Spring 2010 Newsletter

Spring 2010

Message from the Director During the past decade, cyberinfrastructure (frequently referred to as “CI”) has been the fastest growing component of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and now surpasses other fashionable research areas such as nano-technology. This is not science fiction of the future but is the essential infrastructure for the knowledge economy that is vital to the educational quality and economic development of Idaho. In an open letter to the scientific community on March 1, the NSF Office of Cyberinfrastructure stated:

been possible otherwise. The challenge of CI is to integrate relevant and often disparate resources to provide a useful, usable, and enabling framework for research and discovery. CI is characterized by broad access and “end-to-end” coordination.

Example components of CI include unique shared experimental facilities, networks of sensor devices, tele-participation and tele-operation tools, data/metadata storage and curation, computational models, data mining tools, and high speed computer networks.

Simulation supported by high-performance computing infrastructures has become the third pillar of science complementary to experimentation and modeling.

Major challenges of the 21st century such as climate change, energy, water, environment, or natural disasters can be addressed by high performance numerical and symbolic simulations that are both data and computer intensive.

Why should Idaho be concerned with CI? First, there will be severe consequences to Idaho’s ability to compete in the knowledge economy if we fall behind in this cyber-revolution.

Failure to invest in CI will limit Idaho researchers’ ability to lead in many of the upcoming major scientific initiatives, and we will be relegated to minor single-investigator roles. The groups able to access and contribute to national scientific networks will dominate. Fortunately the vital role of CI is recognized in Idaho from the Governor’s office (the Idaho Education Network), to the Idaho Regional Optical Network (IRON), to state agencies and our universities. The Idaho National Laboratory is also playing a major role in supporting the planning and implementation of a competitive CI framework.

CI is much more than just high-speed computing. One definition is that CI is the coordinated collection of software, hardware and other information technologies, as well as human expertise, required to support current and future discoveries in science and engineering that would not have

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Why Cyberinfrastructure?

If we gather enough information, we ought to be able to understand complex issues such as climate change—right?

Not if that information is collected and stored using so many incompatible methods that it is nearly impossible to synthesize and analyze. Two Idaho EPSCoR-supported projects offer a remedy. The Interactive Numeric & Spatial Information Data Engine (INSIDE Idaho) and the Hydrologic Information System (HIS) each coordinate data sharing and access to a vast amount of geospatial and hydrologic data that are fundamental as Idaho expands its research capacity.

INSIDE Idaho, operated through the University of Idaho, is a web-based system that organizes geospatial data, remotelysensed data, and other spatial information about Idaho and makes it usable for researchers and the general public. INSIDE Idaho began in 1999, and by 2002 it was recognized by the

www.insideidaho.org

Idaho Geospatial Committee (IGC) as the state’s official clearinghouse for computerized geographic information.

Idaho EPSCoR has invested funds for the hardware, software, and information technology experts necessary to upgrade continued on page 2

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Message from the Director, continued from page 1 Most importantly, the opportunities afforded by CI are extensive. It facilitates the emergence of nationally recognized programs like the national fire research network, FRAMES, based at the University of Idaho with FRAMES director Greg Gollberg. It has allowed researchers such as Dan Ames at Idaho State University to develop a nationally recognized research group building open source software for water resources (his web page averages 60,000+ downloads per month). In Boise, it has allowed Jim McNamara (Boise State University), Tim Link (University of Idaho) and Danny Marks (USDA Agricultural Research Service) to successfully compete for a NSF Hydrological Observatory Testbed project. It connects collaborators such as Ralph Budwig at the Center for Ecohydraulics Research Mountain Stream Laboratory at the Idaho Water Center and Arturo Leon at Boise State University through a fiber optic connection made possible by EPSCoR – and beyond to their collaborators around the world.

In addition, INSIDE Idaho is a highly regarded CI model for managing massive quantities of Light Detection and Ranging radar (LiDAR) survey information.

