Here, we ask Chin how he transitioned a newly-acquired degree into a full-time job.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I recently graduated with a Master’s of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. I defended my thesis, “Magnetically programmable surface acoustic wave devices for RFID applications,” in March, and I have been working as a research intern for the U.S. Army in Adelphi, Maryland.

What did you do during your internship?

I spent a year and three months at the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi.  I worked on projects related to nanoelectronics and new novel materials. For example, I was able to work on the development of carbon nanotube and graphene-based devices and circuits.  Carbon nanotubes and graphene are materials composed of carbon sheets just one atom thick. These nano-sized materials have applications in electronic devices and energy harvesting systems to be mounted on small robots and soldier uniforms.

When I went, I actually drove from Corvallis and made a road trip of the drive to Maryland.

How did you get this internship?

As a student, I did research with the Applied Magnetics Laboratory, which works alongside the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI). I was working on an NSF-funded project, and the Army Research Lab came in and looked at recommended students’ resumes in addition to reviewing our projects. They saw my resume, liked what they saw and asked if I wanted to be an intern with them.

What’s inspired you to study science and engineering?

I would say that my 5th grade science teacher inspired me the most to explore science and engineering. He definitely pointed me in the right direction. Through middle school and high school, I gravitated toward those fields when looking at options for taking classes or getting involved with clubs. I had a teacher in high school who was very supportive as well. A lot of it has been encouragement from teachers that I had growing up.

Those teachers always projected a certain level of excitement and passion for their work, especially in the sciences, so I think that kind of rubbed off on me. I hope in the future that I can be that person for younger students like those teachers were for me.

What advice do you have for students looking for internships?

I would say apply, apply, and apply some more to a lot of places. Take the opportunities that are given to you and make sure to try new things. It’s an excellent way to figure out what you would like to do in the future, and just as importantly, things that you wouldn’t want to do in the future. I think internships are a great opportunity to test the waters in terms of a career.

What’s next?

The internship I had at the Army Research Lab ended up leading to a full-time position. So, I’m back in Maryland working for the research team that I had interned with and continuously learning new things.

If you looked closer, you might find migratory birds passing through, or maybe a tree house or two. You’d see trees under utility lines and perhaps pushing up asphalt. You’d be observing what Paul Ries calls the “urban forest.” It’s also what he considers his professional domain.

Ries manages urban forestry statewide for the Oregon Department of Forestry, and is an affiliate faculty member in the College of Forestry at OSU. He has been vital to creating an urban forestry curriculum here as well as providing continuing education for professionals around the state..

“We take the benefit we get from trees around us for granted,” says Ries. “The idea behind urban forestry is we can manage those trees for the values or the ecosystem services they provide for us.”

Some of those benefits are environmental, like trees’ absorbing storm water runoff and mitigating sound.  Some of them are health-related. Ries can cite a University of Michigan study that found that hospital patients with a view of the natural environment use less pain medication than patients with no window at all or who look out over a city or concrete.

Trees have measurable economic value, as well. Research conducted by the University of Washington showed that people are willing to pay 11 percent more for goods in business districts that have trees than in ones that don’t. Other studies have shown that people who live in treed neighborhoods have higher property values. Ries himself helped with some US Forest Service research that found that for every dollar invested in urban forestry, $2.70 worth of benefits are provided – because of trees.

“Research allows us to put dollars and cents on the value of trees, so we can convince decision makers that it’s worth the investment to plant trees in their cities,” says Ries.

According to Ries, the quantifiable research on trees’ benefit to people is relatively new, and was not available when he started as Oregon’s urban forester 19 years ago. Urban forestry itself is a fairly recent phenomenon, the term not being coined until the 1960s.

It’s relaying trees’ impact to others that makes Ries a passionate educator – both on campus and statewide. At Oregon State, he has been an affiliate faculty member for the past seven years, with the goal of being the bridge to the college having a full time urban forestry professor.  He was vital in creating the first urban forestry course at Oregon State, which he teaches via eCampus. He taught an arboriculture course on campus this past quarter.

Perhaps Ries’ biggest goal, though, is to create the first cross-department major option in urban forestry in the country, which students would be able to choose through either through the horticulture or natural resources programs. Ries says that OSU was only three courses shy of being able to create the option, and he has received approval to create and teach those classes in the next two years.

