First generation college student studies "Nitrogen cycling and metabolism in a drought-ridden prairie stream" during her MAPS KSU summer REU experience

Molly Fisher

       A great love for the natural world, a father with a passion for the outdoors, and an even stronger interest in studying water, led Molly Fisher to Kansas State University (KSU) this summer to participate in a research experience for undergraduate students (REU).  Molly is a first generation college student from Nashua, Iowa and is an Environmental Science Major at Simpson College in Indianola, IA.  She said she applied to the 2018 KSU Summer REU opportunity for two reasons.  One, “both of my environmental professors (who I greatly admire) from Simpson College, Dr. Clint Meyer and Dr. Ryan Rehmeier, completed graduate degrees” at KSU, and two, she can’t ever “pass up an opportunity to conduct research in or on water when it arises.”

Molly recording temperature and dissolved oxygen in the field
and making acidified filter packets in the lab

     This summer, Molly worked with Dr. Walter Dodds, KSU Distinguished Professor and Lead Investigator on the Aquatic Team for the Kansas NSF EPSCoR OIA-1656006 RII Track-1 Award: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS). The title of her project is Nitrogen cycling and metabolism in a drought-ridden prairie stream. Her study, however, faced some research challenges.  As she explains it, she attempted “to work in an extreme drought situation at the Konza Prairie Biological Station,” but she had to continually modify the project in response to the “decreasing water levels in the pools of what was left of Kings Creek.” And, as a result of this summer’s drought conditions, she was only able to complete her research on “two pools which were within 50 yards of each other.” She describes her research as follows: “I was attempting to determine nitrogen cycling and metabolism in these pools using a labeled isotope method (15NH4Cl) during an extreme drought. This entailed adding a calculated amount of labeled ammonium chloride to contained stream water. We then filled six recirculating chambers with the isotope water. Rocks which have the biofilm on them (the biofilm is what cycles the nitrogen) were also placed into the chamber. All chambers were covered for the first 40 minutes to determine ecosystem respiration (of the biofilm). Once those 40 minutes were up three chambers were uncovered and three were not. After the uncovering, the chambers ran for two hours. Every ten minutes the temperature and dissolved oxygen were recorded. Water samples were taken before isotope addition, after the isotope addition, and after the chambers were ran. Rocks were collected before and after chamber runs to analyze the biofilm. Rocks were scraped, filtered, and the filters were dried. To determine NH4, water samples were filtered, spiked with a calculated amount of regular ammonium chloride, MgO and NaCl were added alongside an acidified filter packet and were placed on a shaker table. To determine NO3, water samples were filtered, spiked with a calculated amount of KHSO4, MgO and NaCl were added, the samples were boiled down, and then more MgO in addition to Devardas alloy was added. Samples were placed in a drying oven for 48 hours then placed on a shaker table.”  She then sent her samples to an isotope lab for further processing and is awaiting the results.  Once she has her results, she will be “comparing it to data taken from normal precipitation years as well as flood years.”
     Molly’s favorite part of this whole summer REU experience at KSU has been “getting the opportunity to work with all the great individuals in the Dodds’ Lab. I owe a huge thanks to everyone (Dr. Walter Dodds, James Guinnip, Sammi Greiger, Lane Lundeen, Sophie Higgs, & Anne Schechner) for their patience, kindness, and willingness to help. They made me feel as if I had always been a part of their lab. They assisted me in more ways than I could ever imagine especially the grad student who worked closest with me, James Guinnip.”  She said she also learned, “There will be many mishaps in all aspects of one’s research.  Sometimes the only thing to do is laugh and continue. Additionally, surrounding yourself with great individuals to assist you in your research holds monumental importance.”
     Molly will be a junior at Simpson College this fall.  She is the Campus Activities Board (CAB) President, a past President of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, and a Junior Class Senator for the Simpson College Student Government Association (SGA).  In addition, Molly is an active member of Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society and the Sustainability Club as well as a Carver Bridge Scholar.  In addition to her co-curricular activities, Molly has made the Dean’s List four times, the fall of 2016, the spring of 2017, the fall of 2017, and the spring of 2018.   
     Molly’s other interests also reflect her passion for studying water.  She has conducted ecological research through prior summer programs at Simpson College and through a study abroad course in the Cayman Islands this past May.  She mentioned it was through this course she had the opportunity to study “the effect of depth and location on the amount of coral bleaching.”  Furthermore, it was during her visit to the Cayman Islands that she also received her certification in scuba diving.  In her spare time, Molly enjoys being outside and describes herself as an “avid runner.”
     As for Molly’s future plans, she will graduate from Simpson College in 2020 and plans to attend graduate school and earn a Ph.D. in the biological sciences.  She added, “I aspire to continue to research coral reefs, but will go where opportunities arise.”