This is just a very short list of how CI benefits the university community, but the greatest benefits may well be to business and K-12 education. Not only can we compete nationally, but we also can better access our full intellectual capacity in the state. With CI, geographically isolated areas can be engaged – whether it is a class in Elk City, Idaho, accessing cutting edge curricula materials and participating in real-time international educational programs, or a CEO in Boise allowing her key development group to operate out of Salmon, Idaho, because it is a very attractive place to live. NSF EPSCoR will contribute to the growth of CI through the competitive grant process, but the visionary commitment of the state and federal agencies, Idaho National Laboratory, and universities is to be commended during these difficult financial times. Such vision will increase the future research and economic competitiveness of Idaho.

structure data from federal, state, local, and tribal partners across the state and then to standardize the data and produce regional and state-wide road and structure maps. This extract, transform, load (ETL) process is one that is being explored for maintaining some map layers that are likely relevant to many different research topics.

The renovated INSIDE Idaho website will be launched this spring, 2010: find it at www.insideidaho.org. “The site provides access to geospatial data in perpetuity,” said Bruce Godfrey, GIS Specialist for the University of Idaho Library. Godfrey knows firsthand that placing data online makes it immensely more accessible to the larger scientific community than relying on print-and-paper methods. He published GIS data from his master’s thesis on the web in 2000 and still receives emails from people all over the country—from textbook-makers to oceanographers—who would like to use the GIS data and maps.

More than just access, however, the new INSIDE Idaho website, following the newest international metadata standards, will offer users different ways to work with data. Rather than having to download massive amounts of information, users will have the option to visualize and work with data within the web browser, manipulating maps, zooming in and out, and using other functions that otherwise would require them to purchase complex programs.

Ed Flathers, web developer assisting with the EPSCoR project, along with web designer Jennifer Hinds, are managing this transformation from a static to an interactive website. Godfrey and Flathers work under the supervision of Gail Eckwright, professor at the University of Idaho Library. Paul Gessler, academic faculty in Forest Resources at the University of Idaho and EPSCoR cyberinfrastructure (CI) working group lead, has been working to coordinate the upgrade of INSIDE with the needs of the EPSCoR-funded scientists.

Sincerely, Peter Goodwin, Project Director

Why Cyberinfrastructure?, continued from page 1 INSIDE Idaho. Researchers upload datasets and, in turn, access to the database will support research both for EPSCoR scientists as well as for federal and state agencies and various local and tribal agencies. EPSCoR researchers working under the Water Resources in a Changing Climate grant can use the organized data to feed into computer programs that model environmental changes. As another example, INSIDE has a program that runs each weekend to gather road and

The CUAHSI HIS is comprised of a distributed network of standardized HIS servers that share data using a common protocol. Data are cataloged at HIS Central and are searchable through client tools, including HydroDesktop.

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Compiling and organizing geospatial information is challenging enough, but researchers may have an even more daunting task managing an ocean of water measurement data. Tens of thousands of new data sets are produced every day throughout the United States, some from one-time “grab samples” of things like stream flow, pollutants, and pH levels, others from instruments placed more permanently on site that monitor water levels and water conditions continuously. In Idaho, for example, this happens in places such as the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed near Boise and the Taylor Ranch research station in the Salmon River Basin. Add to this the fact that it is not only academic scientists collecting information but also a host of different government agencies, each with different methods for organizing and storing the information.

The result is whirlpools of data points which are very difficult to aggregate into forms that help answer basic questions such as, how much water does Idaho have?

The Consortium of Universities for Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI), an organization representing more than one hundred United States universities – including Idaho State University, Boise State University and the University of Idaho was formed in the last several years to address this and other problems and to advance hydrologic science and education.

They have created standardized ways to facilitate the sharing of data through the Hydrologic Information System (HIS), a geographically distributed network of hydrologic data sources and functions that are integrated using web services (services that facilitate the exchange of data between computers).

Idaho NSF EPSCoR’s specific contribution to the national HIS effort has been to support creation of HydroDesktop (http:// hydrodesktop.org/), open-source software that enhances access to more and better hydrologic data using WaterML, an XML language for communicating water data, and WaterOneFlow, a set of web services based on WaterML. Prior EPSCoR funding helped Dan Ames, associate professor in the Dan Ames is a member of the department of Geosciences at Idaho EPSCoR CI Working Idaho State University, develop Group and is the lead creator of his MapWindow application MapWindow. that serves as the GIS platform for HydroDesktop. Ames serves on the CI Working Group for Idaho EPSCoR and plays a major role in HIS training and development within the Tri-State Consortium of Idaho, Nevada, and New Mexico as well as nationally and internationally.

