ESPPNEWSnewsletter of the environmental science and policy program at michigan state university

SPRING 2015

The second annual Fate of the Earth Symposium featuring keynote speaker Andrew Revkin.

ESPP welcomes 14 new students to the specialization.

Colloquia series creates a hub for environmental science and policy discussion on campus.

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Environmental Science and Policy ProgramMichigan State UniversityGiltner Hall293 Farm Lane, Room 274East Lansing, MI 48824

517-432-8296espp@msu.eduespp.msu.edu

Dr. Jinhua Zhao, DirectorDr. Vlad Tarabara, Associate Director

Marcy Heberer, Assistant to the DirectorKaressa Weir, Communications SpecialistDerek Moy, Webmaster

Allison Stuby, Student Aide

Lauren Raycraft, Student Aide

Welcome to another year with ESPP! These past 12 months have been a time of tremendous change for us. We have several new programs to offer our students and faculty and have even more planned for 2015.

For faculty, we – together with AgBioResearch – created the Interdisciplinary Team Building Initiative. This funding opportunity allows collaboration among MSU researchers from different disciplines with the goal of enhancing our capacity to grow interdisciplinary scholarship and to compete for external grants.

In addition, ESPP has worked to create the Water Science Network which brings together MSU’s diverse expertise in water to tackle the challenge of providing people around the world with clean, affordable water while maintaining healthy, sustainable aquatic ecosystems.

For students, we have revamped the way ESPP specialization students present their research to their peers. Through the ESPP Colloquia Series, we place a spotlight on the students that puts them on par with Distinguished Lecturers and esteemed speakers who take part in our new Round Table Discussions. Several successful colloquium were held in the fall with more underway this spring.

Also this spring, we are excited to follow up on the success of our inaugural Fate of the Earth Symposium with a second event which will feature more speakers plus more time for direct collaboration with our guests and our colleagues on campus. Please save the date of April 1 for our public symposia and keep an eye on our website for the opening of registration.

Thank you, as always, for your support of ESPP and your assistance in making interdisciplinary environmental education and research a priority at MSU.

All the best, Jinhua Zhao

LETTER FROM THE

DIRECTOR

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VISTAS - Visting Scholars to Advance Science Grants

ESPP created the Visiting Scholars To Advance Science Grants in 2013 to facilitate the development of multi-university research proposals in the areas of environmental science, technology and policy. Since then, grants totaling more than $27,000 have allowed esteemed researchers to bring their experience to MSU from the Republic of Georgia, Japan, India and several U.S. locations. Applications are accepted twice a year – Sept. 30 and Jan. 31.

ITBI - Interdisiplnary Team Building Initiative

MSU AgBioResearch and ESPP have created the Interdisciplinary Team Building Initiative. This funding opportunity is designed to promote collaboration among faculty researchers from different disciplines, with the goal of enhancing our capacity to grow broadly defined interdisciplinary environmental scholarship and to compete for external grants. Since its inception in the spring of 2014, $30,000 has been awarded in ITBI grants.

ESPP FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FACULTY

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR VLAD TARABARA NAMED FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR

Dr. Vlad Tarabara, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and associate director of ESPP at Michigan State University, has been named a Fulbright Scholar.

Dr. Tarabara will use the funding to conduct research on water quality control throughout 2014-2016 in Tbilisi, Georgia at the Agricultural University of Georgia. Dr. Tarabara’s research will focus on the use of bacterial viruses, called bacteriophages, as human virus surrogates in water quality control applications.

“Georgian researchers are considered to be among the best in the world in the science and application of bacteriophages,” he said. “At the same time, the country is in need of modern engineering solutions to ensure microbiological safety of its waters. I hope that my project will lay a foundation for a laboratory that would serve as a regional hub for water treatment research.”

The highly coveted Fulbright grants are issued by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, to foster international academic exchange. Each year, about 1,200 U.S. scholars study in 155 countries.

