Month: October 2018

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Educational Outreach News Science Communication Special Events

Virginia Tech Science Festival returns Oct. 27

From VT News

The Virginia Tech Science Festival returns to campus Saturday, Oct. 27, with 93 free hands-on, minds-on learning interactive booths and activities that showcase dozens of science education and research programs throughout the university, including physics, space, engineering, communication, geology, health and medicine, history, transportation, computers, chemistry, and more.

Events will be held in the Moss Arts Center, Carol M. Newman Library, Torgersen Hall, and along Alumni Mall. Parking on campus will be free during event hours. The day kicks off at 10 a.m., with the main festival closing at 4 p.m., with science-based talks in the form of Nutshell Games beginning at 4:30 p.m.

All events are free and open to the public. Parking will be free at Virginia Tech’s North End Center parking deck and other campus locations.

Virginia Tech launched the first Science Festival in 2014.  More than 5,000 people attended the festival in 2017. Festival organizers again are providing transportation to select school groups from across the state to attend, giving them the same chance to enjoy the STEM-focused event as local families.

Many exhibitors from previous years will be returning, including 3-D printing, various robotics labs, virtual reality, lizards, neuroscience, electric vehicles, meteorology, paleontology, the science of sports helmets, a teddy bear clinic provided by Carilion, “virus” trackers, volcano demonstrations, a human-powered submarine, and dozens more. Crowd favorites such as Stormtroopers from the “Stars Wars” films also will return in the form of cosplayers. Exhibits provide hands-on, minds-on experiences for all ages, along with highlighting the expansive applications of science.

Girl and Boy at Virginia Tech Science Festival
Children play and learn at the 2017 Virginia Tech Science Festival.

“The Virginia Tech Science Festival has become a tradition in Blacksburg,” said Phyllis Newbill, festival chair and outreach and engagement coordinator with Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT). “Kids are growing up with it, knowing that science is exciting and about doing things. Science is a thing to be celebrated. Five years is short in adult time, but in kid time, it’s most of a lifetime. This work is important in shaping attitudes toward science.”

Following the Festival Expo, the Center for Communicating Science will present the 3rd annual Nutshell Games, a contest in which selected Virginia Tech graduate students compete for cash prizes as they are given 90 seconds to present their research, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Moss Arts Center. The winner is the person who can most clearly explain their work in an entertaining manner, as determined by a panel of judges, one of whom is a middle school student. This event is for ages 11 and up.

“The Virginia Tech Science Festival’s expansive outreach aligns with the university’s mission to support and serve the citizens of the commonwealth regardless of their zip code,” said Karen Eley-Sanders, associate vice provost for college access at Virginia Tech.

“We know that young people’s early exposure to STEM subjects is related to their subsequent success in STEM, and in school generally. Children develop science knowledge in both formal and informal settings, and they learn science by doing. The Virginia Tech Science Festival is an incredible learning opportunity for youth, their families and teachers, and we believe it helps youth to realize that science really is bigger than they think.”

For the second year in a row, the Science Festival will also feature exhibits that are autism-friendly, with festival organizers coordinating with the Virginia Tech Center for Autism Research, based in the College of Science. The effort is part of the center’s SAFE: Supporting Autism Friendly Environments program, an effort headed by Amy Azano, an associate professor in the School of Education.

Follow the Virginia Tech Science Festival on social media at Facebook and Twitter. Plan to go and take pictures? Use #VTSciFest to share your images with us on these platforms and Instagram.

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CONTACT:

Steven Mackay

540-231-5035

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Categories
Blog Interfaces of Global Change IGEP

Interfaces of Global Change IGEP manifests in haiku form

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text](Featured image haiku contributed by IGC Curriculum Committee Director, Dr. Bruce Hull)

[hr_shadow]The Graduate School’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (IGEP) fall reception was held on October 10, 2018.  Students from each program were challenged by IGEP Director, Dr. Bill Huckle, to share a haiku poem that “captured the essence” of their IGEP. Below are the verses shared on behalf of the Interfaces of Global Change program – kudos to the Fellows’ creative energies![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Global change is real
Science informs how to help
Let’s start acting now!

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Flora and fauna
Are complicated enough
Then add people…Phew!

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Tree of heaven quakes
Orange seeds fall to the ground
Silently spreading

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The cicadas sing
The summer seems longer now
Do they count the days?

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The world is changing
Nature’s cycles can’t explain
Anthropogenic

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The fish used to jump
Now the green lake is quiet
No more clear water

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Four birds on a branch
There used to be many more
Their habitat lost

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-tree” color=”mulled_wine”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow”][vc_column_text]The compositions above were contributed by IGC Fellows: Leah Novak, Rebecca O’Brien, and Joshua Rady. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Blog Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Student Spotlight

IGC Seminar Reflection Series: Threats to Expertise, by Korin Jones

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Threats to Expertise
By Korin Jones  |  October 10,

Does our training as global change scientists make us experts?  Can we use our expertise to influence policy, public debate, and action? In a recent Interfaces of Global Change seminar, we discussed threats to expertise and its implications for global change scientists.