Soon, Idaho researchers will be able to combine use of INSIDE Idaho and HIS. “Scientists will be able to link data from the two systems to create virtual watersheds,” explained Ames.

Virtual watersheds will ingest both water and land data into one environment to allow for better visualization, analysis, and modeling.

The People of Idaho EPSCoR Arturo Leon Arturo Leon earned his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2007, and from 2007-2009 he worked as a post-doctoral researcher in the same university. Leon started at Boise State University in September of 2009 where he is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, a position created as a result of the NSF EPSCoR grant. One of his areas of expertise is hydraulic transients, involving the interaction between water and air when, for example, large rainfall inflows enter a storm-water or combined sewage system. The resulting pressures of such interactions can cause severe damage and may drastically reduce the flow conveyance in the system.

As part of the Water Resources in a Changing Climate EPSCoR grant, Dr. Leon and his research group have developed the River Simulation and Optimization Coupled Model (RSOCM) that currently is being applied to the Snake River system.

The capabilities of the RSOCM model include maximizing water allocation for different uses, minimizing flooding by constraining the maximum water elevation in river reaches, and sustaining ecosystem function. The RSOCM model couples a clever hydraulic routing technique with a state-of-the-art genetic algorithm. The model is highly numerically efficient which makes its applications suitable to actual river systems in real-time conditions. It is anticipated that this model will improve the operation of the Snake River system and other rivers as well. By using radar and telemetric information, automated gates, and weather predictions, the RSOCM model could automatically adjust gates in dams or intakes, for instance, to minimize flooding. The RSOCM model also will be applied for different climate change and water availability scenarios.

Nancy Glenn Nancy Glenn is a research associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at Idaho State University.

Her research program is located in Boise.

Glenn came to ISU in 2000 after earning her Ph.D. in geo-engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno. As a specialist in remote sensing, Glenn develops Light Detection and Ranging radar (LiDAR) algorithms which help other scientists and collaborators in the Idaho EPSCoR’s Water Resources in a Changing Climate grant accurately measure vegetation, soil, and earth surface processes. She is a member of the Idaho EPSCoR CI Working Group, and also a lead researcher for the NSF EPSCoR Track 2 grant Cyberinfrastructure Development for the Western Consortium of Idaho, Nevada, and New Mexico. continued on page 4

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People, continued from page 3

Scott Lowe Before joining Boise State University’s Department of Economics in 2006, Scott Lowe received his Ph.D. that same year from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with specialties in environmental economics—a subfield of resource economics—as well as applied microeconomics and urban economics.

His current research includes looking at the adaptability of major water infrastructure, such as dams, during periods of climate anomalies. Dr. Lowe is collaborating with other Idaho economists on research proposals to examine how climate change conditions, such as drought, might affect agriculture and other industries in Idaho.

Alistair Smith Alistair Smith is assistant professor of forest measurements and co-director of the Forest and Rangeland Measurements Laboratory in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Idaho.

He earned his Ph.D. in remote sensing at University of London in 2004. He specializes in modern mensuration methods, including forest inventory with LiDAR and his research interests include fire science, emissions, and air quality. As part of the Water Resources in a Changing Climate grant, Smith is looking at, among other things, the relationship between vegetation structure and snow processes.

Outreach and Education Helping Orient Indian Students and Teachers The pursuit of a more diverse faculty, staff, and student population is essential for the success of Idaho’s scientific and technical well-being, and this requires a concerted effort to approach increased diversity in a systemic manner statewide.

Part of this effort is Helping Orient Indian Students and Teachers (HOIST) to Science and Mathematics, an educational program partially supported by Idaho EPSCoR to encourage Native American youth to complete high school and to pursue science and technology related post-secondary studies. This 5-week summer program allows high school students to work directly with research lab staff and faculty and to take college preparatory math and English courses.