The longer original version of this article ran in MSU Today. Dr. Vlad Tarabara and Dr. Kakha Didebulidze from the Georgian Agricultural University conducted research in Georgia.

With support from the ESPP VISTAS program, Peggy Ostrom and I were recently able to convene a workshop on campus focused on the submission of two proposals to the Chemical Oceanography program of the National Science Foundation. Attending were George Bullejahn (Bowling Green State University), Michael Twiss (Clarkson University), Anthony Chappaz (Central Michigan University), and Reinhard Laubenbacher (University of Connecticut).

Our proposals were focused on resolving the unusual and substantial rise in nitrate in the Great Lakes. This increase has been particularly poignant in the last 10 years but initiated as far back as 100 years ago in Lake Superior. This research problem requires a multidisciplinary effort and our collective team brought expertise in molecular biology, phytoplankton ecology, biogeochemistry, paleoecology, trace metal cycling and mathematical cancer biology.

The opportunity to speak directly with such a diverse range of scientists was much more efficient than trying to work via electronic media, bridged the communication gap that often exists between disciplines, and resulted in synergy both within and between our two proposals that would have been challenged to develop otherwise. I am very confident that our proposals were much stronger and better written because of the VISTAS experience. The cost of bringing scientists to campus is relatively minor but with the potential for significant returns. One of our participants was so impressed by the experience that he has contacted the administration at his home institution to initiate a similar program.

My sincerest hope is that ESPP and the University continue and, perhaps expand, the VISTAS program and I strongly encourage faculty across campus to participate.

GUEST COLUMN

VISTAS IN ACTIONBy Nathaniel E. Ostrom, Department of Zoology at Michigan State University

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The highlight of the public symposium on April 1 will be the keynote speech of Andrew Revkin, esteemed environmental journalist who writes the Dot Earth blog for the New York Times and is a Senior Fellow for Environmental Understanding at Pace University. Along with Mr. Revkin, speakers on the first day will include:

• Gary Libecap, professor of corporate environmental management at the Bren School for Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara• John Crittenden, the director of the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, Hightower Chair. He is also the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Environmental Technologies, Georgia Institute of Technology.• Claudia Pahl-Wostl is a professor of resources management and an endowed chair of the German Environmental Foundation at the Institute for Environmental Systems Research in Osnabrück, Germany. She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Resilience Center.• Susanna Moser runs her own independent research and consulting company, Susanna Moser Research and Consulting, in Santa Cruz, California. She specializes in the societal impacts of and responses to climate change and how to communicate global warming.• Sunshine Menezes is the executive director of the Metcalf Institute for Mar ine and Environmental Reporting at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography where she works to foster civic engagement and improved

public understanding of science and the environment.

The second day of the symposium will include several prominent researchers and academics to discuss their work with the public and the MSU community. The final day allows the invited guests to work directly with MSU researchers toward collaborative goals.

In addition to the live events and webcasts, the symposium will generate educational materials that will be used in classes and non-

traditional education this spring and beyond.

ESPP is proud to announce the second annual Fate of the Earth Symposium. Three days of events, starting April 1, 2015, will fall under the category of “Tipping Points, Crises and Solutions.”

FATE OF THE

EARTHThe Fate of the Earth endowment was granted to the Environmental Science and Policy Program in 2013 by the Sawyer-Koch family. The endowment provides opportunities to expand interdisiplinary environmental education, increase professional networking between environmental educators and enhance public awareness of environmental and sustainability issues.

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“Human Well-Being and the Environment”

In April 2014, the Environmental Science and Policy Program launched the first Fate of the Earth symposium that focused on the challenges and opportunities we face in enhancing human well-being while protecting the environment. This symposium brought distinguished thinkers from around the world to explore what we know, what we need to know and what we must do as we move into a century of unprecedented environmental change, technological advancement and scale of human activity.

