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Berkshire Eagle (subscription)
This year's drought finally reaches Vermont
Berkshire Eagle (subscription)
"The soaking rains that we've been getting have been helpful, but we're going to need to continue to see these type of soaking rains sort of spread out across the rest of the fall and into the winter," state climatologist Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux said ...

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CWDD Visits Burlington High School

Students from Burlington High School received a visit from Vermont EPSCoR research technician Janel Roberge on September 21, 2016. Ms. Roberge spoke with 15 special education students about macroinvertebrates, land use, and how those factors impact streams.

This presentation served as an introduction to concepts and techniques that were used in a field presentation five days later at Potash Brook in South Burlington. In order to allow for a hands-on experience that would provide the most effective learning possible, the students also got to pick and sort macroinvertebrates from a provided sample. The selected specimens were examined under microscopes.

Saint Michael's College Students Examine Potash Brook

A group of 24 calculus students from Saint Michael's College got a chance at some field study on September 15, 2016 when CWDD members Janel Roberge, Livia Donicova, and Mike Winslow took them to Potash Brook in South Burlington, VT to measure stream flow.

The outing provided students from Professor Craig Jensen's calculus class a chance to learn some of the scientific processes and procedures involved in stream flow measurement. This included terms like 'riffl'' and 'reach' and the difference between muddy-bottomed and rocky-bottomed streams. Additional sessions were planned for September 22 and October 7, 2016.

Vermont EPSCoR has worked with Professor Jensen's calculus classes in previous years, presenting similar field exercises. After another successful outing, there are plans to continue this outreach in the future.

This story profiles GreenScale Technologies of South Burlington. Its technology was created by co-founder and lead engineer Ryan McDevitt in partnership with his former Ph.D. advisor, Darren Hitt, a professor of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. GreenScale holds an option to license the technology from UVM. The company was recently honored in Washington, D.C. by the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer as one of the nation's top 36 university-spawned start-up companies. GreenScale Technologies was also one of four winners of UVM's 2016 SPARK-VT awards.

State asks residents to report low or dry wells
The Manchester Journal
"Drought can become very widespread across a region or appear in very localized pockets," said task force member and State Climatologist Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, a professor at the University of Vermont, "It is difficult to predict. We can be in an ...

Backcountry
Rising Sun, Receding Snow: How climate change is impacting Japan's epic winters
Backcountry
“If you run forward 10, 20, 30 years, we actually have no idea what kind of fluctuations between these extremes we are likely to get,” says Dr. Alan Betts, an atmospheric scientist who studies climate fluctuations and their repercussions. “What appears ...

St. Albans Messenger
Lake levels approach record lows
St. Albans Messenger
ST. ALBANS — With the water level in Lake Champlain reaching historic lows, a walking path has emerged between Kamp Kill Kare State Park and an island in St. Albans Bay. A few residents basked in the mid-afternoon sunshine Thursday, driving motorized ...

As part of VT EPSCoR's ongoing effort to build capacity for technology infrastructure, competitiveness and economic development throughout Vermont, travel awards for small businesses were offered for the first time in 2016 and resulted in 5 Vermont attendees at the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) New England Regional Summit in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The summit was held on October 6, 2016, with a pre-conference networking held on October 5, 2016.

The summit was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The pre-conference event on October 5th focused on networking to increase engagement for female innovators and entrepreneurs. The theme of the full-day conference on October 6th was "Connecting New England Innovation Ecosystem Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Technologists, Investors, and SBIR/STTR Federal Funding Decision Makers."


The five travel awardees included:
Christian Fayomi of Synapse IC, LLC in Winooski, Vermont, who is currently working to create a low-cost method of sensing and detecting urinary incontinence to help those who suffer from this condition.

Stephen Guerrera, Bill Parker, and Julie Parker of the Creative Microsystems Corporation. The company is focused on fields including augmented reality, advanced vision, situational awareness, and data communications.

Ting Tan is an assistant professor in the University of Vermont's College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, who is currently involved in NASA's flexible thermal protection systems project and whose long-term research is focused on understanding the creation of novel materials and structures.

