Wyoming EPSCoR welcomes new director

Dr. Brent Ewers with
Summer Research Apprenticeship
Program students Virgil Morrison (left)
and Sarah Fanning (right).

When asked what will be the biggest life change in accepting the position as EPSCoR Director, Dr. Brent Ewers responded: not teaching LIFE 1010. Ewers has been teaching the General Biology course since he came to the University of Wyoming 12 years ago.

“Normally I would’ve done my first lecture a few hours ago so it seems a little strange,” he says about not teaching during the fall semester. LIFE 1010 aside, Brent is thrilled to take on his new position at EPSCoR.

A father of two sons and husband to Samantha Ewers, who is the Research Database Manager for the Wyoming Center for Environmental Hydrology and Geophysics (WyCEHG), Brent is joining EPSCoR from the Botany Department. His main focus is Plant Physiological Ecology, a field that has played an integral part in EPSCoR over the past several years by way of WyCEHG and Summer Research Apprentice Program (SRAP). After being engaged in these programs as a scientist, he’s excited to work with them from the director’s chair.

“One thing I’ve really enjoyed as a scientist in WyCEHG is that I’ve had interactions with the EPSCoR staff,” says Ewers. “I’m very excited to learn a lot more from experts in education outreach and diversity.”

He is stepping into the role formerly held by Dr. Anne Sylvester, who took the EPSCoR Director position in 2011. It was under her leadership that the current Track-1 Grant came to be at Wyoming EPSCoR. Sylvester’s research focus is in maize development and genomics and, fittingly, she is moving on to a position as Program Director of the Plant Genome Research Program at the National Science Foundation.

Although she’s excited for her new opportunity, she’s proud of the progress EPSCoR has made and excited for the path it will follow in the future.

Dr. Anne Sylvester

“Working with EPSCoR has been an incredible experience,” she says. “NSF EPSCoR really focuses on collaborative, interdisciplinary research, hence the project that was developed is one that brings three different disciplines together to make something new…Watching that interdisciplinarity develop was kind of like a snowball rolling downhill. Once it starts, you see people changing, you see the science changing."

And she’s happy to pass the baton to Ewers. “The goal is to have EPSCoR impact the state of Wyoming. I think it’s been pretty successful so far. With Brent taking over, it’s just going to skyrocket.”

Brent is also excited about what the future holds for EPSCoR, particularly as he and his staff look toward the next grant a few years down the road. “There’s a really strong history of EPSCoR supporting programs that then have impacts for decades afterwards. I’m really looking forward to being a part of that and seeing what new programs can come out of it.”

By Manasseh Franklin

Three UW professors receive new NSF grant to study water

Dr. Anne Sylvester

Water. It is a necessity for life and it’s a resource that is threatened in the west. Drought, fires, pine beetle infestations, emptying reservoirs, shrinking streams, and vanishing snow pack pose the question: how can we maintain our water supply and continue with our way of life? Wyoming EPSCoR is gearing up to help answer this question.

In July, the National Science Foundation awarded Wyoming EPSCoR with a $20 million dollar grant. NSF offers EPSCoR jurisdictions two types of grants: Track I and Track II. This year, Wyoming EPSCoR is the proud recipient of both a Track I and a Track II grant.

The grant announced in July is a Track I grant. Track I grants last 5 years and focus on improving infrastructure. The goal of the grant is to benefit the entire state, not just the university. So, while the University of Wyoming will receive new equipment among other resources, the state will receive new infrastructure.

Dr. Scott Miller

Collaboration is a key element in the projects supported by the grant. Scientists and researchers at UW will work across disciplines to better understand the relationship between ground and surface water as well as the interaction between water and other natural systems. The three principal investigators (PI) for the grant are Dr. Anne Sylvester, Dr. Scott Miller and Dr. Steve Holbrook.

The three professors are all from different departments at UW. Dr. Sylvester is a professor in microbiology and the director of Wyoming EPSCoR. Her research is primarily focused on plant development, specifically in maize, in order to understand the grass system. Dr. Miller is a professor in Ecosystem Science and Management. His research revolves around watershed hydrology, including research into links between watershed hydrology and landscape. Dr. Holbrook is a professor in Geology and Geophysics. His research is based in seismology. Together, with their combined knowledge and expertise, the professors will work together on research that will benefit the entire state.

Dr. Steve Holbrook

Additionally, UW and Wyoming EPSCoR will collaborate with community colleges around the state and several private companies. As with all of its projects, this grant provides Wyoming EPSCoR with the means for outreach programs, including workshops for high school teachers and student projects. This grant parallels another NSF grant Wyoming EPSCoR received last year in collaboration with three universities in Utah. This Track II grant, called Cyberinfrastructure Water (CI-WATER), is focused on developing computer models to understand water systems better. Over the course of three years, the four universities will work on improving computer modeling, computational resources to better understand our water systems in the west and how they interact with human activities.

Diminishing water resources are a cause for concern, but between the two NSF grants, Wyoming EPSCoR, the University of Wyoming and its collaborative partners active steps are being taken toward increasing understanding of water systems and finding answers to how we can protect them. For more information about the grant, please read UW's press release.

By Kali S. McCrackin

Photos courtesy of the University of Wyoming