Daniel Hillel, an internationally known soil and water scientist whose research has focused on the efficient use of water resources in arid regions of the world, will give two public lectures at the University of California, Davis, beginning Monday, April 8. A University of Massachusetts professor emeritus, Hillel focuses his research on the role that water has played in the development of agriculture and the fate of civilizations. Below is a schedule of his lectures, which are sponsored by the campus Department of Land, Air and Water Resources and the Division of Biological Sciences and supported through the endowed Tracy and Ruth Storer Lectureship in the Life Sciences. They are free and open to the public. • "Civilization and the Life of the Soil," Monday, April 8, 4:10 p.m., in 180 Med Sci Bldg C. • "The Struggle for Water and the Quest for Peace in the Middle East," Tuesday, April 9, 4:10 p.m., in 180 Med Sci Bldg C. Hillel developed his lifelong interests in agriculture and ecology as a child living in pioneering settlements in the Jezreel and Jordan valleys. His studies of soil management in Israel played an important role in developing more efficient methods of irrigation. Hillel has also served as a consultant on land and water management in more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia and South America. His efforts to address lay readers about the environment include "Negev: Land, Water and Life in a Desert Environment;" "Out of the Earth: Civilization and the Life of the Soil;" and his latest "The Rivers of Eden: The Struggle for Water and the Quest for Peace in the Middle East," which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Hillel is co-authoring a new book on the global impacts of climate change on agriculture and natural ecosystems. He has been active in several professional organizations in Israel, serving as president of the Israel Society of Soil Science and as a member of Israel's Commission on the Biosphere and Quality of the Environment. In the United States, Hillel has served as consultant to the California Department of Water Resources, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. As an international consultant, Hillel has helped assess the environmental impacts of drought relief in Africa, irrigation in South Asia, water resource development in the Middle East and development programs in several countries. Established in 1960, the Tracy and Ruth Storer Lectureship in the Life Sciences invites distinguished scientists from other institutions to participate in the UC Davis academic community.