News

On October 21, 2020, the VT EPSCoR CWDD partnered with the North Branch Nature Center to host a virtual macroinvertebrate event “Turning Stones: Exploring Aquatic Invertebrates” led by Declan McCabe.

On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, VT EPSCoR CWDD's Janel Roberge met (virtually) with several classes from Harwood Union Middle School. This was teacher Angela Selvaggio's first attempt at hosting a remote guest speaker in the classroom. VT EPSCoR CWDD had previously provided a taxonomic macroinvertebrate key for students to use and Roberge and Selvaggio had recorded a "how-to" video for students in regards to using these keys.

A four-year, $3 million NSF project will use a unique approach to develop, test and implement new precision agriculture tools and public policies that are socially and economically feasible for farmers, rural communities and the environment.

In Fall 2020, vital components of Vermont’s new law to protect state waterways from pollution, Act 76, will go into effect. Significant aspects of that law were drawn from a study conducted by an interdisciplinary team of researchers based at the University of Vermont as part of the National Science Foundation funded Vermont Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VT EPSCoR). And the results of that study can now be read in a paper recently published in Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory.

University of Vermont researchers will play a leadership role in a project designed to predict where populations of plants and animals in New England will move as their current locations become less hospitable in a warming world. Data generated by the project will help New England farmers and rural communities plan and adapt to the range shifts.

The Vermont Startup Collective is a new platform that offers entrepreneurs a dedicated virtual space for building community, advancing business ideas, and connecting with other startups, remote workers, small business owners, freelancers, investors, and mentors. Supported by more than 35 Vermont organizations, the platform is free of charge and designed to be accessible and inclusive to all.

"Sampling macroinvertebrates is equal parts craft and science", explains Dr. Declan McCabe, Professor and Chair of Biology at St. Michael's College. "The procedures are best taught using the hands-on demonstrations that Vermont EPSCoR has typically provided to students for many years," he continued.

Dr. Christopher Koliba has been appointed Associate Director for the Vermont Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VT EPSCoR) by the Vermont Technology Council, in consultation with the University of Vermont (UVM) Vice President’s Office for Research and VT EPSCoR.

Asim Zia, Ph.D. serves as VT EPSCoR Science Co-Leader for the Integrated Assessment Model Team (IAM) with the Basin Resilience to Extreme Events in the Lake Champlain Basin (BREE), RII Track-1 Award. As a Fulbright Scholar, Zia will spend time in Pakistan, Israel and Ecuador working at the local, national and international policy levels to improve border relations and water use practices, as well as within communities to inspire grassroots social change.

Yajaira Torres-De Jesus, science teacher at Colegio Rosa Bell in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and 2019-2020 BREE High School Teacher, has been named an Advocate by the Society for Science & The Public for 2020-2021. The society awards STEM teachers who demonstrate a profound commitment to students of difference races and ethnicities in STEM and students from low-income households. The award includes a stipend and professional development opportunities for Mrs. Torres-De Jesus and lab materials for her students.

The first-ever Summer Virtual Science Camp for high school students hosted by the VT EPSCoR CWDD at Saint Michael’s College was held on July 20-23, 2020. Innovating ways to offer outreach efforts with high school students due to the COVID-19 pandemic offered an opportunity for students to learn online presentation skills and scientific research methods that traditionally would have been held in-person.

Large fishing spiders walking on water can be fascinating – or terrifyingly unnerving. The latter reaction is common among Saint Michael's College students as we sample Vermont’s streams and ponds. On one occasion, a normally macho student screamed, dropped his net, and leaped from the stream to avoid a particularly large specimen. But have no fear; these beautiful beasts will not carry your offspring away. In fact, they are completely harmless – at least to humans.

Christopher Koliba, PhD, UVM Professor of Community Development and Applied Economics and Leader of the BREE Social Systems team, has received an appointment to serve as President's Fellow for Engagement to support UVM's newly created Office of Engagement. UVM President Suresh Garimella announced the appointment in an email to the UVM community on July 16, 2020.

Veronica Sosa-Gonzalez, PhD, Vermont EPSCoR CWDD Coordinator, has been elected to serve as a member of the NSF EPSCoR Education, Outreach and Diversity (EOD) Council. Dr. Sosa-Gonzalez will serve as an at-large member on the EOD Council for the 2020-2021 period.

The 2019-2020 VT EPSCoR CWDD High School Symposium was held virtually this year due to Covid-19. Webpages created by our High School teams showcased their work over the past year. Posters, video presentations, work descriptions and photos which are usually shared in person during the HS Symposium are now available online. Please join us in congratulating our High School teachers and students for all of their accomplishments.

A multi-disciplinary team of researchers representing the University of Vermont, the University of Rhode Island, the University of Delaware, and Colorado State University has published a study that may help create environmental policies that more effectively address pollution in our nation's most critical waterways. The study considers human activity in watersheds such as Lake Champlain, Delaware Bay, and the Chesapeake Bay. It seeks to understand how people balance their selfish and altruistic instincts when asked to account for the environmental impact of their actions in such watersheds. What mix of environmental data, economic incentive, and regulatory penalty will motivate people and businesses toward the actions that best balance the economic and environmental health of the region?

Asim Zia, Ph.D., is a co-leader of the Integrated Assessment Modeling (IAM) team with the VT EPSCoR Basin Resilience to Extreme Events (BREE) program. The University of Vermont Graduate College has named him a new University Scholar for academic year 2020–21. The University Scholars program recognizes distinguished UVM faculty members for sustained excellence in research, creative and scholarly activities. University Scholars are selected by a faculty panel based upon nominations submitted by UVM colleagues.

Vermont PBS will re-air the Regional Emmy-award winning documentary miniseries Saving Our Waters beginning on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Originally aired in Fall 2017, Saving Our Waters focuses on the health and resilience of the Lake Champlain Basin. Vermont EPSCoR provided major funding for the program, and the documentary features research performed by scientists and researchers from the VT EPSCoR BREE project.

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Director Dr. Breck Bowden will be one of many upcoming presenters for the new Lake Champlain Sea Grant, Zoom a Scientist Program, developed in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The Lake Champlain Sea Grant Program develops and shares science-based knowledge to benefit the environment and economies of the Lake Champlain Basin.

In 2016, Vermont EPSCoR received a $20M award from the National Science Foundation to study and promote resiliency in Lake Champlain Basin. The study aims to provide much needed information to decision-makers as they govern the basin and develop policies that reach far into the future. A novel computer model has been developed, which integrates data collected from sensors in streams, soils, and the lake and information from adjacent land use. The model has been used to test management scenarios and identify strategies for maintaining infrastructure, environmental health and drinking water quality in the event of intense storms.