“I want to interest undergrads in urban forestry either as a career opportunity or a body of knowledge they need in something else they’re doing,” Ries says. “It’s a multidisciplinary endeavor. It brings in horticulture, natural resources, urban planning, land use planning, as well as forestry. And the students I’ve had in my classes are very interested, knowledgeable and conscientious about the environment.”

Ries’ students are routinely impressed by the level of complexity involved in planting trees. It’s important, Ries says, to plant the right trees in the right place. It’s important to consider the hardscape conflicts they might come in contact with, like the sidewalk, like sewers, buildings and utility lines. It’s important, too, to consider how the soil might have been turned upside down because of construction, and to think about what trees might thrive there, how deep to plant them and how much water they need. And that’s just for starters.

One of the most challenging aspects of being an urban forester that Ries must relate to his students is managing the relationship people have with trees. “I’ve had to mark trees for removal that are going to fall, and people tell me, ‘but it’s still green.’” Ries says. “So I have to help them understand their expectations, and what trees need to survive.”

When he’s not teaching at Oregon State, Ries can be found providing continuing education to professionals and creating forestry programs for towns statewide.  Most recently he traveled throughout Oregon to provide hazard tree recognition to employees working in state parks, and he is helps develop urban forestry management programs for the cities across the state.  In some respects, he serves as the de-facto forester for cities around Oregon that don’t already have one

“It’s a great profession because you’re always doing something different. It’s very diverse,” Ries says. “Trees provide so many services to us that have a big impact on our lives.”

The week-long program was designed by Project Interchange in consultation with the participating university heads. It was conducted in an intensive seminar format, offering the group broad exposure to the various complex issues facing Israel and the region.

Strong thematic emphasis was given to higher education, and the delegation met with their executive counterparts at such institutions as Tel Aviv University, Technion, Hebrew University, and Al-Qasemi College. They received in-depth briefings on state-of-the-art research initiatives being undertaken and discussed opportunities for academic collaboration and exchange at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels. Participants expressed particular interest in discussions on turning technology research at the university level into marketable products – an area in which Israeli institutions have seen marked success.

On the agenda were also meetings with senior government officials, including Israeli President Shimon Peres, Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, and US Ambassador to Israel James B. Cunningham.

“Given the centrality of Israel’s creation and development to much of post-World War II history, this trip will provide an extraordinary opportunity to meet individuals who have participated in making history, to visit places where it played out and to learn how education is helping to shape the future there,” said President Ray, before he left. “I think for everyone participating in this visit, this will be a tremendous learning opportunity.”

Also emphasized during the visit was a dedication to welcoming Israeli academics in the United States, despite isolated incidents of hostility toward Israel on American campuses, reported the Jerusalem Post this week.

“Whether it’s disinvestment or a boycott against Israeli academics, it’s inappropriate and not worthy of any educational institution. I know of no American university that would support such a boycott,” said University of Miami president and former U.S. health secretary Donna Shalala in the Post.

Shalala also said in the Post that it was crucial to explore opportunities with Palestinian academic institutions as well, which in no way has been opposed by Israel. “One of the things we were doing here, the college presidents, is looking for opportunities, and we met with some of hte heads of Palestinian institutions, and we are going to look for some opportunities where we can be helpful,” she said.

Sam Witkin, Executive Director of Project Interchange, said before the conference, “We are tremendously pleased to host this exceptional delegation of university presidents for their first of hopefully many trips to Israel. The world-class research and educational facilities at Israeli universities, many of which will be visited during the program, provide a fitting setting for great minds to share information, discuss research partnerships, and explore opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration.”

The group also participated in briefings by Israeli and Palestinian experts on a host of political and societal matters, including Israel’s diverse makeup and efforts toward interfaith co-existence. Aharon Barak, former President of Israel’s Supreme Court, and Daniel Reisner, former Head of the International Law Department of the Israel Defense Forces, led discussions on various legal topics, including human rights and international law.

Recent Project Interchange delegations have included North African leaders, the Presidents of the Pacific Island nations of Micronesia and Nauru, college newspaper editors, American Latina leaders, Indian-American leaders, and journalists from the United States, Scandinavia, and Latin America, with upcoming seminars for global leaders in such fields as counter-terrorism and public health.