What makes someone an expert? That question, it turns out, is a hard one to answer. Aside from possessing knowledge of a subject, it was clear that one cannot act as an expert unless those around you believe your expertise. This belief can come from credentials and/or years of direct experience such as the experience of living and working the land or being a committed hobbyist.

In addition to the topic of expertise, fellows also discussed the politicization of science and the implications that this has for both science and scientists. Climate change is an obvious example of politicized science, a scientific topic that has become more of a political issue than a scientific issue. Climate scientists are often viewed now as political advocates, regardless of their desire to participate within the political sphere.

We ended our discussion by focusing on how our buzzwords (i.e., sustainable, nexus, probiotics, nanotechnology) impact how science is viewed by scientists and the public. Buzzwords are common practice in scientific literature and in science communication because familiar words or phrases can quickly generate interest from a wide audience. Despite this, we decided most buzzwords should be used captiously or avoided. Fellows were in agreement that avoiding or using buzzwords is a choice that often needs to be consciously made in order to achieve the proper reception from a given audience.

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Korin Jones is first year PhD student studying the amphibian microbiome in the Belden lab. He believes that the IGC program is crucial to understanding the many perspectives involved in creating lasting solutions in conservation.

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Categories
Conservation News Research Water

Virginia Tech researchers receive NSF grant to study parental care in eastern hellbender salamanders

From VT News

Although eastern hellbender salamanders are known by many unflattering nicknames — mud puppy, snot otter, grampus, and Allegheny alligator —  about 70 percent of adult male hellbenders should more accurately be known as doting fathers.

Unlike most wildlife species, male hellbenders provide exclusive care for their young for an extended period of seven months.

William Hopkins, professor of wildlife in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, is the principal investigator on a new grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for $738,817 to study parental care in the eastern hellbender salamander.

This two-foot long salamander, found in cold, rocky, fast-moving rivers and streams in the Appalachian region, is one of the largest and most fascinating amphibians in the world.

These giant salamanders were once common in streams across the eastern United States, but have experienced drastic population declines in the past 30 years due to habitat loss caused by erosion and pollution and are increasingly threatened by climate change.

“Hellbenders are a fascinating and misunderstood species surrounded by folklore and misinformation. Their recent rapid population declines are a cause for conservation concern,” said Hopkins, director of the Global Change Center, an arm of the Fralin Life Science Institute.

The hellbender requires well-oxygenated, clean streams and rivers; they are especially sensitive to environmental changes and pollution because they breathe by absorbing oxygen through their skin. Small changes in water quality affect them much more quickly than local fish and other wildlife, making the hellbender an important indicator for local habitat conditions.

One commonality among most declining hellbender populations is indirect evidence that their reproduction may be disrupted. “Because Virginia harbors some of the hellbenders’ healthiest remaining populations as well as declining populations, our work represents one of the last opportunities to reveal the role that reproductive physiological ecology plays in the viability of hellbender populations,” said Hopkins.

The research team spans three colleges and brings together diverse expertise to tackle these important questions.  Co-principal investigators on the grant are Richard Helm, associate professor of biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Joel McGlothlin, associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Science.

The interdisciplinary team’s research will advance the understanding of how environmental conditions and hormonal processes interact to influence reproduction in the eastern hellbender.

Hellbender salamander with his eggs
A male eastern hellbender with his eggs in an underwater nest box. Photo courtesy Cathy Jachowski.

“Hellbenders may soon be an endangered species, so the broader impacts of this work have the potential to be huge. Learning more about their reproductive behavior may help to reverse some of the declines we see in so many populations,” said McGlothlin, an affiliated faculty member of the Global Change Center.

Male hellbenders exhibit extraordinary parental care under normal conditions. In the fall, hellbenders start breeding. The female hellbender lays the eggs and the male fertilizes them externally. The male then runs the female off and provides 100 percent of the parental care. The male will stay with the nest until the following spring and defend the eggs against predators. The male hellbender also waves his tail over the eggs to keep them well-oxygenated until they hatch.

Many animals provide care for their young, which is critical for early development, but disruption of this relationship can lead to neglect, abandonment, and the death of offspring. Researchers have found that about 30 percent of the time, eastern hellbenders switch from being protective, doting fathers to the extreme of eating their own young, also known as filial cannibalism.

