Anthony Brazel, Emeritus Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, and V. Kerry Smith, Emeritus Regents' Professor and Emeritus Professor of Economics, WP Carey School of Economics, were recently honored for their contributions to urban socioecological research in the CAP LTER research program.

Dr. Brazel, an urban climatologist, has been the driving force behind research on the Phoenix urban heat island, collaborating across disciplines with faculty and students at Arizona State University as well as with colleagues at the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, CAP's sister urban LTER site. His research has led to Phoenix being the most studied urban heat island in the United States, and his former students now staff numerous climate-related agencies.

Dr. Smith is a renowned  environmental economist whose work with CAP has focused on the economic valuation of environmental amenities and ecosystem services, contributing important new perspectives to CAP's research program. He has also collaborated on the Phoenix Area Social Survey and has been an important mentor to students interested in entering the economics field.