VT EPSCoR also offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to compete for seed funding of up to $15,000 through its SBIR Phase (0) awards intended to help be more competitive for federal SBIR/STTR competitions. More information may be found here: http://epscor.w3.uvm.edu/2/node/45

For more information about the SBIR conference please visit: http://www.sbirroadtour.com/boston/

To learn more about the SBIR program, please visit: https://www.sbir.gov/

Vermont EPSCoR conducted a macroinvertebrate identification workshop during a career immersion event for high school girls from across Vermont on October 13, 2016. The 18th annual "Women Can Do STEM & Trades" Conference was organized by Vermont Works for Women at Vermont Technical College. Held in Randolph, Vermont, about 90 participants attended.

Livia Donicova and Janel Roberge, VT EPSCoR Center for Workforce Development and Diversity (CWDD) members, led a "Let's Bug Out" workshop during the conference. The workshop allowed attendees to identify three different macroinvertebrates using microscopes and dichotomous keys. Students and teachers who were interested in learning more were provided with information about Vermont EPSCoR's high school and scholarship programs.


The Women Can Do STEM & Trades Conference is expected to return for a 19th annual event in the fall of 2017, and members from Vermont EPSCoR expect to participate in that event as well.

Kyle Dash of Moretown wins $5000 scholarship
Stowe Today
Kyle Dash of Moretown, a freshman who's majoring in environmental science at Castleton University, has received a $5,000 first-generation scholarship for the current academic year. EPSCoR, an initiative of the National Science Foundation, stands for ...

Eos
Betts Receives 2016 Bert Bolin Global Environmental Focus Group Award
Eos
Alan Betts's research “has been transformative by providing a new understanding of one of the fundamental climate processes—land-atmospheric coupling and how it varies from the diurnal to monthly time scale, with land cover, and how it may vary under ...

BurlingtonFreePress.com
Lake Champlain water levels dip toward history
BurlingtonFreePress.com
Adding to the shifting numeric sands: Sea levels have never been constant, said Mike Winslow, a writer and longtime lake scientist who now works with the Vermont Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, based at St. Michael's College in ...

President Tom Sullivan and Provost David Rosowsky unveiled a new permanent display on Tuesday afternoon showcasing the university's most accomplished faculty. The display is located on the third floor of the Waterman Building near the registrar's office.

The display highlights faculty who have been named University Distinguished Professors and lists all of UVM's endowed professors and Kroepsch-Maurice winners.

More than 35 people attended the dedication, including many of the University Distinguished Professors who were being honored.

"We are here today to celebrate the talent of our faculty," Sullivan said in opening remarks. "The teacher-scholar model has a long history at UVM and, over the years, a great many students have learned from faculty who are not only engaging teachers, but distinguished scholars, researchers and creative artists, as well. Today we're celebrating the most accomplished of these teachers-scholars, acknowledging both their contribution to the discovery and the creation of new knowledge and the deep connections they have made with their students. The contributions and accomplishments of our faculty have a direct effects on our students' success."

Rosowsky acknowledged the key role associate provost Jim Vigoreaux played in conceiving of and creating the display, which was strategically located in a hallway in the Waterman Building with a high volume of foot traffic, he added. "This is a building that welcomes the entire university. It has become a place where we celebrate and recognize excellence," he said, noting that other displays celebrating University Scholars and UVM staff achievement have recently been mounted in the same Waterman hallway. "It is becoming a very important point for the university, where we all come together and walk through these halls and, hopefully, have occasion to look up and realize that there are a lot of really talented people giving an enormous amount to the university."

The rank of University Distinguished Professor is the highest academic honor that the University of Vermont can bestow upon a member of the faculty. Holders of this title are recognized as not only having achieved international eminence within their respective fields of study but for the truly transformative nature of their contributions to the advancement of knowledge.