More than 100 different species of animals will eat their own young, but the underlying mechanism that causes this drastic switch in behavior is unknown in most species. The investigators hope to unravel this mystery with the research funded by this grant. Changes in the environment, hormonal imbalance, and energy deficits are among the viable hypotheses as to why this may be happening.

“Cannibalism of offspring has long fascinated scientists, but little is known about the environmental factors that provoke this behavior or the physiological changes that underlie the decision to care for or eat one’s young. From an evolutionary standpoint, this behavior has long baffled scientists,” said Hopkins.

Answering these questions will provide insights into how and why adults terminate parental care in a broad range of species.

Hellbenders are a great model organism for studying this behavior because the researchers have developed techniques in the field where they can study hellbenders under natural conditions. Their study will employ underwater nest boxes in streams across a variety of hellbender habitats to determine what hormones trigger this switch in behaviors and what environmental factors influence cannibalism. Hellbenders are large, so researchers can take blood samples repeatedly over a span of time.

Researchers from Hopkins’ lab will take blood samples from the hellbenders as well as egg samples and work with McGlothlin’s lab to rule out the hypothesis that male hellbenders eat their eggs when they think that another male has fertilized some of them. Students working in McGlothin’s lab will use DNA paternity testing to test for this possibility.

“Although we suspect that this type of extra-pair paternity is rare, not much is known about the hellbender breeding system, so we might be surprised,” said McGlothlin.

Helm’s research team will analyze blood samples from the hellbenders with mass spectroscopy and targeted assays to test if hormonal and environmental changes are an underlying cause of filial cannibalism.

Mass spectroscopy is an analytical technique that ionizes samples of a chemical species and sorts the ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio. Helm’s team will be able to identify the differences in hormones, metabolites, and proteins from hellbenders exhibiting different behaviors.

“This will allow us to associate the chemical features in blood serum with hellbenders before, during, and after the mating season. We can then link the features to behavior, potentially segregating caretakers from cannibals,” said Helm.

Helm’s team will also be able to analyze chemical differences in hellbenders found in environments favorable to hellbender growth and development, and environments that are not, allowing them to help tease out the answers to some of the questions about how physiology and the environment affect hellbender parental care.

Not only will this research advance knowledge of parental care, but the team’s study will also employ high school science teachers in an integrated outreach effort to conserve the hellbender species.

“Southwest Virginia is home to a number of underserved groups, including rural Appalachian communities that face a number of socioeconomic and educational access challenges. These same communities live in one the most biodiverse regions in North America, though few citizens recognize the global significance of the ecosystems that surround them,” said Hopkins.

Hellbenders are well-established in the folklore of Appalachia, providing a platform to access rural communities in Southwest Virginia about science and environmental issues. Hopkins’ research team will take advantage of the charismatic nature of the eastern hellbender to reach local and global audiences.

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CONTACT:

Kristin Rose

(540) 231-6614

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Categories
Accolades Faculty Spotlight News

Professor appointed chair for National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee

From VT News

William A. Hopkins, professor of wildlife in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, has been appointed chair to a committee of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: The Review of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Laboratories: Processes, Procedures, and Best Practices to Meet National Needs.

Hopkins will chair the committee for the duration of a 30-month analysis of all U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) laboratory facilities.

Hopkins, who has served on several National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committees in the past, said that he was both flattered by and excited for his selection as chair of the project committee.

“Having the opportunity to serve the country in this way is one of the most impactful things that I can do as a scientist,” said Hopkins, director of the Global Change Center, housed within the Fralin Life Science Institute.

NASEM was founded in 1863 under the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln. The institution provides a nongovernmental mechanism for top scientists and engineers to provide the nation’s decision makers with the best possible information and in a nonpartisan environment. Studies conducted under NASEM often shed light on some of the most important issues that today’s society is facing and have strong influence on public policy.

“We are thrilled that Dr. Hopkins has agreed to serve as chair of our new committee tasked with examining the processes, procedures, and best practices at USGS laboratories. Dr. Hopkins has been an excellent contributor to several past academies’ studies, and we are confident that he will be a strong consensus builder for this important committee,” said Gregory Symmes, executive director, division on earth and life studies at the National Academies.

The USGS is one of the largest scientific agencies in the nation, with more than 400 labs spread across the country and an extensive portfolio of investigation and accomplishments. Their motto, “science for a changing world,” only alludes to the vast breadth of topics that the agency spans, including natural hazards, such as earthquakes and volcanoes; environmental health and pollution; water and land resources; biology and ecosystems; energy; mapping tools and data; and planetary science.

The USGS has enlisted NASEM to convene the review of its laboratories and processes. As outlined in the study’s project scope, the committee is charged with providing recommendations for the best strategies to maintain research integrity across such a diverse institution and to ensure the reliability and accuracy of those results.