“It is not just about economic growth or about the environment,” she says. “It refers to several social, cultural, political and environmental aspects of development.”

Gunjan Dhakal, a Master of Public Policy student at OSU, attended the ICRPS Summer Institute

It was a lesson Dhakal and 30 graduate students and professors from as far as Nepal, Bolivia, Uzbekistan learned during the recent month-long Institute, which was sponsored by Oregon State and Portland State University. Oregon State professors Brent Steel and Denise Lach organized the institute.

The idea, according to Steel, who directs the Master of Public Policy program at OSU, was to give students a breadth of practical experience around issues of the rural/urban divide and public policy. They could take these experiences back to their home countries and have an impact there.

Dhakal, for example, is from Nepal and is attending OSU as part of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Women’s Leadership Training in Economics scholarship. She is studying rural development and will take what she has learned in Oregon back to Nepal, a country going through growing pains in its rapidly industrializing rural areas.

“In some ways, I am still a newcomer to Oregon, so learning more and seeing other parts of the state is part of the fun,” she said. “Beyond that, I am studying rural policy and development issues because I will be going back to Nepal very soon, and I know that my knowledge is needed there.”

Smit Vasquez Caballero, a graduate student in OSU’s Agricultural & Resource Economics program who also attended the institute, is research the effects that migration to the U.S. is having on agricultural communities in his native home of Oaxaca, Mexico. “I am hoping to use this experience to learn more about research, and how to develop a research plan,” he says.

Already, he is making connections and finding that the issues he studies are not unique to Mexico. “I’ve heard so many different perspectives from different countries,” he says. For instance, Vasquez Caballero befriended a Tanzanian student whose country is experiencing the same issues as Mexico; people are leaving to find work, which is changing their communities.

The students spent much of their time in Oregon engrossed in classroom work, learning from a diverse array of researchers, including OSU rural policy expert Bruce Weber; Kate MacTavish, a professor in human development and family sciences at OSU; and Lach, a sociologist who studies the decision-making process of natural resource policy making.

The group also participated in several field experiences, learning about critical issues pertaining to sustainable rural development. They toured wine fields in Yamhill County, wind energy plants in Hood River, a migrant camp in Woodburn, wave energy development sites in Newport, and learned about greener agricultural practices at Stahlbush Island Farms in Corvallis and casinos and tribal rural development in Grande Ronde.

“Being welcomed by the warm hospitality of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde was the most exciting part of our field trips for me,” Gunjan says. “Getting to know about their history, culture, their lifestyle and work, and their openness in answering our questions was very impressive. The cohesiveness among tribal members seems to have helped them work together for the common goal of sustainable development.”

She added that spending a month with students and faculty from countries around the world was a key part of the educational experience.

“We represented 15 or more different countries all around the world,” she says. “Each of us shared a different background and culture, and for most of us English was not the first language. The group was diverse and very active. The take-home message from this program and other participants would be- be open, widen your perspective, respect each other and develop a friendship that can sustain for longer term.”

ICRPS attendees gather in Newport

This month, Orange Spotlight chose Corvallis’ Old Mill Center for Children and Families, which has been providing integrated educational, counseling and home visiting services to children and their families for more than 30 years.

For Bev Larson, PhD, the journey to co-founding the innovative Old Mill Center for Children and Families started in a trailer in Concord, California. It was 1971, and Larson had recently graduated from Oregon State with a degree in English education. Her first job was teaching high school students with disabilities.

What Larson noticed immediately was the marginalization her students experienced. It couldn’t have been more obvious. Their classroom – the trailer – wasn’t even attached to the school building.

“I was appalled at how alienated those kids and their families were from the school system. I thought, ‘these kids are so much more together than the school thinks they are,’” says Larson.

Witnessing the wide gulf between her students’ abilities and how they were treated changed Larson’s plan to become an English teacher. Instead, she became dedicated to creating an integrated model of education that put children with “typical” and “atypical” needs in the same classroom. This mainstreaming made Larson and fellow Old Mill co-founder Barb Kralj (also an OSU grad) pioneers in their field. By the time laws were created that required mainstreaming students with disabilities, Larson and Kralj were ready to roll out an integrated curriculum for pre-school kids that was replicated throughout the country. And they were starting to draw more family services together, like counseling, to exist under one roof.

