Tony Timpano is an IGC student and a Ph.D. candidate in Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. His field research is centered in the Appalachian “coal country” of southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia.
Tony is interested in understanding how coal mining affects stream water quality and aquatic life. Ultimately, he hopes that his research findings will help guide policies on monitoring and managing salt pollution in streams.
Tony Timpano
“I want to improve the science of water quality management to enhance the capability of regulators to make sound science-based policy decisions. Water, as a human and ecological resource, is facing mounting threats globally and the problems are only becoming more complex. I think good science is critical to managing water resources for greater sustainability.”
In this Virginia Tech video, Tony talks about water quality testing and the importance of teaching research skills to undergraduate students:
Cathy Jachowskiis a Ph.D. candidate in Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and a fellow in the Interfaces of Global Change interdisciplinary graduate education program at Virginia Tech.
“Growing up in Kentucky, I learned the value of maintaining clean and healthy rivers, lakes and streams for both people and wildlife. As humans, we have all contributed to changes in land use patterns, climate and various types of pollution. These changes can affect the quality of water we depend on and the health and abundance of fish and wildlife using that water. I am interested in understanding if, and how, fish and wildlife can handle the rapid changes that we are causing. If they are having trouble coping, it could be an important early warning that humans are going to have trouble as well.
My current research involves work with hellbenders, which are harmless salamanders that can live for over 30 years and grow to over two feet long. They live their entire lives in rivers across Appalachia, hiding under rocks and eating crayfish. Hellbenders are disappearing from many streams for unclear reasons, which could suggest that other species of fish or wildlife are in danger.
I am using hellbenders to understand how alterations to land can influence animals in a stream. For example, are hellbenders in streams surrounded by agriculture exposed to more or fewer parasites than hellbenders surrounded by forest? And does the type of land surrounding a stream influence the ability of hellbenders to survive and reproduce while infected with parasites?
Hellbenders spend most of their lives in a small section of stream, so we can implant individuals with a microchip and keep track of them year after year. This lets us know whether individuals are surviving and in good health. One of the most fascinating things we now know about hellbenders is that the fathers protect their eggs and larvae from predators. The dads will stay in a deep rock crevice for several months until the young are big enough to head out into the stream on their own. This is important information because factors that affect the health of dads at any point during that time period can affect how many babies survive each year.
Natural nest cavities are very difficult to find, so we don’t know much about what hellbender dads are doing while they are with their young. An exciting part of my research involves using artificial nest boxes to understand what goes on in a typical nest, as well as what can go wrong. “
*Hellbender research in the Hopkins Lab is the result of a partnership with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, funded through the State Wildlife Grants Program.
We’re stymied in solving the climate change problem because of an underlying challenge – a communication failure – rooted in language and ideology. Aspects of this failure include how scientists communicate, how some people confound the science with the solutions, and an active disinformation campaign designed to cast doubt. Resolution of the communication failure is essential, as it can unleash our ability to solve the climate problem.
Susan Joy Hassol is a climate change communicator, analyst, and author who’s been making climate science accessible for 25 years. Director of Climate Communication, she helps scientists communicate more effectively and provides information to policymakers, journalists, and others. She has authored and edited numerous reports, written an HBO documentary, and appeared on national media. She has been honored by scientific societies for her exceptional contributions to communication of climate science.
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Michael Mann, a climate scientist and central figure in the political debate over climate change, visited Virginia Tech on March 20, 2015.
His 4 p.m. lecture at the Lyric Theatrewasfollowed by a brief question and answer session and signing of his book, “The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines.”
The free event was sponsored by the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech and the Interfaces of Global ChangeInterdisciplinary Graduate Education Program.
Michael Mann is a distinguished professor of meteorology at Penn State University, with joint appointments in the departments of geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. He is also director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center. His research involves the use of theoretical models and observational data to better understand earth’s climate system.
During his visit, Mann also co-lead a science communication workshop for doctoral students with Susan Hassol, director of Climate Communication and a leading expert on effective techniques for communicating science.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Mann to Virginia Tech,” said William Hopkins, director of the Global Change Center and professor of fish and wildlife conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. “A major part of the Global Change Center’s mission is to provide unique training opportunities to Virginia Tech faculty and graduate students. The all-day workshop led by Mann and Sue Hassol will allow the students to learn effective techniques for communicating science to the public and policy makers, and will enable them to spend intimate time learning from leading authorities on climate change and science communication.”
Mann has received a number of honors and awards including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) outstanding publication award in 2002, and selection by Scientific American as one of the fifty leading visionaries in science and technology in 2002. He was awarded the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union in 2012 and the National Conservation Achievement Award for science by the National Wildlife Federation in 2013.
Mann made Bloomberg News’ list of fifty most influential people in 2013. In 2014, he was named a Highly Cited Researcher by the Institute for Scientific Information and received the Friend of the Planet Award from the National Center for Science Education. He is a Fellow of both the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society.
“Dr. Mann’s visit to campus is an exciting opportunity to learn from a world-renowned scientist at the front line of both research and public engagement,” said Quinn Thomas, an assistant professor of forest resources and environmental conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, who teaches courses in climate science on campus. “Through his peer-reviewed research, which provides historical context for recent temperature changes, and his writings, which are more geared toward a general audience, Dr. Mann’s work challenges us to think critically about our changing planet while not losing sight of the larger picture.”
Chartered earlier this year, the Global Change Center at Virginia Tech seeks to raise awareness about climate change and other global problems such as pollution and invasive species that threaten the environment and society.
Story by Lindsay Taylor Key, Communications Officer at Fralin Life Science Institute[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Dr. Schreiber’s research program at Virginia Tech focuses on chemical hydrogeology. She and her students study the hydrologic and biogeochemical processes that influence the cycling of naturally-occurring and anthropogenic sources of contaminants.
In this video, Dr. Schreiber discusses the relationship between groundwater chemistry and arsenic release. Arsenic can be found in many minerals contained in aquifers but this harmful element does not always contaminate groundwater within the aquifer.
Dr. Cayelan Carey, an assistant professor of biological sciences, and a team of students are doing research on clean water at Falling Creek Reservoir in Roanoke, Va. The team adds oxygen to the water to control phosphorous concentrations and studies the effects of the oxygen on the water.
Bill Hopkins, professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Director of the Global Change Center, talks about eastern hellbenders and their ecological importance in this Virginia Tech field interview.
