News Article

Melissa Haeffner talks about how her collaborations with iUTAH led to her interest in a transdisciplinary approach to research in the Utah State University Spring 2016 alumni magazine. As an iUTAH collaborator, she is part of a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary team of scientists exploring population growth, climate change and land use are affecting Utah’s water resources. This December, she will be one of 78 women participating in a 20-day women-in-science leadership trip to Antarctica.

“I really do believe that if we’re going to be talking about climate change, if we’re going to be talking about natural resources, we can’t just study ice and water and air and carbon,” says Haeffner. “The reason why these are problems is because they are problems for humans, problems for our human survival. They are anthropogenic problems, because of our impacts on the earth. And so to study these things without social sciences, I think, is just setting ourselves up for failure. It’s too big, too important a piece to miss.”

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Melissa Haeffner, iUTAH and USU post-doctoral researcher, eyeing an upcoming women-in-science leadership trip to Antarctica.
Credit Donna Barry, University photographer.