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for the Summer MAPS REU program is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: "Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas."  The grant's workforce development and educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

MAPS summer REU student from UMass studies fungal drought tolerance at KSU

Achala Narayanan

     Achala Narayanan traveled to Kansas State University (KSU) this summer from Amherst, Massachusetts to study Extreme Drought in Grassland Ecosystems (EDGE) with Kansas NSF EPSCoR  OIA-1656006 RII Track-1: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS) researcher Dr. Ari Jumpponen.  As a biology major with a mathematics minor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst MA (UMass), Achala first became interested in ecology after taking a biological anthropology class and reading books about evolutionary biology. Her interest in systems and how different components affect and are affected by singular changes came from her opportunity to work on behavioral experiments with birds and volunteering in a soil microbial ecology lab. While working in the soil microbial lab, she studied bacterial lignin-degrading capabilities.  She said, “that's when I discovered how interesting it was to look at big picture community interactions at such a small scale - a microbial scale," and "Dr. Ari Jumpponen's work at KSU was a fascinating representation of that field.”

Growing fungal colonies 

     Achala describes her project, titled Selection for fungal drought tolerance in an experimental system (EDGE - Extreme Drought in Grassland Ecosystems), as follows: "Climate change projections show that the future holds climate extremes. I am doing a small study to look at whether systems are already becoming adapted to these environmental changes. Broadly, I am looking at whether environment selects for certain ecotypes. Specifically, I am looking at selection of fungal drought tolerance. We collected soil from two sites (Hays Agricultural Research Center and Konza Prairie Biological Station) with different mean annual precipitation…. At these sites they have set up rainfall shelters to experimentally impose drought. Looking across sites, and across these treatments (drought manipulation vs. ambient), we were trying to determine how the proportion of drought tolerant fungi varied. We expected that when grown on drought-selective media, the drought-imposed, xeric soils would yield a greater proportion of colony forming units as compared to mesic soil from ambient conditions. I did colony counts of the number of fungal colonies that grew on media … and also extracted DNA from these plates, to look at what fungal communities are present and how they vary across the precipitation treatments and the sites… there seems to be marginal evidence for greater number of colonies in the drought-imposed conditions as compared with the ambient conditions.”
     Her favorite part of her summer REU experience was learning new skills such as “how to sample soil, plate and grow fungi on media, extract DNA, run gels, and modify the experimental design along the way.” She also learned “how to organize and plan experiments, and how and when it is necessary to try different approaches to answer a question.... there is a lot of trial and error involved in executing an experimental design, and changing the plan is a standard part of the process.” In addition, Achala enjoyed working in the lab, attending lab meetings and discussing everyone’s project with them.  She said within the lab, the group developed "a great community with people always offering help and advice." And, she added, the overall experience "has been fun."
     As for her immediate future, she plans to return to UMass in the fall of 2018 where she is a part of the Commonwealth Honors College on a Dean's Award scholarship and is also an alto in the University Chorale. “Singing is a huge passion” of hers.  Her long term plans include applying for graduate programs in biology so that she can one day have a career that balances "fieldwork/research along with science education and communication."  Her dream job would involve working at “Institutions like natural history museums or biological stations.”

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for the Summer MAPS REU program is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: "Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas."  The grant's workforce development and educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

Nontraditional EEB/MAPS REU student studies the effect of climate and land use on methanotrophic communities