Now, more than 30 years after leaving that California trailer, Larson is the Executive Director of Corvallis’ Old Mill Center, which provides educational, counseling and home visiting services for children from birth to 18, as well as their families.  Kralj has since moved on, but the theme of integration – not only in the classroom but in regards to serving children’s families – has always been the driving force behind Old Mill, which began in 1977 as a pre-school serving eight families and grew into a multifaceted center serving more than 1,600.

It is a singular center, at least in the state of Oregon, for the breadth of services it provides.  At Old Mill, families and children have access to early childhood development help, preschool, intensive day treatment, speech-language therapy and child and family counseling. Their services and clientele are diverse. The staff to student ratio is small. Old Mill is the only facility in the county that manages medication and provides mental health services for children on the Oregon Health Plan. They serve families who are poor. They serve families who have wealth and private insurance. They serve at-risk families and children and those who are not.

“We have really moved away from working with just a child,” says Larson. “It’s clear for me that kids are part of family systems. They obviously don’t exist out of that system. Including families to work with children and youth is huge to make sure that we really make a long-term impact on them.”

It would be difficult for Larson to make that impact without Old Mill’s close relationship with Oregon State University. Several of Old Mill’s board members are Oregon State faculty and staff. More than half of the staff of 33 graduated from Oregon State, many of them from the College of Education’s program in counselor education and from the College of Health and Human Sciences’ program in human development and family sciences. Old Mill serves as placement for six to eight interns a term from Oregon State, many of them from HDFS.

Many of Old Mill’s 40 volunteers are associated with Oregon State. Larson went on to get a doctorate in education with minors in psychology and speech. Old Mill’s donors are heavily woven into the Oregon State community – among them is President Ed Ray, who purchases a corporate table at their annual auction, which the Old Mill holds in the CH2M Hill Alumni Center on campus.

“I never find any arrogance in the people we have from OSU, either as interns or as staff,” says Larson. “They’re very passionate about what they’re doing. They’re very team-oriented, and transparent and open to others’ ideas and to sharing their ideas. I’m just amazed at the quality of staff we have at Old Mill.”

For Donna Brown, a pre-school teacher and a 2006 OSU graduate, the rewards come when volunteers can point out to her the changes in the children she spends her days with.

“There are these ‘a-ha!’ moments. I don’t really see the changes until a weekly volunteer points them out,” says Brown. “And then I see. I’m actually making a difference. Kids go from unsure to outgoing. They’ve got it.”

In the future, Larson wants to create an endowment for Old Mill, to ensure the center’s survival for the next several decades. And she’s excited about the new programs they have created to work with the birth to 3 population in Benton County, which allow Old Mill staff to have an earlier and greater impact on families and kids struggling with stressors like poverty, addiction and mental health issues.

Really, Larson says, Old Mill can provide support to any child.

“I encourage people to contact us if they’re having a concern about their child or teenager, or if they feel like their neighbor or grandchild could use support,” says Larson. “It’s almost certain Old Mill has a program that could help them, or can help them find the right resource elsewhere. I can’t imagine anybody coming through the front door and hearing, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t help you.’”

Could you tell me about your internship in Spain?

I will be working with a professor who is concurrently working with my OSU adviser on the same project. I’m hoping to focus on more of the stream ecology aspect of the project while I’m there, do experiments, and hopefully get some data for which I can write my undergraduate thesis.

I’ve never been to Spain before, so I’m looking forward to being in a different country and culture to learn about the people there.

Can you talk about your research?

About a year ago, I started working with professor Roy Haggerty in the Geosciences department on a project involving the development of a hydrologic tracer that’s used to measure stream metabolism.

A tracer put into a stream can provide a quantifiable value of what is biologically going on inside of it. Right now, it’s actually challenging to get an accurate measurement on stream metabolism for a number of reasons.

How did you learn about an opportunity like this?

I’m in the Honors College, and part of getting your Honors degree is doing an undergraduate thesis. I knew I was interested in water and ecologic systems, so I went to my adviser Dr. Haggerty and asked if there was anyone with a research opportunity. He said, “I have a project that you might be interested in,” and I started working with him.

