Spring 2011

Volume 2 | Issue 1

New Mexico EPSCoR

THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH
QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

SPOTLIGHT: 3rd Annual Tri-State Meeting

Collaborations Connecting Science, Education, and Policy
Nearly 200 researchers and
educators from New Mexico,
Nevada, and Idaho gathered
for the 3rd Annual EPSCoR
Western Consortium Tri-State
Meeting at the Hyatt Tamaya
Resort Hotel and Spa, Santa
Ana, NM on April 6-8, 2011.
The theme of this year's meeting,
“Collaborations Connecting Climate
Change Science, Education, and Policy,” The final day of the 3rd Annual EPSCoR Western Consortium Tri-State Meeting, Friday, April 8, 2011

highlighted the connections that have
been developing across institutions and
disciplines throughout the consortium.
Researchers shared the outcomes of their
work, discussed implications and pos-
sible synergies between their efforts,
and clarified questions that will guide
their work into the future.
The three-day meeting began with
concurrent Working Groups focused
on Cyberinfrastructure and Diversity
efforts across the three states. Two
workshops for graduate students and
faculty were also offered: Introduction
to Climate Modeling and Hydrologic
Information Systems. The meeting
featured 15 concurrent sessions includ- nity to discuss their work with faculty
ing Climate Drivers and Landscape judges from all three states. For more
Response, Catchment Science, Climate information on the student poster com-
Change Education, and Economics of petition, please see the article on page
Water and Land Use. Presentations two of this newsletter.
used in these ses- Between all the ses-
sions as well as "Collaborations among the three sions, networking,
others and the full states was exciting to see. The talks, discussions and
momentum of three years of
agenda are avail- general collaboration,
meetings and participation
able on the brand throughout the year was evident." attendees also found
new Western Con- time to have fun. The
sortium website at westernconsortium.org. reception on Thursday night, April 7th,
One highlight of the Annual Meeting included s'mores, live music, and network-
is the student poster competition. This ing under the stars. Please see the rest of
year, over 40 students displayed their the newsletter for more highlights from
research posters and had an opportu- the 3rd Annual Tri-State Meeting.

IN THIS ISSUE:
Degrees of
Session on Math & Science
Change NM EPSCoR
Climate Day at the NM
Climate Exhibit News and
Education & State
Opening and Announcements
page3 Journalism
page4 Legislature
page5 EXPO page7
SEE ALSO: Researcher Spotlight; NSF Day; Supercomputing Challenge; Faculty Leadership
Enhancing research competitiveness is at the core of EPSCoR.
New Mexico EPSCoR invests in climate, hydrology, water quality,
cyberinfrastructure and socioeconomic research efforts.

EPSCoR Research at the Tri-State Meeting

Student Poster Competition
Forty-six students from the Western Consortium competed for a
cash prize during the Tri-State Meeing on Thursday, April 7th
On the evening of Thursday,
April 7th, Tri-State attendees
were treated to a cocktail
reception and the student
poster competition.
During conference registration,
undergraduate and graduate students
in attendance were offered a chance
to compete against their peers for a
$300 cash prize. 46 students partici-
pated in the competition, with 16 of Peng Jiang, Jiri Kadlec, and Kerry Riley display their awards with Dr, Bill Michener (Director, NM EPSCoR),
Dr. Gayle Dana (Director, Nevada EPSCoR), and Dr. Peter Goodwin (Director, Idaho NSF EPSCoR)
those students from New Mexico.
The evening began at 5:30, with deli- (research, abstract), and Oral Presentation. real-time water quality sensors to
cious sliders (min-burgers), shoestring Scores were tallied, and the winners examine whole stream metabolism;
fries, and refreshments, and attendees were announced Friday. The six winners Kerry Riley (Idaho), A 10,000-year
could mingle and network, as well as are: Jiří Kadlec (Idaho), Design of a record of fire activity and fire-related
talk to the students about the research web map application for accessing sedimentation in the Middle Fork
displayed on their posters. The stu- free hydrologic data; Carol Moore Salmon River; and Ian Leslie (Idaho),
dents had their hands full with talking (Idaho), Using 3D Visualizations for Characterizing soil pipe networks on
to the judges as well as others. The 28 Outreach; Peng Jiang (Nevada), The forested hillslopes using electric
judges were split into groups to judge impact of changes in temporal distribu- resistivity tomography. A big thank
each poster on three areas: Technical tion of precipitation; Lauren Sherson you to all participants and judges, and
(legibility, visual appeal), Content (New Mexico), Use of continuous congratulations to all the winners!