Ethan White Temple’s experience of the University of Idaho was limited to attending football games before he participated in HOIST last summer. White Temple, a Nez Perce and Standing Rock Sioux tribal member, worked with Barrie Robison, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, examining the effects of selenium on zebra fish. White Temple also assisted in experiments that simulated the sort of alarm cues that would alert a school of fish to the presence of a predator in order to study the reaction process. “We don’t get to do science like that in high school, we mostly just read books and answer questions,” said White Temple. He will enter the University of Idaho fall of 2010 as a freshman. As a recipient of a new Idaho EPSCoR Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) award, he will work with Robert Heinse, research professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences, on a project to characterize soil moisture dynamics with time-variable soil hydraulic properties. The research

New Faculty Idaho is fortunate to already have filled important new faculty positions within the first two years of the RII award. These positions are initially funded by EPSCoR and then sustained by the universities for lasting benefits to Idaho’s research capacity.

Welcome to All New Faculty: John Abatzoglou, Department of Geography, University of Idaho Kelly Cobourn, Department of Economics, Boise State University

HOIST students in the lab with Professor Christine Moffitt.

Tim Frazier, Department of Geography, University of Idaho

involves a multi-scale measurement approach to predict water availability and quality for future generations.

Arturo Leon, Department of Civil Engineering, Boise State University

Steven Martin, director of the University of Idaho’s Native Student Center, assigns HOIST students based on their academic interests, and fish studies are usually popular. Indeed, studying fish is a “natural avenue because so many Native students’ lives [in Idaho] connect with fish in one way or another,” said Christine Moffitt, professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Moffitt has worked with HOIST students

Jae Ryu, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, University of Idaho-Boise

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for years and finds that they respond well to hands-on learning, interacting with aquatic species in the lab. HOIST participants work with Moffitt’s graduate students learning fish physiology and then Moffitt introduces them to issues concerning invasive aquatic species in Idaho—pathogens, invertebrates, and fish from other regions that affect the functioning of the aquatic system. One of Moffitt’s HOIST students, Kristina Attao, took the initiative to build bug boxes (boxes with magnification lids) for the invasive New Zealand mud snails the group was studying. “I’ve seen many students exhibit amazing leadership skills by the end of the five weeks they are here,” Moffitt said.

In this case, Moffitt was also delighted to realize that Kristina was the daughter of Kris Attao, one of Moffitt’s HOIST students from years ago.

Upon completion of the program, HOIST students receive a stipend. In 2008, 10 students participated and in 2009 that number increased to 15. Martin hopes to see 20 students in HOIST in the summer of 2010, made possible, in part, as a result of EPSCoR support. To this end, Martin and other staff visit Native schools and reservations throughout Idaho and neighboring states to recruit students. Recent recruitment trips have included Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Washington, and the Nixyaawii Community School in Umatilla, Oregon.

Initially, most HOIST participants were members of the Nez Perce and Coeur d’Alene tribes, but HOIST aims to include as many tribes as possible in coming years. HOIST provides a great opportunity to show students the research and education opportunities that Idaho has to offer them.

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Kija Hanson will study “Estimating the Possible Environmental Costs of Carbon Capture and Storage” under the direction of Sian Mooney, Economics, Boise State University

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Samantha Hobdey will study “Climate Variability and Water Infrastructure: Historical Experience in the Western United States” with Scott Lowe & Zeynep Hansen, Economics, Boise State University

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Adrianna Hummer will study “The Impact of Climate Change on Soil Carbon Stores in Rangelands” with Shawn Benner, Geosciences, Boise State University

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Eric Johnson will study “Potential Interspecific Hybridization in an Idaho Endemic Plant, Christ’s Paintbrush” with Jim Smith, Biological Sciences, Boise State University

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Steven Lalor will study “Chronic Ecosystem Stress Project” with Kevin Feris, Biological Sciences, Boise State University

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Amber Lankford will study “The Effects of Fire Severity and Watershed Characteristics on Cavity Nesting Dynamics in Riparian Habitats” with Kerri Vierling, Fish and Wildlife Resources, University of Idaho

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Lloyd Lowe will study “Carrier Transport in Multilayer High Dielectric Constant Nanometer Scale Materials” with Bill Knowlton, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Boise State University