These faculty, whose names, titles and photographs appear on the new display, currently include:

Ralph Budd
University Distinguished Professor
Director of the Vermont Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases

Rex L. Forehand
Heinz and Rowena Ansbacher Professor of Psychology and
University Distinguished Professor
Director of Clinical Training

Major Jackson
Richard Dennis Green and Gold Professor of English and
University Distinguished Professor of English

Jerold F. Lucey
University Distinguished Professor
of Pediatrics

Wolfgang Mieder
University Distinguished Professor
of German and Folklore

Brooke T. Mossman
University Distinguished Professor
of Pathology

Mark T. Nelson
Chairman and University Distinguished Professor
of Pharmacology

Judith L. Van Houten
George H. Perkins Professor of Biology and
University Distinguished Professor

Susan S. Wallace
University Distinguished Professor
of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Outreach is an essential component of NSF EPSCoR's investment strategies which seeks to strengthen the academic research competitiveness of EPSCoR institutions by informing the EPSCoR community of NSF strategic priorities, policies, and funding opportunities. Outreach also acquaints NSF staff of the science, engineering and education accomplishments resulting from EPSCoR funded projects.

In FY17, the NSF EPSCoR Outreach Coordinator is Elizabeth (Liz) Lawrence. The below link provides the NSF EPSCoR Outreach procedure with the contacted information for Liz Lawrence. Please submit requests, consistent with the procedures, to Liz with a copy to your cognizant Program Officer.

ANA G. MENDEZ UNIVERSITY SYSTEM VICEPRESIDENCY FOR PLANNING AND ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Student Research Development Center

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has made 11 awards totaling $55 million aimed at building research capacity to address fundamental questions about the brain and develop new innovations at the intersection of food, energy and water systems.

The cooperative agreements are through NSF's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) as part of its Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-2 investment strategy. RII Track-2 builds national research strength by initiating collaborations across institutions in two or more EPSCoR jurisdictions. These four-year awards support 27 institutions in 18 eligible jurisdictions.

"These awards represent a tremendous value for the scientific community, as they foster research into some of the most pressing issues facing U.S. society while simultaneously supporting collaborative research programs and workforce development," said Denise Barnes, head of NSF EPSCoR. "Whether by expanding our knowledge of the brain, or by improving how our water, food and energy systems work efficiently together, these projects hold the promise of transforming our daily lives."

The RII Track-2 awards support research while also requiring award recipients to invest in developing a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce -- particularly of early-career faculty researchers.

This monthly forum is designed for a wide range of UVM faculty and staff interested in discussing grant writing best practices. We will cover topics ranging from the procedural aspects of submitting a grant, to tips for finding funding, and practical approaches for improving the clarity of your writing.

The main focus of the series content will be on improving the narrative/text components of a grant proposal. If you are involved in pre-award grant preparation, please consider joining in the conversation. A variety of perspectives and experiences will enrich the discussion.

Caledonian Record
Daniel Cliché Receives STEM Scholarship
Caledonian Record
Daniel Cliché, of Gilman, was recently chosen to receive a First-Generation Scholarship from the VT EPSCoR Center for Workforce Development and Diversity (CWDD) at Saint Michael's College. Cliché is a recent graduate of Lyndon Institute and is pursuing ...

The Outside Story: Dry run
Bennington Banner (subscription)
According to Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, a University of Vermont professor and state climatologist, persistence is the difference between drought and other weather conditions. "Even if we got five inches of rain, it wouldn't take us out of drought ...

Backcountry
Expect the Unexpected: Climatologist Alan Betts explains how climate variability will affect winters across the world
Backcountry
In the October issue of Backcountry Magazine, atmospheric scientist Alan Betts talks about the implications of climate change on wintertime precipitation in Japan. And while the status of Japan's snow is important, it's part of a larger global-climate ...

In Willsboro Bay, about nine miles out from Burlington Harbor,
Tori Pinheiro hangs over the gunwale of the UVM research
vessel Melosira and stares down into black water. Like the huge
gray eye of a sea monster, a round concrete weight appears out of
the depths. The steel cable from the boat's trawling winch keeps
turning and the hundred-pound weight emerges into morning
sunshine, dripping. From its underbelly, another line still dangles
into the water. Pinheiro, a research technician, hauls the line, and
pulls onto the deck a slimy-looking black canister the size of a large
water bottle. "This is it," she says, as she turns to a laptop computer
sitting on a fish-dissecting table in the middle of the deck, "one of
our twenty-seven receivers. There's months of data in there."