Spotlight on: Lauren Sherson

Lauren Sherson is a 2nd year New Mexico
EPSCoR graduate student in the Depart-
ment of Earth & Planetary Sciences at UNM,
and one of the winners from New Mexico
at the Tri-State Poster Session. An Albu-
querque native, Lauren double majored in
Geology and Biology at the University of
Oregon before returning to New Mexico
for her Masters Degree. Currently she is
Lauren looks at her data on the Jemez River in
the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
working under faculty members Laura
Crossey and Cliff Dahm on the "use of
continuous real-time water quality sen-
sors to investigate metabolic and nutrient
processes across the annual hydrograph."
Her focus is on interactions between sur-
face water and groundwater, and diurnal
variability under changing precipitation
in various biogeochemical parameters. In
her spare time, Lauren also enjoys soccer
and kayaking. Congrats, Lauren!
 Human Infrastructure is one of the key components of EPSCoR
Activities in communication and public outreach help New Mexico
EPSCoR foster excellence in climate change research and education

Communication Barriers:
Climate Change Journalism & Education
By: Paul Gabrielsen, M.S. Hydrology Student, New Mexico Tech
Participants at the 2011 Tri-State active game allowing eighth-graders to Fleck said that he hopes to reach
Meeting gathered for a session on explore the effects of climate change "a congressional staffer, maybe, whose
communicating climate change science on Lake Mead. The game challenges job it is to read my column every day"
to the public. Although fraught with users to conserve water at household, and advise policymakers on science.
sociocultural barriers, such communi- citywide, and watershed scales. Harris An audience member then commented
cation is possible and critical. mentioned the educational goals of the that climate change is like a "kiss of death"
Zhongwei Lui opened the session by project and turned to Ahmad, saying for politicians, to which Fleck responded,
presenting a survey of Nevada ranch- "It's funny - we're talking about teaching "That's why I'm depressed," to laugh-
ers on climate change attitudes. objectives and you're a civil engineer ter from the audience.
Ranchers may agree that the climate and I'm a computer scientist!" In an open discussion period, Ever-
is changing, while "Can you explain your John Fleck, science ett suggested a way for researchers to
disagreeing that research to a five-year-old?" writer for the Albu- evaluate their own communication.
the cause is anthro- querque Jou r nal, "Can you explain your research to a
-Eileen Everett
pogenic. 59% are presented his per- five-year-old?" she said. Paul Verburg,
willing to install insulation or drive spective on the issue. "The problem from DRI, explained his educational
fuel-efficient vehicles, while only 10% is darn near intractable," he said of com- approach. "I ask them, if you had a
would use public transportation. Liu municating climate change to a skepti- bad cough, what would you do? Go to
pointed out, though, that public trans- cal public. Once, he said, a story of his a doctor, who would give you a diag-
portation is not an option in much of mentioned climate change once, resulting nosis. Why do you trust that diagno-
rural Nevada. in readers taking issue with accuracy sis? Because that doctor studied, and
Eileen Everett, from the New Mexico of the entire article. "Maybe it's worth he's making his best guess based on
Museum of Natural History and Science, it," he said, "to leave 'climate change' the symptoms. That's what I do as a
described the museum's strategy to best out of the article once in a while." climate scientist."