“It’s an enormous responsibility and something that I take very seriously. Developing a NASEM consensus report is not an easy task, especially because these committees intentionally involve experts with very diverse expertise and viewpoints.  The process involves site visits around the nation to gather information and learn from an array of stakeholders and other experts, followed by extensive deliberation to reach agreement on our committee’s recommendations,” said Hopkins.

NASEM convenes committees composed of the nation’s top scientists, engineers, health professionals, and other experts to address a defined set of questions for each study project.  Via this process, approximately 200-300 reports are produced by NASEM each year, confronting a vast array of topics, such as invasive plants, the nation’s energy future, transportation safety, the Hubble Telescope, climate change, and more. Prominent scientists are honored with membership and committee members serve without pay.   

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CONTACT:

Kristin Rose

(540) 231-6614

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Categories
Blog New Courses Postcards Science Communication Sustainable Agriculture Undergraduate Experiential Learning Water

Interdisciplinary REEU program studies real world issues at the “Confluence of Water and Society”

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Postcard from Leigh-Anne Krometis

October 9, 2018[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]If you live in the New River Valley, chances are that your local news (and perhaps your social media feeds) have included mention of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) construction, which began in Spring 2018. Debates over the MVP bring up a wide variety of tangled issues, ranging from economic cost-benefits to property rights and individual freedom to environmental quality and the role of regulators.

This summer also marked the first year of our USDA-funded REEU: “Confluence of Water and Society” summer program. The USDA REEU program – Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates – is similar to NSF’s well-known summer REU programs, which aim to provide undergraduates with hands-on research experience and to encourage these promising students to consider graduate degrees and research careers. The second “E” in the REEU program – extension – indicates that undergraduates in these programs are expected to gain not only research skills, but also experience directly communicating with stakeholders. Their research is supposed to directly relate to community needs and concerns, and students need to gain experience communicating with these communities. Given the complexity of the issues surrounding MVP, the numerous questions local communities have asked various Virginia Tech faculty about potential environmental impacts, and its location essentially in Virginia Tech’s backyard, this issue proved a compelling and challenging framework for our interdisciplinary research efforts associated with the REEU this summer.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25880,25878,25879,25877″ img_size=”300×200″][vc_column_text]Along with my co-program directors, Cully Hession (BSE), Brian Badgley (SPES and GCC), and Amber Vallotton (HORT), we immersed our eight students in the unique local culture and hydrology of the southern Appalachians during their nine-week stay in Blacksburg. Students learned about Appalachian history and culture from Dr. Theresa Burriss, the head of Appalachian Studies at Radford University, visited an active natural gas extraction site in Buchanan County with Dr. Nino Ripepi from Virginia Tech’s Mining and Mineral Engineering Department, visited local farmers dependent on water resources in the New River Valley, and experienced the reality of karst geology firsthand during a local caving trip with the Department of Environmental Quality.

The goal of these speakers and trips was not simply for students to “download” background information, but to provide a real-time opportunity to start conversations with – and listen to! – local stakeholders with a variety of perspectives. Sustainable solutions to difficult issues in the food-energy-water sectors require an ability to be comfortable in the midst of complexity and understanding even when emotions run high.

Although our formal analysis of student outcomes is ongoing, early indicators suggest that students appreciated the opportunity to step out of the laboratory (or away from the computer) to talk to members of the local community, and that these conversations added nuance to their understanding of the MVP issue. Several intend to pursue careers that directly involve some science communication.

Our eight students spent their summer working collaboratively on three intersecting research projects focused on environmental and social aspects of the MVP, aided by a similarly diverse set of faculty mentors, including Global Change affiliates Bryan Brown, Julie Shortridge, Erin Hotchkiss, and Ryan Stewart, and IGC PhD student Lauren Wind. Student project specifics and perspectives on the summer program were recently covered by VT News. This specific REEU will continue for another two years, focusing on a different multi-faceted freshwater issue each summer. Send interested undergraduates our way![/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Written by Leigh-Anne Krometis

Biological Systems Engineering

krometis@vt.edu[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Climate Change News

Climate change impacts worse than expected, global report warns

From National Geographic
BY STEPHEN LEAHY  |  OCTOBER 7

The impacts and costs of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) of global warming will be far greater than expected, according to a comprehensive assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released Sunday in Incheon, South Korea.

The past decade has seen an astonishing run of record-breaking storms, forest fires, droughts, coral bleaching, heat waves, and floods around the world with just 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1.0 degrees Celsius) of global warming. [See: Hidden Costs of Climate Change Running Hundreds of Billions a Year] But much of this will get substantially worse with 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit of warming, and far worse at 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius), according to the IPCC’s “Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C”, released Sunday and examining more than 6,000 studies.

