Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Geography and Geosciences at the University of Vermont and the Vermont state climatologist, has been appointed to serve on the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She is the first Vermont-based scientist to receive this prestigious invitation.

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Property damages from flooding in Vermont are calculated to exceed $5.2 billion over the next 100 years, new University of Vermont research finds.

The most flood damages are projected along the Winooski River floodplains, which houses many of the state’s most populous towns, including Burlington, Essex, Colchester, Williston and Montpelier. 

The findings result from a new tool developed by UVM scientists that provides the first ever comprehensive map of flood risks across Vermont’s Lake Champlain basin. 

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The University of Vermont (UVM)—in collaboration with 28 universities and institutions—is poised to advance its status as a prominent institution in hydrological research.

This new initiative was made possible through the tireless efforts of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., with transformative support of up to $25 million over the next five years from the federal government. It establishes the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH), a national consortium of science and services to provide actionable water resources intelligence to improve a national water model and flood forecasting.

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Vermont EPSCoR and the UVM Extension 4-H program are joining forces in an effort to encourage and engage more Vermont youth activity in STEM areas. 4-H reaches youths aged 5 to 18 all across Vermont.  On average, the Vermont 4-H program reaches about 8,000 youth every year. Vermont EPSCoR will partner with 4-H for the Teen Science Café Series, the Natural Resources Management Academy, and participation at a national conference called Ignite by 4-H.

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Climate change is leading to warmer winters, and that warmth means potential troubles for lakes and rivers in the United States. A recent publication in Environmental Research Letters from a multi-institutional team that includes several members of Vermont EPSCoR’s BREE group examined the data behind this phenomenon in more depth.

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Former Vermont EPSCoR predoctoral candidate Huanping Huang earned his PhD in 2019, but the journey was not always a smooth one. In a recent article published in Science, he took a moment to reflect upon a long journey from rural China to his current role as a postdoctoral fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

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Vermont EPSCoR strives to encourage young Vermonters to pursue a life in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Partnerships are a key element of that work, showing budding young scientists a glimpse of the life they seek to pursue. For years, the partnership with Vermont Works for Women (VWW) has stoked the fires of scientific passion and provided resources to women who will one day enter a STEM field.

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Vermont EPSCoR celebrated water quality research in the Lake Champlain Basin through the Research on Adaptation to Climate Change (RACC) and Basin Resilience to Extreme Events (BREE) with an exciting All Hands Meeting on August 9, 2021 at the University of Vermont (UVM) Davis Center. Over 70 participants attended observing pandemic guidelines, including stakeholders, alumni, graduate students, post-doctoral associates, members of the BREE External Advisory Committee, and members of Vermont EPSCoR’s Policy and Technical Advisory Committee.

Researchers from both RACC and BREE showcased the impacts of their Vermont EPSCoR research and how it has led to further advancements. The day saw a total of 23 presentations from former and current RACC and BREE participants.

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Seven STEM Scholarships were awarded to meritorious Native American, BIPOC and First Generation Vermonters pursuing a Science, Technology, Engineer or Math (STEM) Major at a Vermont Higher Education Institution. The scholarships were awarded during the Vermont EPSCoR All Hands Meeting held at the University of Vermont Davis Center on August 9, 2021.
 
This year’s recipients are enrolled, or will be enrolling, at St. Michael’s College, Northern Vermont University, the University of Vermont and Community College of Vermont with majors in Neuroscience, Physics, Biology, Environmental Sciences and Behavioral Science.

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Mandar Dewoolkar, PhD, PE, FASCE, a Professor and Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Vermont and member of the BREE Ecological Systems Team, recently published a study examining the depiction and portrayal of engineers and engineering in US broadcast network television evening news. The study, "Portrayal of Engineers and Engineering in US Broadcast Network Television Evening News Media," was published in the Journal of Civil Engineering Education. Inspired by the Alan Alda Communicating Science Workshop that Dr. Dewoolkar attended, the research appears to be the first of its kind where portrayal and depiction of engineers and engineering in television news media was analyzed.

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The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently made $21 million of funding available to 29 new projects through DOE EPSCoR Lab Partnerships. We discussed the significance of the funding with Ben Cotts, PhD, Assistant Professor of Chemistry/Biochemistry at Middlebury College.

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The 2021 - 2022 VT EPSCoR CWDD Undergraduate Intern Symposiums was held virtually due to Covid-19. Webpages created by our interns showcased their work performed during their internships. Posters, video presentations, work descriptions and photos which are usually shared in person during the Undergraduate Intern Symposium are now available online. Please join us in congratulating our summer interns for all of their accomplishments.

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