communicate climate change science.
Recognizing, as described in a Yale
survey, that there are a spectrum of
attitudes toward climate change in
America, the museum designs activities
to reach certain groups. For example,
Everett said, having "climate change"
in the title of a program made an impact
on who attends. Everett's advice to
climate change researchers: "Don't talk
like a scientist!" She does her best edu-
cation, she said, in casual conversation
in the grocery store line.
Sajjad Ahmad, from UNLV, and Fred The session on communicating climate change to the public was a popular session at the 3rd Annual
Harris, from UNR, showed an inter- Tri-State Meeting. Above, attendees listen to speaker Eileen Everett's advice on communicating science.
NM EPSCoR Hosts NSF Day NM EPSCoR
National Science Foundation gave an overview attends Math &
on programs, mission, priorities, and budget
Science Day
STEM Education is the
main focus at the New
Mexico State Legislature
Math & Science Day 2011 took place
at the New Mexico State Legislature
on March 11, 2011. New Mexico EPSCoR
undergraduates Ryan Schwingle (NMT)
and Tyler Van Riper (UNM) were on
hand to talk to students from around
Project Director Bill Michener speaks about NM EPSCoR to the room of NSF Day attendees. the state about NM EPSCoR's research
orate sessions, with subjects including: on water and climate change.
New Mexico EPSCoR, in partnership
• Tribal and Community College Ryan brought his research poster and
with the National Science Foundation
Programs; a working example of a digital water
(NSF), held "NSF Day" on March 17,
• Education and Human Resources; temperature sensor, and Tyler created
2011 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in
• Social and Economic Sciences; a representation of all the water in the
Albuquerque, NM. More than 200
• Computer and Information Science; world using four different containers
people attended this one-day workshop
• Biological Sciences; representing the ocean, all rivers and
focused on the NSF, its programs, mission,
• Engineering; streams, atmospheric water, and ground-
and budget, as well as the proposal
• Geosciences; and water. He also used Skittles as an ex-
and merit review process. Attendees
• Mathematical and Physical Sciences. ample of different chemical components in
enjoyed general sessions on these topics
The full agenda can be viewed at the our water. For more information on the
through presentations from the NSF
National Science Foundation website. New Mexico Math & Science Advisory
officials, as well as concurrent direct-
Council, please visit their website.

The New Mexico STEM Database

The NM EPSCoR State Office con- well as information on public STEM
tinues to maintain the New Mexico events statewide. The STEM Database
STEM Database, a is meant to promote STEM
searchable listing of NEW MEXICO programs as well as pro-
science, technology, STEM DATABASE vide access to other STEM

engineering, and math- opportunities. Take a look

ematics (STEM) programs, opportuni- at the Database by visiting the website,
ties and events for students, teachers, www.nmstemed.org. If you have any
and members of the community. questions about the Database, please
Listings include resources at the K-12, contact Natalie Willoughby, Public NM EPSCoR undergrad Ryan Schwingle (NM
undergraduate, and graduate level as Information Rep. for NM EPSCoR. Tech) talks to young students about new
digital groundwater temperature sensors
 Education and Outreach through EPSCoR
New Mexico EPSCoR supports education and outreach activities that
contribute to New Mexico citizens’ understanding of climate science.