The IPCC also reported that 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit could be reached in as little as 11 years—and almost certainly within 20 years without major cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Even if such cuts were to begin immediately it would only delay, not prevent, 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit of global warming.

“Substantial Consequences”

While a 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 degrees Celsius) increase in room temperature is unnoticeable, permanently heating the whole planet that much will have “substantial” consequences, the report warns. The impacts will be felt across ecosystems and human communities and economies.

“Limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared with 2°C would reduce challenging impacts on ecosystems, human health, and well-being,” said Priyardarshi Shukla, Chair of the Global Centre for Environment and Energy at Ahmedabad University in India and co-author of the Special Report, in a statement. Such impacts include stronger storms, more erratic weather, dangerous heat waves, rising seas, and largescale disruption to infrastructure and migration patterns.

The scientific findings in the main report are summarized in a 34-page “Summary for Policy Makers,” which was approved by all representatives from 195 nations, including the U.S.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, every country in the world agreed to keep global temperatures well below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius), while low-lying island states and others lobbied for substantially less. Current pledges to cut CO2 emissions will push global warming to at least 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) by 2100, risking natural tipping points such as thawing of large areas of permafrost—which could drive global temperatures uncontrollably higher. The Trump administration has said they will pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement.

Global warming is like being in a mine field that gets progressively more dangerous, says Michael Mann, a climatologist and director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State. “The further we go the more explosions we are likely to set off: 1.5C is safer than 2C, 2C is safer than 2.5C, 2.5C is safer than 3C, and so on,” said Mann, who was not directly involved in this latest IPCC report.

“Stabilizing global warming at 1.5C will be extremely difficult if not impossible at this point,” Mann said via email.

Big Solutions Sought

The IPCC’s Special Report lays out various pathways to stabilize global warming at 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius). These solutions all require unprecedented efforts to cut fossil-fuel use in half in less than 15 years and eliminate their use almost entirely in 30 years. This means no home, business, or industry heated by gas or oil; no vehicles powered by diesel or gasoline; all coal and gas power plants shuttered; the petrochemical industry converted wholesale to green chemistry; and heavy industry like steel and aluminum production either using carbon-free energy sources or employing technology to capture CO2 emissions and permanently store it.

In addition, depending on how fast emissions are cut, between 0.4 and 2.7 million square miles (1-7 million square kilometers) of land may have to be converted to growing bioenergy crops and up to 3.86 million square miles (10 million square kilometers) of forests added by 2050. And still that won’t be enough, the report warns. Every pound of CO2 emitted in the last hundred years will continue to trap heat in the atmosphere for hundreds of years to come. By 2045 or 2050 there will still be too much CO2 in the atmosphere. More forests or some form of direct capture that takes CO2 out of the atmosphere will be essential to stabilize global temperatures at 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius), the report says.

The Special Report is like getting a troubling diagnosis from your doctor, said Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University. “Every possible test has been done and the news is not good,” Hayhoe said in an interview. “The doctor, the IPCC in this case, then explains possible treatment options to ensure our future health. We (the public) decide which option to follow.”

The challenge to stay below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) is immense, requiring fossil fuel infrastructure to be phased out, non-fossil energy sources phased in, and large-scale removal of carbon from the atmosphere, says Glen Peters, Research Director at Norway’s Center for International Climate Research. “To stay below 1.5 C simply requires the transformation be faster and deeper than for 2C,” Peters said.

Currently, we are going in the wrong direction with global emissions increasing 1.5 percent in 2017 and a likely increase this year, he said. “Without the full involvement and alignment of our technical, social, and political dimensions, 1.5 C and even 2C won’t be possible.”

That means 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit is a big departure from where we are headed now, agrees Kelly Levin, a senior associate with World Resources Institute’s Global Climate Program. That said, the models used to develop the IPCC’s pathways to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit don’t include all the ways emissions could be reduced and they prioritize the cheapest methods, Levin said in an interview.

For example, a widespread dietary shift to eating less meat and reduced material consumption would significantly lower emissions. The models are also conservative when it comes to the roll out of new technology and have underestimated the success of solar panels and electric vehicles, Levin said. Tesla’s Model 3 electric car was the 4th best selling car in the United States in September, despite being more than twice as expensive than comparable gasoline-powered cars (and often requiring long waiting lists).

The Critical Role of Forests

Forests could also play a much bigger role in cutting emissions, says Deborah Lawrence, a forest expert at the University of Virginia. “Forests provide a super-important service to humanity by currently removing about 25 percent of our CO2,” Lawrence said in an interview.