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Craig Marley will study “Climate Variability and Water Infrastructure: Historical Experience in the Western United States” with Scott Lowe & Zeynep Hansen, Economics, Boise State University

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Jaime Orr will study “The Impact of Climate Change and Fire on Sediment Transport and Aquatic Habitat in the South Fork Salmon River Basin” with Elowyn Yager, Civil Engineering, University of Idaho-Boise

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Trina Patel will study “Relationships Among Mate Quality, Incubation, and Reproductive Success in American Kestrels” with Julie Heath, Biological Sciences, Boise State University

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Michelle Perez will study “Effect of Alterations in Watering Frequency on the Length of Metabolic Active Periods in Biological Soil Crust Organisms” with Marcelo Serpe, Biological Sciences, Boise State University

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Kevin Ramus will study “Factors that Influence and Regulate the Population Ecology of Chinook Salmon in the Middle Fork Salmon River Basin” with Brian Kennedy, Fish and Wildlife Resources, University of Idaho

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Emily Romero will study ”Remote Sensing Image-Based Models of Juniper Encroachment into Productive Rangelands” with Nancy Glenn, Geosciences, Idaho State University-Boise

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Will Schrader will study “Physiology and Energetics of Iteroparity for Steelhead Trout in an Altered Snake River Ecosystem” with Christine Moffitt, Fish and Wildlife Resources, University of Idaho

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Chris Tate will study “A GIS Analysis of Climate Change Enhanced Storm Surge Inundation to Predict the Contemporary & Future Vulnerability of Florida Power & Light Substations in Sarasota County Florida” with Tim Frazier, Geography and Bioregional Planning, University of Idaho

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Angelo Teton will study “Soil-Plant-Water Interactions as They are Affected by Climate Change in South Eastern Idaho” with Matt Germino, Biological Sciences, Idaho State University

Research Experiences for Undergraduates Funding provided by the NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) program in Idaho allows students to explore their interests alongside of nationally recognized university professors and their research teams, most in areas related to Water Resources in a Changing Climate. Such hands-on experiences have helped many Idaho students choose a major and have put them on track to become future engineers and scientists. This investment of time and resources to experience research at an early stage of a student’s academic life encourages the integration of research and education and also can encourage students to remain active in research for years to come. These EPSCoR-funded research opportunities are conducted at University of Idaho, Boise State University, and Idaho State University.

Look for more stories about these students in future Idaho EPSCoR newsletters. Congratulations to all of these outstanding students and REU recipients: •

Emma Andrews will study “Long Term History of Climate and Hydrologic Change from Analysis of Lake Sediment Cores” with Bruce Finney, Biological Sciences, Idaho State University

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Esther Contreras will study “Soil Hydraulic Property Studies in the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed” with Molly Gribb, Civil Engineering, Boise State University

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Kristina Gehlken will study “Rapid Assessment of Sagebrush Nutritional Quality” with Jennifer Forby, Biological Sciences, Boise State University

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Research Experiences, continued from page 5 •

Blair Vanderlugt will study “The Impact of Climate Change on Entrepreneurial Activities” with Scott Lowe & Samia Islam, Economics, Boise State University, and Blair Vanderlugt will also study “The Impacts of Climate Change on Economic Development and Land Use Change within Idaho” with Scott Lowe & Kelly Cobourn, Economics, Boise State University

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Ethan White Temple will study “Characterizing Soil Moisture Dynamics with Time-Variable Soil Hydraulic Properties: A MultiScale Measurement Approach to Predict Water Availability and Quality for Future Generations” with Robert Heinse, PSES, University of Idaho

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Ashley Zumwalt & Hadi Mirsadeghi will study “Engaging Undergraduate Students in the Operation and Management of Regulated River Systems” with Arturo Leon, Civil Engineering, Boise State University

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Esther Contreras & Hadi Mirsadeghi will study “Engaging Undergraduate Students in the Operation and Management of Regulated River Systems” with Arturo Leon, Civil Engineering, Boise State University

Results from Prior Support NSF Grant for Fish Health Evaluation The Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station has been awarded a $599,996 NSF Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) grant: “Transforming Environmental and Physiological Assessments Using Fish Erythrocyte Gene Expression to Measure Responses.” Following-up on previous NSF EPSCoRfunded research, the grant will fund the development of a more sensitive and accurate technique for evaluating fish health and physiology, using the erythrocyte assay system for fish (EASY-F). Evaluation will rely on direct collaboration with tribal stakeholders and has the potential to influence management of fish populations affected by disease or other environmental stressors, populations under restoration, and captive populations being enhanced to increase productivity.