Supercomputing
Challenge EXPO
and Awards
The 2010-2011 Supercomputing
Challenge came to an end on April
25th-26th in Los Alamos, NM. Final
judging took place at Los Alamos
National Laboratory on Monday, April
25th. This year, ten teams were chosen
by the judges as finalists at the Expo.
For information on the finalists and
their projects, visit the Supercomputing
Challenge website.
On Tuesday, April 26th, teams in
attendance braved the snow and wind Degrees of Change: New Mexico's
to enjoy giveaways, raffles, good friends, Climate Forecast Expo on May 21st!
and of course the announcement of
By: Roxanne Witt Celeskey, Public Information Officer, NMMNHS
the First Place prize. NM EPSCoR
gave a $100 Climate Change award to Degrees of Change: New Mexico’s all about, as well as the latest predic-
Sara Shiina from Aspen Elementary Climate Forecast opens Friday, May tions for our future. What do YOU think
for her project, "Global Warming: What 20th, 2011. The exhibit is a collabora- New Mexico’s climate forecast might be?
can we do about it?" After much antic- tion between the New Mexico Museum In celebration of the opening, the
ipation, the winner of the 2010-2011 of Natural History and Science and New Degrees of Change Science Expo will
Supercomputing Challenge was Cole Mexico EPSCoR. Degrees of take place on Saturday, May
Kendrick from Los Alamos Middle Change was co-curated by 21st from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Cel-
School for his project, "Computer NMMNHS Chief Scientist, ebrate climate science, along
Simulation of Dark Matter Effects on Dr. Spencer Lucas, and UNM with guest presenters from New
Galaxy Rotation." Congratulations to Earth and Planetary Sciences Mexico EPSCoR, the Nature
all the finalists and participants! Professor, Dr. David Gutzler. Conservancy, the Sandia Moun-
With a focus on New Mexico and tain Natural History Center, and Climate
the Southwest, this exhibit will reveal Masters. The Expo will include guest
current and predicted impacts of climate presenters on climate change, climate
change on humans, landscapes, and education activities, and a lecture
ecosystems, as well as take you back starting at 3:00 p.m. by Dr. David
in time to discover the past climates of Gutzler entitled New Mexico’s Climate
New Mexico and around the world. Forecast. All activities are free with
Through hands-on exploration, paid museum admission, so bring the
computer modeling and interactives, whole family! For more information,
as well as interviews with long-time visit the New Mexico Museum of
Climate Change Award winner Sara Shiina
with Natalie Willoughby of NM EPSCoR & Shaun
New Mexico residents, you will discover Natural History's website.
Cooper from the Supercomputing Board what the science of climate change is
2011 Faculty Leadership Training
Upcoming
Events
2011
May 20 "Degrees of Change: New
Mexico's Climate Forecast" Exhibit
Opening, New Mexico Museum
of Natural History and Science,
Albuquerque, NM

May 21 (1:00-3:00 PM) "Degrees of

The attendees of the 2011 Faculty Leadership Workshop at the VCNP Science & Education Center Change" EXPO, New Mexico Museum
of Natural History and Science,
Leadership workshop for new faculty continues Albuquerque, NM

its record of success for the 3rd year in a row
The third annual NM EPSCoR Junior
Faculty Leadership workshop continued
a track record of success with partici-
pants providing enthusiastic praise for
the event. The three-day workshop,
January 4-6, 2011, was held at the
continued and expanded the highly
successful “Communicating with Media”
interactive session and included addi-
tional sessions on effective teaching
and mentoring as previous attendees
requested. One attendee stated on the
June 1 Deadline for New Mexico
EPSCoR IWG Proposals
June 10-11 BioBlitz 2011: Discover Your
Bosque, Rio Grande Nature Center,
Albuquerque, NM
July 1 Deadline for Tri-State Western
Consortium IWG Proposals

Valles Caldera National Preserve
Science and Education Center in Jemez
Springs, NM, and focused on improv-
ing the communication skills and pro-
ductivity of new faculty and advanced
evaluation survey, "This workshop is
probably the most useful program I
have attended over my career."
For more information, including
presentation materials and the agenda,
October (TBA) NM EPSCoR All Hands
Meeting, Albuquerque, NM
October 24-27 22nd Annual National
NSF EPSCoR Conference, Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho

post-doc scholars. This year’s agenda please visit our website.