Are you being helped financially to go to Spain?

My professor got an NSF (National Science Foundation) grant, and part of that grant was having money to be able to send an undergraduate student to Spain. I also received funding from URISC, a research program that supports OSU, as well as funding from the Geoscience department to help pay for the internship.

What do you hope to get out of this internship?

Primarily, I’m doing this to learn more about stream ecology and ecology in general. Hopefully I’ll be able to learn about the processes of these streams, which you really can’t get in a classroom setting. That hands-on experience is the best way to learn about things.

Do you have any suggestions for other students in finding these kinds of opportunities?

A lot of what it takes is just going out there and asking questions. The hardest part was literally walking into Dr. Haggerty’s office the first day and asking him for work. saying, “Hi, this is what I’m interested in. I know that this is your specialty. Is there any way that we can get a project worked out?” And he told me that if I worked really hard and showed investment in the project, that it could be an incredible opportunity.

More often than not, the professors are more than happy to help any student.

What are your personal goals for the future?

I’d really like to go on and study hydrology in grad school, and possibly go on to become a professional hydrologist.
This project might actually morph into a Master’s thesis for me, depending on just how all the pieces fit together, so I may try to go here. I may go away, but I’m just interested in the world of water.

I hope this allows me to network with other people from the scientific community, and possibly open up other doors in other resources and opportunities possible for additional internships, or possible job opportunities and grad school opportunities.

“I was overwhelmed by the response to Benny and the tribute to Al Reser. There were alums coming out of the crowd to have their picture taken with Benny. There were children high-fiving Benny. It was an amazing response,” Marshall says.

The Oregon State Portland Center hosted a Grand Foral Parade Watch Party in the California Bank Building, as well. All in all, it was great to see orange and black in the parade, which is the crowning event in Portland’s yearly Rose Festival.

All told, Saturday’s graduates included 2,274 men and 2,222 women; between them, they earned 4,695 degrees – also a record. While 3,531 graduates are from Oregon, 751 are from other states, and 204, foreign nations. The youngest graduate in this class is 19, while the oldest is 76.

In total, those students raised OSU’s historic total of graduates to 205,973.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit (OSU ’78), veteran of multiple space missions, one including a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station, delivered the commencement address. The 55-year-old chemical engineering graduate of OSU has served as an astronaut for the past 14 years and is recognized not only for his longevity and success in the space program, but his innovation in space, which has included such in-space inventions as the “zero-g” coffee cup. Pettit was awarded an honorary doctorate degree.

Frits Bolkestein (OSU ’53), a prominent former Dutch politician who served as a Minister of Defense, Minister of International Trade, a Parliament member for 17 years and a European Commission before leaving government service in 2004, was awarded an honorary doctorate. The OSU mathematics graduate is an author of 13 books and is president of the Telders Foundation, a think-tank connected with the Netherlands’ liberal party, which Bolkestein previously served as party leader.

The university also awarded an honorary bachelor’s degree to Ralph Einar Martinson, a former OSU student who stopped his studies in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, to join the workforce as a grocer in Portland, with only a half-year left to graduate. Martinson turned 100 last month, and the university recognized the Longview, Wash., resident’s lifetime of support of OSU with an honorary diploma.

Congratulations to all!

CCKB is located in the Caton House, the oldest Corvallis house still in its original location, occupying the corner of Fourth Street and Polk since 1857. The Egans lovingly restored the property in 2007, earning the city’s Historic Preservation Award the following year, as well as a place on the National Register of Historic Homes.

The Egans will share the stories of that restoration, with its careful reuse of many of the home’s original materials, and of CCKB itself, with its emphasis on sustainability, energy efficiency and recycling, with attendees at the Powered by Orange Tweet-Up, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served, as well, including sangria, beer and tasty treats.

A Tweet-Up is an event promoted mostly or solely through Twitter, the wildly popular social microblogging site known for its 140-character message limit. Tweet-Ups often bring together people who only know each other “virtually” in real-world settings and are increasingly appreciated for their ability to make promoting events simple and dynamic.

For more information on the June 9 event, follow Powered by Orange on Twitter. Or call CCKB at 541-758-6141.

