Every year the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America (ASA-CSSA-SSSA) hold a Congressional Visits Day (CVD) in Washington, D.C. during appropriations season. The goal is to have a strong presence of faculty, students, and crop advisors advocating for agricultural and natural resources research on Capitol Hill. This past March, I had the opportunity to participate in the 2014 CVD. I was one of 18 students who received a Future Leader in Science Award, which included an all expense paid trip to D.C. Awardees were chosen based
KBS LTER graduate students lead hands-on activities at MSU’s second annual science festival
By Bonnie McGill, KBS LTER graduate student Three LTER graduate students—Erin Haramoto, Christine Sprunger, and myself—spent this past Saturday in Lansing at MSU’s second annual SciFest (http://sciencefestival.msu.edu). The week long festival brings scientists out of their labs, away from their computer screens, and in from the field so they can share their excitement in and knowledge of science with the public. Us three LTER students shared two scientific concepts near and dear to every KBS LTER-er: soil conservation and aquatic food webs. Erin and Christine brought bucke
KBS LTER Graduate Student Fellowships for 2014
MSU grad students: multiple fellowship opportunities are now available! The KBS LTER has year-long and summer funding available. The KBS GK-12 program is accepting fellows for their sustainable biofuels education program, which helps grads gain skills in science communication and education. Application information available at: http://lter.kbs.msu.edu/get-involved/job-openings/
Self-guided walking tour opens for season
We are excited to announce that the KBS LTER self-guided Agriculture & Ecology Walking Tour is now open for the season! The walking tour offers a chance for the community to explore the research taking place at our main Long-term Ecological Research experiment site. Visitors can enjoy nature while learning how our scientists are researching ways to help make farming profitable while protecting and enhancing our state’s natural resources. A colorful trail guide leads visitors through 16 stations along the ¾-mile trail that takes about an hour to complete. The trail is open dawn to d
KBS LTER research featured in National Geographic
KBS LTER scientists Phil Robertson and Sieglinde Snapp are featured in "Fertilized World," an article examining commercial fertilizer use around the globe, in the May 2013 issue of National Geographic magazine. Read the article online here.
2013 KBS LTER All Scientist Meeting
The focus of this year’s KBS LTER annual All Scientist Meeting is science communication, a topic of increasing importance in this socio-political climate. In the morning we will have research updates from our lead scientists and a keynote address from Arthur Lupia, entitled, "Communicating Science in Politicized Environments: Lessons from the Study of Attention, Elaboration, and Source Credibility". We’ve also recruited communication advisors who will help us brainstorm creative, effective ways to communicate our science to the following groups: interested citizens (Dave Pou
KBS LTER Graduate Fellowships for 2013
The KBS LTER Graduate Fellowship provides stipend support ($30,000) plus tuition and fees for one year beginning each May. Additional funds (up to $5,000) are available for travel and meeting expenses. The fellowship is open to prospective graduate students or current MSU PhD students who are interested in or currently conducting research in association with the KBS Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Program (lter.kbs.msu.edu ). For more details click here >>.
Nature paper highlights KBS LTER long-term data sets
KBS LTER scientists published a paper in the journal Nature today showing how lands that are unsuited for food crops - called marginal lands - can help to meet our nation's alternative energy production goals. By using over 20 years of KBS LTER data, coupled with innovative modeling techniques, the researchers documented that marginal lands can contribute greatly to transportation energy needs while providing climate and conservation benefits. Read more about this research from MSU News and from the National Science Foundation.
KBS LTER participates in Carbon, Energy and Climate Conference
Last fall, the KBS LTER had an exciting opportunity to collaborate with the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, or NCR-SARE, program to address issues related to agriculture and global change. An extensive, 2 ½ day Carbon, Energy and Climate Conference was held on September 26-28, 2012 at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS). NCR-SARE is organizing a two-year professional development and training initiative around carbon, climate and energy issues, and September’s conference launched the initiative. One-hundred and thirty-three speakers and participants fr
KBS GK-12 Fellowship Announcement for 2013-2014
The KBS GK-12 Bioenergy Sustainability Project is accepting applications for graduate student fellowships for 2013-14. This graduate training project is funded by grant from the NSF Division of Graduate Education. Fellowships are intended for students who have completed at least their first year of graduate coursework.