Have You Seen This? The NM EPSCoR Website

New Mexico EPSCoR recently revamped the NM EPSCoR
Website! Now you can easily navigate through the site at www.
nmepscor.org using the tabs at the top of the homepage, and with
submenus to the left of each page. Everything you could ever
need to know about NM EPSCoR is contained within the top
four categories: About NM EPSCoR, Science Focus, Education
& Outreach, and For Researchers. Find the most recent news and
events at the top of the homepage, read our newsletters right in
your browser, check deadlines, and take a look at our new edu-
cational resources. Have any questions or suggestions about the
website? Let us know!
NM EPSCoR Announcements & News
Open Call for IWG Proposals Tri-State Website
Proposals are now being accepted for Innovation Working Groups. IWGs The Western Consortium Website is
support multi-day working group activities that are modeled after those held at now live! Keep up to date with research,
the highly successful NSF-funded National Center for Ecological Analysis and meetings, deadline, opportunities, events,
Synthesis (NCEAS). An IWG supports 8-12 scientists or educators to work collab- and much more with the Western Consor-
oratively on complex and challenging issues through integration and synthesis tium website. Link up to the RSS feed,
of data, information, and knowledge. At least one IWG each year will focus on or simply check the website for the most
education, communication and outreach, or diversity. recent updates relating to cyberinfra-
Deadline for NM EPSCoR IWG Proposals is June 1, 2011. Deadline for Western structure, IWGs, outreach events, and
Consortium Tri-State IWG Proposals is July 1, 2011. For proposal guidelines education. The website can be found at
and information about previous IWGs, please visit our IWG webpage. http://www.westernconsortium.org/.

Tri-State Meeting Survey

If you attended the 3rd Annual EPSCoR Western Consortium Tri-State Meeting,
you should have received an email request to fill out a brief survey about the meet-
ing. We hope you are found the Tri-State meeting professionally and personally
rewarding, and we would appreciate your time to provide your feedback on the
sessions that you have attended. If you have not done so, please take a few minutes
to complete the survey from the link provided in the email you received. Your
responses will be kept confidential and used to help assess, evaluate and improve
the program. If you have questions about the survey, or did not receive the request,
please email Kirk Minnick at kminnick@evalteam.com.

National EPSCoR Conference

The 22nd Annual National NSF EPSCoR Conference will be held in Idaho at
The Coeur d'Alene from October 24-27, 2011. The conference will focus on the
following themes: Energy, Water and Environment, and Workforce Development,
Cyberinfrastructure will play an important role throughout the entire meeting,
due to the importance NSF places on CI's role in STEM education, research, and
community building. For more information on the 22nd Annual National EPSCoR
Conference, visit the Idaho EPSCoR website.

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Contribute to our Newsletter!

If you have an article, publication or story you would like to share with the EPSCoR Community, please
email Natalie Willoughby, Public Information Representative, at nwilloughby@epscor.unm.edu.
University of New Mexico
MSC04 2815
1312 Basehart Dr. SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106

New Mexico EPSCoR Contact Information

New Mexico EPSCoR State Office Dr. William Michener
University of New Mexico Project Director
MSC04 2815 (505) 814-7601
1312 Basehart Dr. SE wmichene@unm.edu
Albuquerque, NM 87106
phone: 505-814-7500 Dr. Mary Jo Daniel
fax: 505-246-6007 Associate Director
(505) 814-7010
mjdaniel@unm.edu
www.nmepscor.org
Natalie Willoughby
If you would like a printed copy of this newsletter, Public Information & Outreach Rep
please email Natalie Willoughby with your name,
(505) 814-7500 x. 8111
affiliation and mailing address, and we will be
happy to send one your way. nwilloughby@epscor.unm.edu

New Mexico EPSCoR is funded by the National Science Foundation. Our mission: “To provide the critical gap infrastructure, computational support, and edu-
cation and outreach opportunities that foster excellence in climate change research and education.” For more information, please visit www.nmepscor.org.
This material is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Coop. Agreement EPS- 0814449. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.