If this is your first electronic visit to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES), the initial overview might be a bit daunting. After all, housed in a single department, world-class research programs and curricula in seemingly diverse disciplines: Soil and Water Science, Human Dimensions of Environmental Science, Modeling and Quantitative Analysis, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Horticulture, Forestry, and Plant Sciences. Our programs span the interface between urban, cultivated and natural ecosystems. We host 300 undergraduate students and over 120 graduate students, and support 42 tenure track faculty members and 36 academic professionals in an innovative, multidisciplinary unit.

At first glance, it seems like a quite a heterogenous blending of diverse disciplines. How does it all fit together? The truth is, we've realized incredible synergies through the combined expertise and collective energy of our research, teaching, and outreach teams. Increasingly, the challenges of today's world (global environmental protection, management of genetically-modified organisms in the food system, sustainable management of scarce natural resources, development of promising alternative crops with medicinal value, or industrial use as fiber sources) demand interdisciplinary efforts in order to reach effective solutions. Here in NRES, we already have the built-in diversity that is absolutely required to aggressively resolve these complex biological and social problems.

Here are just a few brief examples of how the innovative projects in NRES have had recognized impact in Illinois and throughout the world:

• Studies of red-winged blackbirds are discovering why populations are declining and what factors are involved, including climate variation on timing of nesting, reproductive success and offspring sex ratios, and breeding synchrony and nest predation.
  
  
• The Illinois Soil N Test, an innovative approach to determine nitrogen availability, promises to revolutionize nitrogen fertilizer recommendations, and benefit the environment by reducing excess runoff.
  
  
• Green spaces were demonstrated to reduce adverse symptoms of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, suggesting an alternative, non-drug therapy for patients.
  
  
• The Illinois Green Industry Survey was gauged to have a stronger economic impact on the state than any other agricultural commodity, which increases the visibility and capacity of industry leadership.
  
  
• Reductions in N fertilizer runoff into the Mississippi River was conclusively shown to alleviate the incidence of low-oxygen 'dead zones' in the Gulf of Mexico, making a strong case for control of excessive fertilization practices.
  
  
• The presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) could be detected in corn by targeted testing during early stages of processing, but could no longer be detected after wet milling. The clear implications are that any testing for the presence of genetically-modified DNA must be accomplished early, in order to provide consumers and producers with valid information for decision-making.