Reforestation and improving forest management together could remove CO2 from the atmosphere, said Lawrence, amounting to 18 percent of the reductions needed by 2030. Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Australia, the U.S., Russia, and the European Union could also substantially increase their forests economically and without impacting food production—while potentially removing billions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, a forthcoming study will show, Lawrence said. Protecting and increasing tropical forests is especially important since they cool the air and are key in creating regional rainfall for growing food.

When the wood from mature forests is converted into furniture or buildings CO2 can be stored for the long term, she said. That’s one reason a 12-story building made of wood will be completed in Portland in 2019, and a 24-story wooden building is being built in Vienna, Austria.

Existing forests must be protected to avoid dangerous climate change, warn a coalition of forest scientists in a statement. The world’s forests contain more carbon than exploitable oil, gas, and coal deposits, they note.

“Our planet’s future climate is inextricably tied to the future of its forests,” the scientists wrote.

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Categories
Conservation Faculty Spotlight Outreach Science Communication

Touring the Center Woods research facilities with House and Senate Committee members

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October 5, 2018

In a recent visit to the Virginia Tech campus, approximately forty state representatives toured several research facilities across campus as part of a Joint Retreat of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources.

Faculty and graduate students in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Department of the College of Natural Resources provided tours and overviews of several research facilities located at the Center Woods site on campus:

GCC Director, Dr. William Hopkins, along with IGC Fellow, Sydney Hope, shared a closer look at the initiatives and capabilities of the Research Aviary, in addition to some of the hellbender research and staging underway at the site.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]GCC faculty affiliate, Dr. Emmanuel Frimpong, relayed a “big picture” overview for aquaculture and fisheries research across the university, to include the commercial fisheries and conservation projects currently underway at the Conservation Aquaculture and Aquatic Ecology Laboratory.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Dr. Jess Jones, also a restoration biologist of the US Fish & Wildlife Service and co-director of the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Center, gave visitors a close-up look at the current mussel conservation work at the FMCC.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]While at Virginia Tech, the Senators and House Delegates also visited the Virginia-Marylan College of Veterinary Medicine; the Human Agricultural Biosciences Building for an overview of Cooperative Extension and the Agricultural Experiment Station; and the Kentland Farm and livestock, dairy, and drone research facilities.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”25793,25795,25794,25792,25791,25790,25789,25799,25800,25797,25798,25801,25803,25804,25805,25806,25807,25808″ img_size=”large”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Blog Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Postcards Research Student Spotlight

Sydney Hope recaps her avian research abroad in Villiers-en-Bois, France

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October 8, 2018

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”22994″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Sydney Hope, a PhD student in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, returned to Virginia Tech this fall semester after spending 7 months overseas conducting avian research at the Centre d’Etudes Biologique de Chizé (CEBC) in Villiers-en-Bois, France.  Sydney’s research abroad was funded by the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide program and the Chateaubriand Fellowship program of the Office for Science & Technology of the Embassy of France in the United States.

In collaboration with Dr. Frédéric Angelier, Sydney set out to investigate how environmental changes influence the way bird parents care for their babies. One crucial aspect of parental care for birds is incubation – parents must keep their eggs at a warm temperature so that the chicks will develop correctly.  Small changes in temperature can lead to negative consequences for the offspring.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While in France, Sydney specifically studied how urbanization influences parental behavior and incubation temperature in great tits (Parus major).  You can learn more about Sydney’s project from her “Postcard from the Field”, here.

Rest assured, Sydney’s trip was much more than just conducting research.  She was able to start an international collaboration, made great international connections and wonderful friends, and was able to view science and higher education through the lens of a different culture.  Here is what she has to say about her experience:

“I think it really has been one of my best decisions yet to pursue research abroad in France!  When I first arrived, I was definitely out of my comfort zone.  Before this, I had never lived outside of the US, and I spent most of my life in New Jersey.  I could barely speak any French (mostly, just “bonjour”).  The research center that I worked at was in the middle of the forest, with the closest grocery store 10 minutes away by car, and I had no car.  These were by no means harsh living conditions!  But, there was definitely a bit of a transition period for me.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25768,25771,25774,25769″ img_size=”medium” css=”.vc_custom_1539011662076{margin-bottom: 2px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539027546878{margin-top: 3px !important;margin-right: 40px !important;margin-left: 25px !important;}”]Left to right: 1. Hiking in Marseille, France. 2. Île d’Oléron, France. 3. Étretat, France. 4. In Lille, France.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Pretty quickly, I met some of the best people to work and live with!  They were students from all over France and parts of Europe.  Some spoke English very well, and some were not quite as confident in their speaking skills (I specify ‘speaking’ because every student seeking a higher degree in the sciences is required to read in English, because scientific papers are for the most part only in English!).  I am still completely amazed and humbled that my friends there, as well as international students in the US, are not only able to conduct amazing scientific research, but also read and write scientific papers in their second—or even third —language.