Featured speakers were: Dennis Dimick, Marina Fischer-Kowalski, Thomas Lovejoy, Bonnie McCay, Philip RoberstsonAmanda Lynch and Michael Vandenbergh

SYMPOSIUM 2014FATE OF THE EARTH

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The second ESPP Student Research Symposium took place in October with the theme “Environmental Risk and Decision Making.” The symposium was led by a student organizing committee of Zachary Piso (Philosophy and ESPP), Rebecca Bender (Biosystems Engineering), Sarah Murray (Urban and Regional Planning) and Shannon Cruz (Communications).

This year’s symposium featured two keynote speakers: Dr. Joe Arvai and Dr. Andrew Maynard. Dr. Arvai is the Svare Chair in Applied Decision Research in the Department of Geography and the Institute of Sustainable Energy, Environment & Economy at the University of Calgary. Dr. Maynard is the NSF International Chair of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Director of the University of Michigan Risk Science Center.

STUDENTS2014-2015 NEW

ESPP welcomed 14 new students in the 2014-2015 academic year. Seven of these students were granted the prestigious ESPP Doctoral Recruiting Fellowship.

Haoyang Li, EconomicsMin Gon Chung, Fisheries and Wildlife Anthony Van Witsen, Journalism Kathryn Frens, Fisheries and WildlifeRan Duan, JournalismDylan Brewer, Economics Christina Azodi, Plant Biology

FALL STUDENT RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM INVITED STUDENTS TO EXPLORE “ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND DECISON MAKING”

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Zachary Curtis, Environmental Engineering Heather Pospisil, Sociology Matthew Flood, Fisheries and Wildlife Molly Good, Fisheries and Wildlife Betsy Riley, Fisheries and Wildlife Samuel Smidt, Geological Sciences Jakob Nalley, Zoology

Dr. Arvai’s keynote speech was titled “A researcher and a policy maker walk into a bar … An appeal for smarter risk management decisions.” It discussed the lag between research on how people make decisions and the creation of applications to improve the quality of their personal and policy choices.

Dr. Maynard’s “Thinking different about risk and innovation” keynote speech focused on the increasing need for innovation in how we think of risk as well as new ways of approaching technology innovation.

Student presenters hailed from a wide range of disciplines and from across the United States, including 18 oral presenters and 15 poster presenters. The top presenter and top two posters received cash prizes.

The Environmental Science and Policy Program Research Colloquia Series kicked off fall 2014 with a bevy of opportunities to learn and discuss the hottest topics in environmental science and policy.

The colloquia – formed out of what was previously ESPP Student Research Presentations – was expanded to include student research panel presentations as well as roundtable discussions and Distinguished Lecturers.

These events utilize ESPP’s unique network of expertise spanning MSU’s colleges to address important and timely environmental issues that cross disciplinary boundaries. It is a forum for students, researchers and visitors to engage in research discussions where an interdisciplinary perspective is critical.

The series began in September 2014 with a lively roundtable discussion on the divisive issue of protecting vs. hunting Great Lakes wolves. “Wolf Hunting in Michigan: Policy and Management Goals for Mitigating Human-Wolf Conflict” brought together MSU researchers and state and federal wildlife management experts to discuss the science behind wolf management.

Dr. Amy Glasmeier, professor of economic geography and regional planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, next presented a Distinguished Lecture entitled “Energy Needs for Our Urbanizing World: What to Expect and How to Achieve a Low Carbon Future.”

NEW SERIES

Environmental Science and Policy program (ESPP) is pleased to announce an expansion of its Distinguished Lecture Series to include events organized jointly with other units at MSU. ESPP is offering to partner with individual departments and units at MSU wherein ESPP co-sponsors a limited number of visits by distinguished scholars to deliver lectures on pressing environmental issues.

The events will need to satisfy the following three criteria: 1) the topic of the lecture appeals to broad environmental research and education community at MSU; 2) high caliber of the invited speaker; and 3) demonstrated ability of the speaker to present to broader audiences. We envision that the schedule for the invited speakers would also accommodate a possibility of another presentation – a more focused academic seminar in an appropriate academic unit. ESPP will offer $500 honorarium to each invited distinguished speaker, and another $500 as cost share to the investment by individual units and departments at MSU. There will be no deadlines for nominations. Departments are asked to submit a brief rational to espp@msu.edu that addresses the three criteria listed above.

