A Newport Beach consultant who has been a major force in helping communities and government agencies throughout the West reduce the impact from landslides, floods and earthquakes has decided to do a little shaking himself at UC Davis. Roy Shlemon, a former UC Davis faculty member, has pledged $250,000 over the next four years to endow the Roy J. Shlemon Chair in Applied Geosciences, the first endowed chair in geology. The gift is quite unusual, said Jeff Mount, chair of the geology department. Typically, endowed chairs in geology are given to a few select schools that concentrate on mining and petroleum studies, such as Stanford, University of Southern California and Texas A&M, he said. In addition, the faculty members who hold such chairs focus on basic research. "Roy's emphasis is different," Mount said. "He doesn't want a chair that does purely fundamental research. He wants us to increase the role of our applied knowledge to make a difference in the world." In particular, Shlemon, who taught at UC Davis from 1965 to 1972, wants to support a faculty member whose interests include Quaternary research -- the study of how the earth has been shaped during the past 1.6 million years through earthquakes, landslides, floods, tsunamis and other geological processes. "I have seen over the years how all sorts of money goes into universities for 'theoretical research.' This is fine, but often the end result has been a loss of contact between the university and the public," Shlemon said. "With this in mind, it was my intent to endow a chair in applied geology that allows the university to identify a faculty member who has the technical skills and verbal ability to communicate with the public about practical application of the research." Mount said he strongly agreed with Shlemon that UC Davis research must remain relevant. Shlemon emphasized that he hopes the endowed chair will strengthen the important link between the university and various constituencies who need more knowledge about the effects of geological processes -- such as farmers, groundwater hydrologists, geological consultants and civil engineers. The purpose of the gift is also to help UC Davis retain talented and dedicated faculty members and help students understand the applications of their learning to the non-academic world, Shlemon said. He believes public universities have an obligation to return taxpayers' investments by training geologists who can assess geological constraints and advise the public and private sectors on the construction of dams, levees, wastewater disposal facilities and housing developments. Although UC Davis can now boast 41 endowed chairs worth $40.7 million, the Shlemon chair is only the fifth endowed chair in the campus's largest academic unit, the College of Letters and Science. Endowed chairs provide a permanent source of money -- at a minimum of $250,000 -- to support research and scholarly endeavors through annual use of the interest earned on the principal. Faculty members appointed to these prestigious positions have their salary paid by the state, but proceeds from the endowment provide funds for graduate students, laboratory and other research expenses, and travel. The gift couldn't have come at a better time as the university is making a concerted effort to reach out to better serve the public, said Peter Rock, dean of the Division of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. "Dr. Shlemon's gift will forever enrich the study of geology at UC Davis and ensure the application of that knowledge for the benefit of society," he said. Shlemon himself has explored the challenges that California's geology presents to engineers and to the impact of seismic activity and landslides on urbanization. "From the point of view of the scientific community, anybody who works in Quaternary studies knows and respects Roy's long and productive career," Mount said. "He's been a major influence in this region from the time he wrote his dissertation. A great deal of our understanding of how the West has been shaped by geological events of the past and present -- as well as its impact on how we live and where we live -- comes from Roy." Two geology faculty members and long-time colleagues, Ken Verosub and Eldridge Moores, were key to Shlemon's decision to make the gift. He said he is impressed by the practical applications of their research. A UC Berkeley graduate, Shlemon said he chose to give his donation to UC Davis because his first important teaching assignment was here and because of the relationships he has maintained here. He also said this was the right time for a gift. "I've been involved in engineering geology projects all over the world, and now this is the stage in my life when I can give something back to the public and to the university."