One thing that struck me almost immediately was the importance of language.  In the US, we are rarely confronted with any situation where language is an issue.  And, as a native English speaker, even when I had travelled to other countries, I never had a problem communicating because, as most tourists, I travelled to major cities where many people speak English.  But at the CEBC, my privilege as a native English speaker was staring me right in the face.  Only a native English speaker would set off to go conduct research in the middle of the French countryside without thinking twice about whether she’d be able to get by just in English!  While it was true that I could definitely conduct all of my research without knowing a word of French, it was incredibly apparent right from the beginning that knowing French was so important if I wanted to make friends, or understand 9 out of every 10 conversations.

I was lucky to meet a great friend who, since she was not too confident in her English but wanted to practice, and I wanted to learn French, spoke to me in English and then was incredibly patient as I slowly (very slowly) progressed in French.  I spent a lot of time listening to conversations that I could not understand, trying to learn on my own through podcasts and online materials, asking my friends so many questions about how to say different words and phrases, and of course making many, many mistakes.  Now, I am pretty confident in my conversational skills!  Even though I studied Spanish throughout elementary and high school, this is the first time I feel somewhat confident speaking another language.  It’s so amazing to discover how crucial a language is to understanding a culture.  There are so many things that just can’t be translated fully.

It was really enlightening to learn so much about a different culture!  Like many Americans, I imagined all of France to be like Paris.  After living with people from all over France, I learned all of the differences in culture, accents, stereotypes, architecture, jargon, and landscapes of the many different regions of France.  And I learned about all of the songs, movies, comics, and of course, food, that everyone in France loves.  Additionally, I was able to share my culture with everyone there!  It was so interesting to find out what everyone thought about Americans.  The funniest of these moments was when two of my friends asked me a whole list of questions about the US, including: “Did you really ride to school in a yellow school bus? Did you have a lemonade stand when you were little? Do you microwave water?”.  And they were completely astonished when I said yes to all of them.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25772,25776,25775,25773″ img_size=”medium” css=”.vc_custom_1539011721724{margin-bottom: 2px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539016037965{margin-top: 3px !important;margin-right: 30px !important;margin-left: 25px !important;}”]Left to right: 1. Marseille, France. 2. Île d’Oléron, France. 3. Île-Grande, France. 4. Saintes, France.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It was also interesting to learn about the differences between the US and France in higher education.  In France, instead of departments, researchers at each institution are organized into teams that have specific themes.  The team that I was a part of was “Ecophy”, which focuses on how environmental changes influence the physiology of animals at all stages of life.  I found this way of organization interesting because it could be a better way to facilitate interdisciplinary research since the research questions, which can require a diverse set of researchers, are the basis for the composition of the teams.

Another interesting difference for me was that, in France, PhD programs are strictly 3 years, and there are very few opportunities for French PhD students to conduct research abroad, unless it is solely for conducting field work.  For me, I had my own office, conducted two different laboratory analyses, participated in lab meetings and seminars, and also developed and carried out an entire field project.  So, it was pretty difficult for everyone to understand exactly what I was doing there, and especially how I was a PhD student in her 4th year!

As fun and interesting as it was to compare and contrast the differences between our cultures, it was also great to realize how similar we really are.  I felt at home incredibly quickly, and discussions about cultural differences were definitely not the most frequent topic of conversation.  Honestly, many of my conversations were very similar to the ones I have at Virginia Tech.  Because we were all graduate students studying ecology, we talked a lot about how human-induced environmental changes are affecting wildlife.  And, as early-career scientists, we discussed what could be the best way to make an impact and a difference.  We discussed many of the same topics that we do in our IGC seminar!  What are the fundamental reasons for why we should conserve species, and how do we explain this to different groups of people?  (This was one of the conversations where I could understand enough French to follow it, but not yet enough to contribute to it.)  It was interesting, however, to discover some cultural differences in how people viewed different species.  For example, my friends were surprised when I told them that people in the US generally did not love house sparrows (they’re invasive in the US), since everyone in France (where they’re native) loves them!

