News and Highlights

A delegation of eight iUTAH participants accepted an invitation to participate in the biannual 24th National NSF EPSCoR Conference, co-hosted by New Hampshire and Maine EPSCoR in Portsmouth, New Hampshire from November 2-4. The Utah delegation was headed up by Project Director Michelle Baker, Assistant Director and Project Administrator Andy Leidolf, and EOD Coordinator Ellen Eiriksson; joined by postdoctoral researcher Rachel Gabor, Utah State University graduate student Beth Ogata, and her 2015 iFellow mentee Don Long from Southern Utah University; as well as members of the iUTAH management team Tami Goetz from the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Jeff Broadbent from USU's Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

Over the course of two days, participants took part in plenary and breakout sessions focused on building collaboration among EPSCoR jurisdictions, and on ways to better communicate science in general, and the benefits and accomplishments of EPSCoR in particular, to our stakeholders and the public. The highlight of the conference was an interactive presentation by the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, led by none other than Alan Alda.  The Alda Center was established to help train scientists and health professionals to communicate more effectively with the public.

A highlight for Project Director Michelle Baker was the opening plenary of the conference remarks by New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan, who was one of five women leaders featured. “It was refreshing and remarkable to open a science conference with these inspiring female voices.” said Baker.

The third day of the EPSCoR conference was reserved for business meetings of EPSCoR Project Directors, Project Administrators, and EOD staff.  The agenda centered on turning the discussions of the previous two days into specific action items for implementation by the EPSCoR community. How do we leverage the strengths of individual EPSCoR jurisdictions to facilitate cross-jurisdictional synergy? How do we communicate our accomplishments to the public and stakeholders? How do we demonstrate EPSCoR's value to a Congress increasingly wary of the need for this program?  These and other questions were at the center of many spirited and informative discussions, and participants left with a renewed sense of understanding and purpose regarding the challenges and opportunities faced by EPSCoR.

Three iUTAHns were also chosen to participate in a half-day pre-conference workshop on "Building and Evaluating Collaboration Capacity." "The iUTAH project is a perfect example of the successful conduct of team science," said Leidolf.  "The workshop really validated a lot of what we have been doing, allowed us the opportunity to network with others involved in collaborative research, and gain new perspectives on building on our accomplishments and evaluate the outcomes of our work."

Redesigned Website Features Targeted Audience-Specific Information

Key features of the site include a cleaner design, more engaging user experience, and enhanced navigational capacity.

The website provides comprehensive information on iUTAH’s statewide $20 million interdisciplinary research effort funded by the National Science Foundation to study and protect Utah’s water sustainability.

Improvements to the website allow targeted audiences, such as water resource professionals, K-­12 educators, or researchers, to engage with iUTAH participants through embedded search functions on audience-­specific webpages.

“We are excited to have this important tool for connecting the work we do with our constituents and stakeholders,” said Andy Leidolf, iUTAH Assistant Director and Project Administrator. He adds that the website “provides a wealth of information on iUTAH’s work towards a sustainable water future for our state. There is something of value here for all of Utah’s many and diverse water users and uses.”

The site’s refreshed and simplified look, combined with updated content, improved targeted functionality, and optimization for mobile devices allows for better interaction among constituents and stakeholders across the state. As an important resource, the redesigned website is expected to greatly improve and grow collaboration among participants in this ever-­expanding project, and streamline communication between project leadership, administration, and other contributors.

The iUTAH project is a multi-­institution program aimed at exploring how population growth, a changing climate, and land use are affecting the state’s water resources and prospects for long-term sustainability. The redesign of the website comes with the challenge to Utah’s water science community to take ownership and share in this important new phase of our project by using our website, and encouraging others to do the same.

iUTAH’s website is updated on a regular basis with new information, highlights, upcoming events, and opportunities furthering its mission to shape Utah's water future through statewide research, science, and education. For a digest of updates, please sign up for iUTAH newsletter.

In a recent paper published in Ecosphere, a journal of the Ecological Society of America, iUTAH researchers have examined how waterways in human-impacted ecosystems receive nitrogen from numerous point and diffuse sources that contribute to eutrophication and alter the composition and function of riparian and aquatic communities. The article, published on October 28, 2015, builds on earlier studies, which suggest that fertilizer, atmospheric deposition, animal waste, waste water effluent, and septic systems typically represent important nitrogen sources in urban, urbanizing, and agricultural watersheds. Authors of the article include Steven J. Hall, Rebecca L. Hale, Michelle A. Baker, David R. Bowling, and James R. Ehleringer.

The article can be viewed in its entirety under the title Riparian plant isotopes reflect anthropogenic nitrogen perturbations: robust patterns across land use gradients.

Mark Brunson, iUTAH Education Outreach & Diversity Director, was featured on the Utah Education Network (UEN) SciFi Friday program during the month of November.  During the program Mark talked with Program Coordinator Jenn Gibbs about the conflict over natural resources and the iUTAH project, as it relates to the Western films "Abilene Town," "The Sundowners," "The Big Trees" and "Angel and the Badman." Listen to the podcast.

The UEN SciFi Friday is a multi-platform program, using broadcasts, podcasts, and events to introduce fun, classic films, with commentary by Utah experts in science, technology, engineering, math and related fields.

Other past iUTAH contributors to the program include:

• Jim Ehleringer, University of Utah, explored carnivorous plants and the film "The Day of the Triffids." 
• Maura Hahnenberger, now at Salt Lake Community College, and Carolyn Stwertka talked about the featured movie “Man Beast,” and how it relates to Atmospheric Sciences.
• Louisa Stark, University of Utah, enlightened discussion on inherited traits, and the film “Samson vs. The Vampire Women.”
• Sarah Null, Utah State University, talked about the effects of dams combined with the 1925 silent film version of “The Phantom of the Opera.”
• Steve Corbato, formerly of the University of Utah, discussed "The Cosmic Man" and 21st century technology.
• Carolyn Stwertka and Kimi Smith, both from the University of Utah, conversed on computer coding, collaboration in science, and the partnership between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson featured in the film "The Woman in Green."

Stay tuned for more information on iUTAH expert contributions around the state.

iUTAH researcher Jackie Grant's work doing science outreach to school children was recently featured in The Spectrum newspaper.

For three years the Garth and Jerri Frehner Museum of Natural History and the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery on the campus of Southern Utah University have been partnering to offer science and art in a unique way to K-12 students in Cedar City. “Scientists are far more creative than most people assume,” said Jackie Grant, museum curator and professor at SUU. “When we pair science with art it is more engaging to general audiences such as elementary school children.” The Fall Education Program has reached over 2,000 elementary and high school students since it’s beginning…

Read Original Article...

For more on iUTAH's involvement with SUU, visit “SUU museums partner to teach science with art and play,”  published on Nov. 06, 2015, on SUU News

Dr. Michelle Baker, iUTAH director, is featured in the upcoming “Science Unwrapped” presentation at USU on Nov. 6, 2015.

Read Original Article...