Weekly Newsletter

March 23, 2021

Dear colleagues-

Spring is finally here, as is our biggest event of the year! The Environmental Justice Symposium, which will include performances, films, student research posters and an undergraduate session, starts on Thursday at noon, with the film Sembradoras de Vida (Mothers of the Land) beginning at 6. Many of your colleagues will be presenting, and we’d love to have your students attend and take part in this unique event that will bring together scholars from around the state. We are also excited to take part in the Spring 2021 Ecological Science and Engineering student-led symposium March 30-31. Our last lecture of the semester will take place on April 5th with the hosting of Dr. Diana Wall at 1:30 pm.

Research shout outs this week to affiliates Darrell Schulze (AGRO), Cliff Johnston (AGRO & EAPS), and Nicole Kong (Libraries) for their COVID-19 related work on “Virtualizing Soil Science Field Trips.” As a reminder, we do have a special page to highlight COVID-19 related work by all affiliates, so we encourage you to let us know about recent achievements in this area, as well as, in general, new awards, publications and achievements. Also, congrats to Tara Grillos (POLI SCI) who recently co-authored a publication on how decision processes influence acceptance of market policy.

Please also encourage your students to check out the second issue for the semester of Earth Today, our undergraduate newsletter, that highlights offerings in the School of Health and Human Sciences.

Upcoming Center Events

2021 Environmental Justice Symposium

Thursday & Friday

The 2021 Environmental Justice Symposium is taking place this week!

The Symposium will be composed of four panels organized around the following themes:

Dimensions of Environmental Justice and the Midwest
Pollutants, Toxins, Health and Justice
Gender, Inclusion, and Justice
Conflict, Disaster, and Climate Change

There will also be working group sessions on Friday afternoon focused on these four areas as well as the New Carbon Economy. Read more about the Symposium in this Purdue Today article.

Registration is required to attend the Conference - register by clicking here.

Global Soil Biodiversity: Establishing Common Ground For Sustainability
Featuring Dr. Diana Wall, Colorado State University

April 5, 2021 | 1:30 - 2:30 PM

Soil biodiversity, estimated at 25% of all known species on earth, is crucial for life aboveground. There is growing scientific evidence indicating that soil biodiversity and the ecosystem functions and services they provide can optimize the successful implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In this talk, Dr. Diana Wall will discuss the state of knowledge on the emerging field of soil biodiversity science and implications for sustainability under current and future environmental change. More information here.

Click here to register for this seminar.

Other Purdue Upcoming Events

Urban Transformations Seminar Series

Wednesday March 24 | 12:00 PM

Center affiliates and Civil Engineering professors Suresh Rao and Satish Ukkusuri have organized a virtual lecture series on the effects of rapid urbanization titled "Urban Transformations and Regional Resilience”.

The Series' next installment will feature Dr. Susan Cutter, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of South Carolina and director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute and the IRDR Center of Excellence on Vulnerability and Resilience Metrics, speaking on Urban Risks and Resilience.

Register here to attend.

Webinar: Data in Produce Safety

Thursday March 25 | 12:30 PM

As part of Purdue Ag's Spring Webinar Series on Data-Driven Agriculture, join Purdue C4E affiliate Amanda Deering (Food Sci) and Jennifer Crandall, CEO of Safe Food En Route, LLC, as they discuss the many data-driven aspects of produce safety.

Register here to attend.

Other Event of Interest: Sustainability Solutions Webinar

Monday March 29 | 1:15 PM

Join the Robert and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Services webinar series in exploring the evolution of the organic food movement with two leaders in the movement.

"From Farmers' Market to Market Share: How the Organic Movement has Evolved" is presented by Arizona State University.

Register here to attend.

Issue 5 of Earth Today, our monthly environmental newsletter for Purdue undergraduates, is out now. This month features a glance at the newly introduced Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences (OEHS) undergraduate program in the College of Health Science, undergrad research opportunities, and some upcoming events open to students.

Faculty are encouraged to forward the link to their students.

Affiliate News & Publications

Virtualizing soil science field trips
Natural Sciences Education | March 2021

Center affiliates Darrell Schulze (AGRO), Cliff Johnston (AGRO, EAPS), and Nicole Kong (Libraries) recently co-authored an article that has been accepted for publication on their efforts to move in-person field trips to virtual or hybrid-virtual experiences, due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Read the abstract here.

Water scarcity & procedural justice in Honduras: Community-based management meets market-based policy
World Development | June 2021

Center affiliate Tara Grillos (POL SCI) recently co-authored a publication on how decision processes influence acceptance of market policy in Honduras' community-based water management committees. The paper is available to read here in its entirety.

Student Research & Internship Opportunities

Both DURI and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant have announced several opportunities for student research and internships during the summer of 2021. More information on these opportunities can be found here.

As a reminder, we are also able to promote any research or summer job opportunities that Center-affiliated faculty may have available for students. If you have an opportunity to promote, please let us know.

Funding Opportunities

COVID-19 Funding Opportunities – This list is updated frequently.

Open Discussion on EPA Funding on Environmental Justice
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working to improve the environment and public health conditions of low-income communities and communities of color through the advancement of racial equity and environmental justice. The Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) Program provides funding directly to eligible applicants for projects that help residents of underserved communities understand and address local environmental and public health issues. For this event, Lynne Dahmen, Managing Director of Purdue’s Center for the Environment, will host a discussion of this funding opportunity with interested participants. All are welcome. Click here to register.

NSF Education Programs in Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences
AGS Education supports efforts to integrate atmospheric and geospacer research and education via two main program areas, which are: 1) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site Program; and 2) AGS Postdoctoral Fellowships. Additionally this program will support efforts related to education of undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs within the Atmospheric and Geospace communities, as well as diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts for the Atmospheric and Geospace communities. Proposals to the AGS Education program are accepted by invitation only. Please contact the education program director if you intend to submit a proposal to this program. Deadline: On-going

NSF Dear Colleague Letter: Tool Development for Cell Biology (Tools4Cells)
The purpose of this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) is to encourage submission of proposals to develop novel tools and methods that improve scientists' abilities to manipulate, control, analyze, or measure critical aspects of cells and their functions in order to open new areas of study in cell biology. Proposals for new tools or methods developments in cell biology can include, but are not limited to the general areas of bioinformatics, instrumentation, or laboratory or field-based research methods. Deadline: On-going

NIH Transition to Independent Environmental Health Research (TIEHR) Career Award (K01)
This is a 3-year bridge scholar development program for newly independent faculty who intend to pursue research careers in environmental health sciences. At the conclusion of the career development period the candidates are expected to demonstrate they can successfully compete for research funding in the environmental health sciences. Deadline: June 12

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