Principal Investigator, Hagerman lab director Ron Hardy, will work with Co-PIs Ken Rodnick, professor of physiology at Idaho State University and John McIver, vice president of Research and Economic Development at the University of Idaho. The project also involves collaboration with various public and private sector organizations, including the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Cooke Aquaculture Inc. in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada.

Collaborations Rhena Cooper and Kelly Cobourn Experience Unique Opportunity: Junior Faculty Leadership Workshop Seventeen faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from Idaho, Nevada, and New Mexico attended the Tri-State Junior Faculty Leadership Workshop

Faculty members attend the Tri-State Junior Faculty Leadership Workshop. Kelly Cobourn, research professor in the Department of Economics at Boise State University, is seated on the right.

in Santa Fe, New Mexico, January 5-7, 2010. The workshop taught academic scholars such skills as how to communicate effectively with the media, how to incorporate diversity into the sciences, and how to facilitate meetings. As part of NSF EPSCoR, workshops such as this one train scholars to be leaders in research, teaching, and outreach and thereby enhance the research capacity of states that have traditionally received smaller amounts of research & development funds. This kind of training is part of Idaho EPSCoR’s faculty and postdoctoral fellow mentoring plans.

The three-day event involved lectures, small group discussion, role-playing, and informal networking opportunities. Highlights included Sandra Blakeslee, former science reporter for the New York Times, who presented tips for communicating effectively with the media. Dr. Laura Crossey, a member of University of New Mexico’s Earth & Planetary Sciences Department, also talked about her experience integrating research, teaching, and outreach to increase participation of underrepresented minority students.

This is the second year of the workshop, with three more years to go under current funding from NSF EPSCoR. As word has gotten out, demand has begun to exceed capacity. Bill Michener, New Mexico NSF EPSCoR Project Director and an organizer of the workshop, is already receiving inquiries about the January 2011 workshop but registration will not begin until October.

Rhena Cooper, who teaches microbiology at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, remarked, “In my thirty-one years of teaching, it was the best workshop I’ve ever been to.

We divided into small teams so it was very interactive and we worked hard.” As an experienced college faculty member, Cooper had more teaching experience than most attendees; for the most part, however, the workshop serves untenured faculty. Michener explained that the workshop offers the sort of training faculty do not necessarily get otherwise, especially at no cost to them: “These are skills they don’t pick up in graduate school in any way, shape or form but they are extremely important in terms of establishing them as leaders in their colleges, their universities, and their disciplines.” Kelly Cobourn, a recently-appointed research professor in the Department • 6 •

of Economics at Boise State University, can attest to that.

She found the facilitation training to be particularly valuable and remarked that she now feels like a stronger participant in department meetings: “I feel more comfortable speaking up and getting my opinion heard.”

For more information, visit http://www.nmepscor.org/node/33.

Researchers Collaborating on Hydro/ Economics Research Visit Idaho’s Magic Valley On February 23rd, 2010, faculty in economics, hydrology, and civil engineering from the University of Idaho and Boise State University participated in a workshop and field day in Idaho’s Magic Valley. Participants included Sian Mooney, Kelly Cobourn, and Scott Lowe, from Boise State University’s Department of Economics; Levan Elbakidze and Garth Taylor from the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Idaho; Jae Ryu from the University of Idaho’s Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department; and Arturo Leon of Boise State University’s Department of Engineering. The group toured the University of Idaho’s research facility in Hagerman where they met with Gary Fornshell, University of Idaho Aquaculture Extension Educator, who talked about water needs, issues and concerns of aquaculture. The day also included visits to Idaho EPSCoR Committee member Leo Ray’s fish farm, the Twin Falls Canal Company, and the A&B Irrigation District office, where manager Dan Temple discussed the impact of declining groundwater levels on senior water rights. Bryce Contor, research hydrologist with the University of Idaho-Idaho Falls, Gary Johnson, associate professor at the Idaho Water Resources and Research Institute, and Rick Allen, research professor with the Kimberly Research & Extension Center, organized and moderated the workshop.