Instituted in 2009, ESPP’s Distinguished Lecture Series seeks to engage world class researchers, policy makers and practitioners with the MSU environmental research and education community. Distinguished Lecture speakers give a public lecture on an interdisciplinary topic and interact with MSU faculty and students. The Series is designed to provide an important interface between MSU and global leaders working on cutting-edge environmental issues. An important function of the Series is to facilitate interactions among MSU researchers from diverse fields to address issues that cross disciplinary boundaries.

A second roundtable was held on the topic of Environmental Science Communication – Lessons Learned from Climate Change which brought Dr. Kevin Ells from Texas A & M University together with Kent Taylor of the Climate Reality Project and MSU professors Dr. Aaron McCright and Dr. Bruno Takahashi.

Rounding out the series were two student presenters: Riva Denny (Sociology) presented her research on “Agriculture, Conservation Policy

and the Environment” together with a panel of researchers. And finally, Li Cheng (AFRE) presented “Technology Adoption and Decision Making” with Dr. Jinhua Zhao (ESPP and Economics) and Dr. Joe Hamm (ESPP and Criminal Justice).

This spring, student presenters will include Cheng-Hua Liu (Crop and Soil Sciences) and Hongbo Yang

(Fisheries and Wildlife).

DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES

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Environmental Science and Policy Program Michigan State University293 Farm Lane, Room 274East Lansing, MI 48824

Faculty Awards

A team of ESPP researchers, led by Dr. Arika Ligmann-Zielinska (Geography and ESPP), was awarded an esteemed $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to aid research in food security in West Africa. The team includes Dr. Laura Schmitt Olabisi (Community Sustainability and ESPP) and Dr. Sandy Marquart-Pyatt (Sociology and ESPP). The four-year project is titled “Participatory Ensemble Modeling to Study the Multiscale Social and Behavioral Dynamics of Food Security in Dryland West Africa.”

Also on the team are former ESPP professor Dr. Louie Rivers III (Forestry and Environmental Resources), now with North Carolina State University, and Dr. Eric Jing Du (Architecture), University of Texas and San Antonio.This project has also received funding from ESPP in the form of an Environmental Faculty Fellows Award.

Student Awards

Ellis Adjei Adams (Geography) was awarded an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant (DDRI) for his research on “Decentralization, Institutions and Access to Potable Water in Malawi’s Peri Urban Settlements.”

Zachary Curtis (Engineering) received the Rasmussen Doctoral Recruitment Award, a fellowship program for outstanding students who have demonstrated scholarship and integrity.

Bonnie McGill (Zoology) won second place for her 10 minute oral presentations at the 2014 MSU Graduate Academic Conference and was the invited commencement speaker at her alma mater, the Marion Center, Pennsylvania Area High School. She was also the first recipient of the ESPP Outstanding Service Award for her assistance during the inaugural Fate of the Earth Symposium.

Hannah Miller (Teacher Education) received the K. Patricia Cross Scholarship from the American Association of Colleges and Universities. The scholarship rewards graduate students who show exemplary promise in higher education.

Kateri Salk (Zoology) received three recent grants including: National Science Foundation, Australian Academy of Science East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes; MSU Graduate School’s Future Academic Scholars in Teaching Fellowship, and MSU Department of Zoology’s John R. Shaver Research Fellowship.

Cameron Whitley (Sociology) was award the MSU Excellence-In-Teaching Award. Cam was one of six graduate teaching assistants who distinguished themselves by the care they have given and the skill they have shown in the classroom.

Allison Stuby (James Madison) also received the ESPP Outstanding Service Award for her work as a student assistant in the Environmental Science and Policy Program’s office. Allison has been invaluable in event planning, communications, and office organization.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ESPP STUDENTS AND FACULTY