are low-cost, use little power, and are easy to put together. They can measure photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). PAR is the light plants use for photosynthesis. A network of these devices, called PARduinos, can be placed on the ground. They constantly measure PAR. This helps Holly and her team model how trees grow.
About Holly
Holly uses "she/they" pronouns. She enjoys being outdoors. Her favorite activities include climbing, road biking, skiing, and deadlifting. She also likes spending time with her pets and her partner.