Tri-State Western Consortium Meeting EPSCoR participants from Idaho, Nevada, and New Mexico gathered April 6-8, 2010, for the second annual Tri-State Western Consortium Meeting. This year the group met in Incline Village, Nevada, and addressed the theme “Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Climate Change Science.”

Look for more information about the results of the meeting in future newsletters.

Announcements New Idaho EPSCoR Fellowships for College Faculty NSF EPSCoR recognizes the importance of developing longterm partnerships with two-year and other non-doctoral institutions, increasing collaboration among Idaho’s universities and colleges, and broadening participation in EPSCoRsupported activities. As a result, Idaho NSF EPSCoR has created a new fellowship program to support the involvement of community college faculty in the research and education activities of the RII program, Water Resources in a Changing Climate. These faculty fellowships provide a stipend to college faculty who wish to gain further research experience by working with active university researchers and their students.

These experiences contribute to the professional development of college faculty and also lead to improved educational experiences for college students who are exploring their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. For more information about the college faculty fellowship program contact the Idaho EPSCoR office at epscor@uidaho.edu.

Please Welcome Brian Dickens Brian Dickens will be the newest member of the Idaho EPSCoR Committee. His appointment will begin in July 2010. Dickens is an administrator with the Idaho Department of Commerce.

Since 2005, he has worked to promote innovation industry growth and technology-based economic development for the Commercial Innovation Division of the Idaho Department of Commerce. He oversees the Idaho Innovation Council. Dickens also serves as a council member of the Higher Education Research Council and is a member of the Development Committee of the Idaho technology Council. He is a former U.S. Marine with a degree in Professional Aeronautics and an MBA from Boise State University.

What is NSF EPSCoR? EPSCoR is a program designed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote scientific progress nationwide. It is for states, including Idaho, that have historically received lesser amounts of competitive Research and Development (R&D) funding. Twentynine jurisdictions currently participate.

NSF EPSCoR establishes partnerships with higher education, government, and industry and provides support for key research areas at Idaho’s public universities. The goal is to stimulate lasting improvements in research infrastructure, R&D capacity and hence, our national R&D competitiveness.

For more information about this program and other Idaho EPSCoR projects visit www.uidaho.edu/epscor or E-mail epscor@uidaho.edu

2nd Annual Tri-State Meeting participants from Idaho gather on the shore of Lake Tahoe.

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Idaho EPSCoR PO Box 443029 Moscow, ID 83844-3029

*KBK865$M*

Kudos

Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research in Idaho

Peter Goodwin Receives Honor

(208) 885-5842 (208) 885-5111 fax

Peter Goodwin, director of Idaho EPSCoR, has been named a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a registered charity based in London, England, which promotes the interests of civil engineers around the globe. The ICE strives to maintain the highest standards of engineering excellence in its members while working with the media, helping to refine university curriculums and ensuring construction projects are of the highest quality.

Peter Goodwin, Director pgoodwin@uidaho.edu, 208-364-6164 Von Walden, Science Lead vonw@uidaho.edu, 208-885-5058

Karla Bradley Eitel Selected to Give Keynote Address

Richard Allen, University of Idaho, Liaison rallen@kimberly.uidaho.edu, 208-423-6601

Karla Bradley Eitel, director of education at the McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS) and assistant research professor of conservation and social sciences at the University of Idaho McCall Field Campus, gave a keynote address at the NSF Education Outreach Conference, “Engaging America’s Talent,” held on March 22-24 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The conference highlighted successful Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outreach programs throughout the United States.

Sian Mooney, Boise State University, Liaison sianmooney@boisestate.edu, 208-426-1471 Colden Baxter, Idaho State University, Liaison baxtcold@isu.edu, 208-251-5980

www.uidaho.edu/epscor • 8 •