This spring, the Integrated Program for the Environment (IPE) awarded grants to 15 students, ranging from freshman to Ph.D. candidates, for research projects focused on the environment and sustainability.
The funds support efforts by IU undergraduate and graduate students to explore the many dimensions of sustainability and to advance environmental research on IU Research and Teaching Preserve properties. Collectively, the awards total nearly $50,000.
“From harmful algal blooms, to climate change communication, to global warming’s effect on wildlife, IU students are investigating some of the most pressing environmental challenges we face,” said IPE Director Sarah Mincey. “These projects represent some of the most innovative environmental and sustainability scholarship being pursued on our campus. IPE is proud to help enable our talented student researchers.”
The selected research projects are the result of two IPE programs—the Sustainability Research Development Grants program and the Research and Teaching Preserve Grant program. Both programs are open to undergraduate and graduate students at IU Bloomington.
The grant awardees and their projects are:
Sustainability Research Development Grants
- Malaak Alqaisi, a freshman majoring in biology and environmental science, “Avian window strikes across Bloomington: working to unite the public and optimize solutions”
- Abigail Blish, a junior majoring in human biology, “Colonialism and the Gut Microbiome: A Deep Dive into the Relationship Within and Between British Colonialism, Pesticide Use, and the Primate Gut Microbiome in Uganda”
- Lucia Casaraghi, a Ph.D. student in Italian studies with a minor in information science, and Eugene Kim, a Ph.D. student in media arts and sciences, “The Role of Public Mediators in Addressing Climate Change: Investigating the Communicative Actions of Active Publics with Scientific Information with Climate Scientists on Social Media”
- Thuy Ho, a Ph.D. student in geography, “Governing agrarian transitions in the Mekong Delta: how community-based management works?”
- Isioma Nwayor, a Ph.D. student in geography, “The Development of a Standardized Vapor Pressure Deficit Index and Its Application to Drought Characteristics in Indiana”
- Nick Polak, a sophomore majoring in environmental science, and Rahul Devajii, a master’s student in data science, “Environmental Sensing for Extreme Heat”
- Lindsey Rasnake, a Ph.D. student in environmental science, “Harmful algal blooms in the Ohio River: linkages with dissolved silicon and nutrients”
Research and Teaching Preserve Grants
- Kieran Ball, a junior majoring in environmental and sustainability studies and biology, “Seasonal variation in forest soil fauna communities”
- Emma Boehm, a Ph.D. student in biology, “Role of phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary adaptation in novel environments of a winter annual plant”
- Kasie Chappell, a Ph.D. student in evolution, ecology, and behavior, “Seasonality based impact on disease dynamics and sex allocation in a facultative sexual host”
- Caroline Edwards, a Ph.D. student in evolution, ecology, and behavior, “The spatial scale and environmental drivers of local adaptation in Viola pubescens”
- Bode Hoover, a Ph.D. student in environmental science, “Assessing the contribution of surface emissions to the OH radical budget below forest canopies through seasonal variations and vertical distributions of HONO: measurements and model comparisons”
- Atalanta Ritter, a Ph.D. student in evolution, ecology, and behavior, “Why are some species thriving in warming environments while others are not? A case study in cavity nesting birds”
About the Integrated Program in the Environment
Bringing together faculty, students, and staff across 10 Indiana University schools, the Integrated Program in the Environment is a hub for academics, research, and activities focused on the environment. Administered by the College of Arts and Sciences, O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and the School of Public Health, IPE is preparing the next generation of environmental and sustainability leaders. Learn more at environment.indiana.edu.