Powered by Orange means protecting water quality

• In Portland, few natural resources are as important as the Willamette River. Years of industrial use have taken their toll, and clean up remains an ongoing process. Oregon State scientists Kim Anderson and David Williams are helping to restore the river by determining where pollution levels have dropped, where they haven’t and where contamination continues to threaten human and aquatic health.

Greg Sower and Angela Perez, when doctoral students at Oregon State University, helped sample water in the Willamette River near Portland, as part of an assessment of cleanup efforts at the Portland superfund site.

• Water quality in Portland reflects more than the city itself. Throughout the Willamette’s 11,000-square-mile watershed, climate patterns, roadways, land uses and other human activities influence the water we depend on. OSU scientists and volunteers have created an up-to-date full-color map that shows how these and other factors have affected the river over time. The idea is to inform the public about water issues and what people can do to improve water quality — everything from maintaining streamside vegetation to simply fixing water leaks at home.

• OSU Extension is teaching students, community leaders and volunteers how we influence water quality, both individually and as a society. Sam Chan and the Watershed Education Team work with Portland metro area schools, community groups and agencies. Not only do these programs explain the science of water quality, they show how low-impact development, streamside gardening, invasive species prevention and other sustainable practices can make us all better stewards of our water resources.

Powered by Orange means having an appetite for local food

Oregon State's Larry Lev visits the Corvallis Farmers' Market

• For many Portlanders, quality of life translates directly into the foods we eat. Portland is known for being a foodies’ paradise, with an abundance of farmers’ markets and restaurants featuring locally grown items on their menus. Oregon State agricultural economist Larry Lev is strengthening the local connection from producer to plate. Working with EcoTrust, Chefs Collaborative Portland and the local Farmer-Chef connection chapter, he helps to build relationships between local growers and chefs.

• Powered by Orange also means innovation and economic development, both of which are on the menu at the Food Innovation Center, a partnership between Oregon State and the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The center helps everyone from large-scale producers to entrepreneurs develop and test new food items. Scientists at the center also consult on production methods, packaging and marketing strategies. And you can see the results of their work at the grocery store, with products such as veggie burgers from Chez Gourmet by Marie and coconut yogurt from Gata Foods. Both companies are based in the Portland area.

• Food is also a great way for kids to see science in action. From sprouting beets to wiggling worms, students at Lane Middle School are learning biology by growing their own garden. Weston Miller and Beret Halverson from OSU Extension have teamed up with Portland State University to create a 12-acre Learning Gardens Laboratory near the school. And the garden has another practical use: Student-grown greens, tomatoes and cucumbers show up on the school cafeteria trays.

Powered by Orange means putting energy in sustainability.

Chemical engineers at Oregon State University are using extraordinarily small films at the nanostructure level to improve the performance of eyeglasses and, ultimately, solar energy devices.

In partnership with organizations across the city, Oregon State University researchers are exploring renewable energy sources. From building design to solar cell manufacturing, initiatives aim for energy efficiency and environmental benefit.

• Despite Oregon’s reputation for rain, solar cell manufacturers are coming to the state for its favorable business climate, high-tech workforce and research innovations. By converting discoveries in transparent electronics, thin film photovoltaics and nanotechnology into commercial products, Oregon State is helping to increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar cells. Making solar a more cost-effective energy source means they can be integrated into new and existing buildings, from roofs to windows.

• Sustainability has been part of Portland’s character for decades. Just look at plans for the new Oregon Sustainability Center. More than a dozen Oregon State faculty, including Gail Achterman of the Institute for Natural Resources and engineer Ken Williamson, are working on the project to build a 200,000+ square-foot mixed-use high rise that will produce 100 percent of its energy on site, integrate water reuse and have no carbon footprint. Once completed, the center will serve as a hub for education, research and entrepreneurship, strengthening Portland’s emerging green economy and creating high-quality jobs.

• Oregon State students are also applying their environmental research in Portland. One example is Erin Schroll, who as a graduate student, studied urban applications for green roofs. On the Portland Building downtown, Schroll and other students monitored temperatures, water flows and plant survival in combination with irrigation and weeds. They demonstrated that a green roof of carefully selected plants can reduce storm water runoff, reduce rooftop temperature changes and even provide new habitat.