I am so incredibly happy that I was able to spend this time conducting research and living in France.  As a Jersey girl, it has really opened my eyes to how amazing it is to explore a different culture, and makes me hopeful that I will have more opportunities in the future to continue to discover and explore other cultures through my scientific research.”[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25781,25770″ img_size=”300×400″ css=”.vc_custom_1539011875151{margin-bottom: 2px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539016066117{margin-top: 3px !important;margin-right: 30px !important;margin-left: 25px !important;}”](L) The forest near the CEBC in February. (R) Touring Barcelona, Spain.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator style=”shadow” css=”.vc_custom_1539011894658{margin-bottom: 2px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539011886582{margin-top: 2px !important;}”]Written by Sydney Hope.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
News Research Undergraduate Experiential Learning

RFP: Global Change Center Undergraduate Research Grant Opportunity

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_cta h2=”2019 GCC Undergraduate Research Grants” h2_font_container=”font_size:32|color:%23116ebf” h2_google_fonts=”font_family:Asap%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” h4=”The Global Change Center and Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech” h4_font_container=”font_size:20|color:%231b9e04″ h4_google_fonts=”font_family:Asap%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” txt_align=”center” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” use_custom_fonts_h4=”true”]

The Global Change Center (GCC) at Virginia Tech is accepting proposals from undergraduate students and their GCC-affiliated faculty mentor(s) to support undergraduate research that will advance the mission of the GCC. Details and application below.

Deadline for applications is December 15, 2018.

[/vc_cta][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Global Change Center (GCC) at Virginia Tech is accepting proposals from undergraduate students and their GCC-affiliated faculty mentor(s) to support undergraduate research that will advance the mission of the GCC. Only one RFP will be released this academic year. Award requests may include itemized supply and analytical costs, as well as travel costs to research sites. Stipends/wages/tuition/fees and conference fees/travel will not be supported by these awards.

Proposals will only be considered if they include a clear endorsement by a GCC-affiliated faculty mentor. Proposals addressing basic and/or applied aspects of global change science, engineering, social science, and humanities will be considered. Priority will be given to funding proposals that advance the collaborative, interdisciplinary mission of our GCC group. Preference will be given to proposals from students working with GCC faculty members who have a demonstrated track record of participation in GCC and/or IGC IGEP activities. Priority will also be given to sophomore and junior applicants (but all years are eligible).

We anticipate allocating approximately $15,000 in awards this year. Award requests can range from $250 – $1,000.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][vc_column_text]

APPLICATION DOCUMENT:

2019 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS [.doc]

2019 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS [.pdf]

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Eligibility: Current Virginia Tech undergraduate students from any department will be considered as long as they are mentored and endorsed by an active GCC faculty member.

The deadline for applications is December 15, 2018. Incomplete, late, or incorrectly formatted applications will not be considered.

Notification of awards will be made in January 2019.

Because these are E&G funds they must be spent by June, 2019. No exceptions. However, the research project can extend until April 2020, long after the funds have been spent on supplies, etc. See reporting requirement #2 below.

Award funds will be transferred to an E&G account in the faculty mentor’s home department. Consult with your home dept. for their specific rules and guidelines for annual budget cycles.

 If you receive a Global Change Center award:

  1. The student must present their research findings as a poster at either the VT Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium (July 2019) or the VT Experiential Learning Conference (April 2019 or 2020),
  2. The GCC faculty mentor must provide follow-up outcomes in their annual reports in future years (e.g., if a manuscript is published or grant proposal submitted based on the work), and
  3. The student andfaculty mentor must acknowledge the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech and the Fralin Life Science Institute for support on your poster (see item #1 above), as well as any other products/presentations benefitting from funding.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_cta h2=”” h4=”Application Procedure:”]All applications must include the following 3 items in a single pdf file (3 pages total):

Page 1. The undergraduate must complete the Application Form contained in 1 page, with one-inch margins and single-spaced text in fonts no smaller than Arial11.

Page 2. The undergraduate’s 1 page CV, to include list of any relevant past coursework and research experience (e.g., lab and/or field experiences, presentations).

Page 3. A signed statement of support from GCC faculty mentor(s) on letterhead. Not to exceed 1 page. This letter must include a) an endorsement of the student’s ability to excel in a research environment, b) a statement describing the mentorship plan for the student, and c) information describing how the research experience will advance the development of the student and the mission of the GCC.

The single pdf file (which includes the support letter) should be submitted by the faculty mentor by e-mail to Jessica Zielske; E-mail address: jcoker@vt.edu. Label files as STUDENT LAST NAME_GCC-URG2019

Application Document:

2019 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS [.doc]

2019 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS [.pdf]

[/vc_cta][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Review Criteria for Proposals:

Funding decisions will be based on the above criteria as well as:

  • Likelihood that the research experience will advance the student’s development
  • Strength of faculty endorsement
  • Pertinence of basic or applied research topic to theGCC
  • Benefit of the activity to facilitating collaboration among multiple GCC labgroups or other aspects of the GCC’s mission
  • Positive track record of engagement by the faculty mentor in IGC/GCC activities

[/vc_column_text][vc_message]Please direct any further questions regarding eligibility or expectations to Dr. William Hopkins (hopkinsw@vt.edu).[/vc_message][/vc_column][/vc_row]