What Drives Us. Wednesday, March 21, :00-5:30 p.m. Location: ILC (Integrated Learning Center) S240 Open to all

Transcription

1 2 nd Annual SES Lightning Talks Series What Drives Us Wednesday, March 21, :00-5:30 p.m. Location: ILC (Integrated Learning Center) S240 Open to all The final lecture in our SES Lightning Talks series of the year features a variety of faculty, who study systems that drive us. Faculty will take us on a tour of their research in a speedy format of 7-minute presentations. In a short hour and a half, you will learn about the interconnections between communities, clean energy, transportation, sustainable farming practices, urban food systems, microbes, and much more! Moderated by Anita Milman, Department of Environmental Conservation F E A T U R I N G Dr. Alison Bates, Department of Environmental Conservation Renewable Energy Development: Perceptions, Tradeoffs, and Resilience in Coastal Communities Dr. Alison Bates is the Graduate Program Director of the Master of Sustainability Science program, and is also a lecturer in Renewable Energy, Sustainability, and Climate Change Policy. Dr. Bates is a faculty research affiliate with the UMass Offshore Wind IGERT program and serves on the Board of the UMass Wind Energy Center. She has worked on energy policy with U.S. Senator Coons to

2 incentivize renewable energy infrastructure along the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. Dr. Bates earned her Ph.D. in Marine Policy at the University of Delaware, with the Center for Carbon-free Power Integration. Prior to her academic appointments, she spent nearly a decade working in forest management, developing community conservation projects with the Southern California Mountains Foundation. Website: eco.umass.edu/people/faculty/bates-alison/ Dr. Dwayne Breger, Department of Environmental Conservation; Director of Clean Energy Extension Clean Energy Extension: Driving to a Clean Energy Economy in Massachusetts Dr. Dwayne Breger is an Extension Professor in Environmental Conservation and Director of the Clean Energy Extension at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Clean Energy Extension supports state goals to accelerate clean energy markets in Massachusetts through market outreach, technical assistance, and applied research. Prior to coming to UMass in 2015, Dwayne spent 13 years as the Director of Renewable Energy for the MA Department of Energy Resources. Before that, Dwayne taught engineering economics and policy at Lafayette College, was AAAS/U.S. EPA Environmental Science and Engineering Fellow, and was a U.S. participant in the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Program. Dwayne holds a B.S. in Engineering from Swarthmore College, an M.S. in Technology and Policy from M.I.T., and a Ph.D. in Resource Economics from UMass Amherst. Website: Amanda Brown, Stockbridge School of Agriculture Fostering Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development and Well Being In the Classroom Amanda Brown, M.Ed., is a member of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Early in her professional career, she focused on sustainable farming practices for vegetable and specialty crops as a researcher and educator with UMass Extension's Agriculture & Landscape Program. During that time, she co-founded the UMass Student Farming Enterprise. For the last few years, Amanda has focused solely on the Student Farming Enterprise and has developed a year-long educational experience for students which touches on all aspects of managing a small farm. The success of this program was recently recognized with a fifth-in-the-us ranking among most sustainable college-run farms. Amanda received her academic degrees from the University of Massachusetts including an AS in Horticulture, BS in Plant Soil and Insect Science, and a Master s degree in Education. In addition to teaching and farming, she has published several scientific articles related to sustainable agriculture technologies

3 and presented her work to many growers, industry professionals, and colleagues. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys cooking and preserving the harvest at her home in New Salem where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and family dog Joni. Website: stockbridge.cns.umass.edu/student-farm Dr. Dan Cooley, Stockbridge School of Agriculture Apples and Weather Growing Food in a Changing Climate Dr. Dan Cooley s research and Extension program focuses on using integrated pest management to more efficiently and effectively manage diseases of fruit, particularly apples. The goal is to enhance the sustainability of apple production by minimizing or eliminating use of toxic fungicides. This is accomplished by understanding the biology and ecology of important pathogens and using environmentally driven risk forecast models to guide fungicide applications. In addition, his work emphasizes the use of non-chemical alternatives to reduce disease pressure. He also works with colleagues at other institutions to develop and deliver web-based decision support tools to growers, including most recently apps for mobile devices. In addition, he has worked with a private non-profit to develop an advanced IPM production system for apples that markets fruit under the Eco Apple label. He has recently been investigating disease forecast model failures caused by changes in weather patterns in the Northeastern US. Website: stockbridge.cns.umass.edu/daniel-cooley Dr. Kristen DeAngelis, Department of Microbiology Soil Microbial Ecology and Evolution in the Anthropocene Dr. Kristen DeAngelis obtained her BA from Harvard University in biology, and worked a number of jobs (as a research assistant to a science journalist, as a library worker, as a hospital lab tech, as an academic lab tech, barista, ice-cream slinger, and more) before settling firmly in academic research. She got her PhD in Microbiology at UC Berkeley, followed by three postdocs at UC Berkeley, at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and at the Joint BioEnergy Institute, before coming to UMass in Website:

4 Wayne Feiden, Department of Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning; Director of Planning and Sustainability, City of Northampton Integrating Sustainability and Planning in Local Governments Wayne Feiden, FAICP, is Lecturer of Practice in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, teaching planning and sustainability practice. Wayne is also Director of Planning and Sustainability for the City of Northampton. His focus includes sustainability, resiliency, downtown revitalization, open space preservation, alternative transportation, and health impacts of planning. He led Northampton to earn the nation s first 5-STAR Communities award for municipal sustainability. He has authored 13 research publications, including American Planning Association PAS Reports on Local Agency Planning Management and Assessing Sustainability. Wayne s Bellagio Residency (Italy), State Department Professional Fellowship Exchange (Malaysia), German Marshall Fund fellowship (United Kingdom and Denmark), Fulbright Specialist fellowships (South Africa and New Zealand), Eisenhower Fellowship (Hungary) all focused on urban revitalization and sustainability. He has served on 32 multidisciplinary teams to other communities, including through the Design and Resiliency Team program he created. Website: Dr. Justin Richardson, Department of Geosciences Metals as Geochemical Tools: Thinking Beyond Friends and Foes Dr. Justin Richardson is a soil biogeochemist. Soil is his medium and observing how metals move in and out of soils is his area of study. Justin started his career in semi-arid lands at University of California, Riverside but transitioned to forested environments at Dartmouth College for his PhD. To continue integrating across scientific disciplines, he was the Critical Zone Observatory National Office Postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University. Justin's second interest is broadcasting science to diverse groups of students. He was awarded Dartmouth College's Graduate Student Teaching Award for exemplary instruction of undergraduates. In addition, he participated in the National Science Foundation's Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity, where he developed a project with educational psychologists and other social scientists to identify ways to make geoscience more inclusive. Website: soilbiogeochemist.com

5 Dr. Qian Yu, Department of Geosciences Characterization of Dissolved Organic Matter from Ecosystem to Coast Dr. Qian Yu is an environmental geographer interested in using remote sensing, GIS and spatial modeling to study environmental system. Her current research focuses on assessing riverine carbon export at land-water interface using satellite and in situ remote sensing. Her research group have developed new analytical spectral algorithms to retrieve water biogeochemistry properties. She had received Early Career Best Paper Award of AAG Remote Sensing Specialty Group in She teaches introductory and advanced remote sensing, GIS and Spatial Statistics. Qian received her Ph.D in Environmental Science at UC Berkeley, MS in GIS and BS in Geography at Nanjing university in China. Website: