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Welcome to the Ecosystem! | |  | As we move into the RI-NEST initiative, our research community is growing! Thank you to this month's subscribers: Bryan, Dan, Gavin, Madison, and Nicole. Welcome! | | | | |
Participate in the RI-NEST career development survey! | RI-NEST is continuing its support of student and early-career researchers through a newly conceived career development program, initially created with much success by URI's Metcalf Institute under RI C-AIM. Above: Julie Maurer and Bryan Plankenhorn, URI graduate students who have been supported by RI NSF EPSCoR programming in the past. Photo by Shaun Kirby | |
The Rhode Island Network for Excellence in Science & Technology (RI-NEST), RI NSF EPSCoR's latest grant program, is seeking perspectives from its research community via survey. In our efforts to design a training program targeting students and early career professionals, we seek your feedback to create modules aimed at use-inspired research, transdisciplinary collaboration, and broadening participation.
RI-NEST, a partnership of URI, Brown University, Rhode Island College, Rhode Island School of Design, and Roger Williams University, will work across state institutions of higher education to bolster the state’s research competitiveness, as well as support societal and economic growth. TAKE THE SURVEY!
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Undergraduates Apply! The Open Newsroom Fellowship | Above: 2022 SURF Deelia Wang interviews fellow SURF Ire Asojo for her summer project communicating scientific research through journalism. Photo by Shaun Kirby | |
In our daily lives, uncertainty and complexity are a given. We strive for our own understandings of the world and, through our work, seek to help others achieve theirs. Journalism is a formidable framework for comprehending such complexity and engaging others through stories of human experience around science and research.
Over 12 weeks this summer (June 2 - August 18), undergraduates will assume the role of a local journalist and develop a deeper understanding of science issues facing RI communities. Through their work, Open Newsroom fellows will report on issues around science of their choice for a community to which they belong or care most about. Students will be paid for a 40-hour work week at $15 per hour. Over 12 weeks, this rate will total $7,200. Additional funding for mileage and supplies is also available. Application opens Tuesday, April 1. LEARN MORE & APPLY!
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A look at 2025 Vis-a-Thon | | Above: Maite Sosa Methol, a RISD MFA candidate in Textiles and graduate student collaborator, immerses herself in the world of the woodpecker through the Vis-a-Thon project of Nico Moody, a Ph.D candidate at Brown University studying the bird species. Photo by Shaun Kirby | |
Eight students from institutions across Rhode Island shared perspectives on science, art and the world as part of the 2025 Vis-a-Thon, a unique program through which faculty and student participants explore how art-based approaches to visualization can advance their research and reveal new opportunities for connecting with diverse audiences.
On Sunday, March 23, the Vis-a-Thon community gathered to view final projects. Take a look at scenes from the day, as well as a great write-up on the program from RISD!
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EPSCoR Live! Learn more about E-RISE
Thursday, April 10, 4pm ET
EPSCoR Live! is a virtual series for researchers, educators, others involved in research to learn more about the latest programs and news around EPSCoR.
In this session, EPSCoR Program Directors Casonya Johnson and Jeanne Small will discuss the new solicitation for the EPSCoR RII program: EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence (E-RISE), which supports hypothesis-driven or problem-driven research and fosters the development of partnerships and products that aim to drive long-term improvements in research infrastructure, enhance R&D capacity, and boost the research competitiveness of EPSCoR jurisdictions. REGISTER!
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Engaging with the media: Essential skills for successful interviews
Thursday, April 3, 2-3pm ET
Scientists are often wary of speaking with the media because of concerns about being misquoted, misunderstood, or otherwise contributing to misinformation. And while expert sources don’t control the final outcome of a news story, there are strategies to maximize the chances that any story they help with contains accurate scientific information and context.
In 45-minutes of presentation and 15-minutes of Q&A, this webinar, hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), will guide you through working with the media when public discourse may feel hostile toward science.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER!
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Newsletter Love Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
Every month, we highlight all the good things happening at a Rhode Island community or organization that is serving many across the state's research ecosystem. This month, it's the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program.
Take a look at their latest initiatives!
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Language of Climate Politics
Thursday, April 24, 5-7pm ET
Join URI's Department of English, the Metcalf Institute, and the Harrington School of Communication and Media for an evening with Dr. Genevieve Guenther, climate activist and author of The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It (Oxford UP, 2024).
Moderated by Daniel Wolfe, graphics reporter for The Washington Post and a 2024 alum of Metcalf's Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists, Guenther will discuss her investigation into the propaganda that justifies the fossil-fuel economy and offer listeners new ways to talk about the climate crisis in an effort to create transformative change. LEARN MORE & REGISTER!
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Students & Recent Graduates Apply! Rising TIDES
Submit by Thursday, April 25
Offered through the Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation (CERF), Rising TIDES (Toward an Inclusive, Diverse, and Enriched Society) supports students who face various obstacles to pursuing a career in coastal and estuarine disciplines with the goal of inspiring and motivating them to pursue careers in coastal and estuarine science and management.
This program is for current students and recent graduates who are interested in exploring or pursuing a career in coastal and estuarine science or management, who face barriers to pursuing experiences in the field, and who are looking for a funded opportunity to join and engage with the CERF community. LEARN MORE & APPLY!
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Refulio-Coronado highlights research in 3-Minute Thesis @URI
Sonia Refulio-Coronado, a PhD candidate at URI studying access to coastal areas among Rhode Island communities and a long-time RI NSF EPSCoR investigator, presented as a finalist at the university's annual Three-Minute Thesis competition this month. The competition challenges graduate students to refine their research communication skills by presenting their research to a broad audience in just three minutes, using one static slide. Congrats, Sonia!
| | Supported through RI NSF EPSCoR, Sonia Refulio-Coronado has tapped anonymous cell phone data to examine how underserved communities can, or cannot, access coastal resources like beaches. | | | | |
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Water for the world
Long-time RI NSF EPSCoR investigator, Vinka Oyanedel-Craver, Professor & Associate Dean of Research at the URI College of Engineering, is a part of a team using and studying diverse technologies, from the simplest to the most advanced, to improve clean water access throughout the globe. But they all say changing the way we think about water is key. READ MORE!
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First-gen students participate in mentorship organized by RI-NEST's Kirby
RI-NEST Communications and Outreach Coordinator, Shaun Kirby, recently co-organized a pilot mentorship, "Discovering Our Journalism," with colleague Ellen Kuwana, connecting first-generation undergraduates from across the country with journalism and communications professionals. The program, funded through the National Association of Science Writers, allowed mentors and mentees to create news pieces and learn about what goes into communicating science to diverse audiences.
For example, Ayashi Nadiri, a psychology major at San Diego State University, wrote, "How Culture and College Can Shape Your ADHD," with mentor Nicole Mlynaryk, Scientific Communications Manager at the Salk Institute in San Diego. LEARN MORE!
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Rhode Island EPSCoR is funded by the National Science Foundation under EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Award #OIA-2433276 . 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.
For more information about RI NSF EPSCoR, contact Communications Coordinator Shaun Kirby at 401-874-6888 or skirby@uri.edu
| | | RI NSF EPSCoR | 418 Fascitelli, Univ. of RI 2 East Alumni Ave. | Kingston, RI 02881 US | | | | |