Carrie Spanton

      This summer the Kansas NSF EPSCoR OIA-1656006 RII Track-1: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS) and the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB): Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of Kansas (KU) have partnered to support three summer REU students. Through this collaboration, Carrie Spanton has been working with MAPS researcher, Terry Loecke on a project titled The effect of climate and land use on methanotrophic communities.
     Carrie is not your typical summer REU student. She grew up in Kentucky and lived in New Orleans for 20 years. She was living in New Orleans when hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. For Carrie, the hurricane was a trans-formative event and heavily influenced her decision to go back to school. Because the hurricane had stripped away everything she had once known and possessed, it left her thinking, "who am I?" All the things she thought defined her were suddenly gone.  Although the hurricane experience was devastating, she said “It was really liberating” too, because the ordeal gave her a chance to rediscover herself and the “guts to go back to school.”
     Kansas City is now Carrie's home, and she attends Metropolitan Community College at Penn Valley (MCCKC).  In addition to her studies, she is the president of Phi Theta Kappa, a prestigious honor society for two-year college students, and has been involved in the MCCKC Women on the Move program. She is also a Supplemental Instructor for an Ancient History/Biology community learning class, an active member of Project Success, a weekly volunteer at the food pantry, and a volunteer at North Kansas City Hospital Hospice.  Carrie stays active in student government and plans to start tutoring in the fall. Biology and Environmental Science became a focal interest for Carrie after she met her MCCKC mentor and biology instructor, Terry Davin. It was his teaching style that encouraged her to become a scientist and to apply for the KU summer EEB REU program.

Samples from the research

    As an EBB REU participant, Carrie has felt a sense of community with her cohort and has especially loved learning "how to conduct research." Learning research methodology from her REU mentor, Terry Loecke, she says, "has been life-changing." Carrie describes their REU research project as follows: "As global temperatures and net population simultaneously rise, so does the demand for food production.  The overall impacts of different land use management practices on the net global warming potential remain largely unknown.  Methane is a critical greenhouse gas that is both emitted and consumed by microbial communities in soil, contributing to climate change. We used a full fractal design experiment to measure how soil moisture and the addition of nitrogen, which is widely used as fertilizer, effect methane oxidation (consumption) in soils.  We used soil samples from east and west Kansas of agricultural land, post-agricultural land, and native prairie land to add varying moisture and nitrogen treatments.  We added methane to these treatments then took four samples sets at varying times."

     According to Carrie, this REU experience has positively "pushed her out of her comfort zone."  She has loved learning new things and “how to think like a scientist.”  She further commented, “I have watched my skill sets grow.... As a non-traditional student, I didn't know what I was capable of when I first started school.  Having this kind of support as I grow as a professional has been life-changing.  I have learned that I can, actually, really do this.” On a more personable note, she says her favorite part of this summer experience has been "showing my 16-year-old son what kind of opportunities are out there and getting him excited about his future.  He's my inspiration and my drive.” As for her future plans, Carrie plans on continuing her studies and staying in academia. This experience has also taught her what kind of “mentor/leader/researcher/instructor" she would like to be one day, and she hopes "to pass on this gift that others have given" to her.

Carrie will present her research findings at the 2018 EEB REU Poster Session, July 27, 2018.

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for the Summer MAPS EEB REU program is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: "Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas."  The grant's workforce development and educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

"Kansas Farmers" exhibit to open August 11, 2018 featuring photos from KS NSF EPSCoR Research Collaboration

     The Spencer Museum of Art on the University of Kansas (KU) campus will be hosting an exhibit titled Kansas Farmers beginning August 11, 2018 through January 6, 2019.  This exhibit highlights fifty photographs taken by artist and Distinguished Professor of Photography in the School of Art, Design, and Creative Industries at Wichita State University, Larry Schwarm.
     In 2010, Dr. Schwarm began a collaboration with Kansas NSF EPSCoR researchers involved in the RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006  titled Phase VI Climate Change and Energy: Basic Science, Impacts, and Mitigation.  The collaborative project, titled Bio-fuels and Climate Change: Farmer’s Land Use Decisions, was a sub-project of the Track 1 Award. This particular study examined farmers decisions related to climate change, water availability and bio-fuel market opportunities.  The research team created a database on land use, water use, climate and weather, water availability, surface water quality and bio-fuel markets and used this data to identify the driving factors behind a farmer’s land and water use decisions.  Photographs taken by Larry Schwarm were integrated into the study and added to the database to provide the visual imagery associated with farmers' decisions.  The exhibit will showcase these fifty photographs illustrating the realities of contemporary farm life in Kansas.

     This collaboration also produced a 2018 book that features the photos taken during the research project titled Larry Schwarm: Kansas Farmers. The book includes an essay detailing the Kansas NSF EPSCoR research written by Dr. Dietrich Earnhart, an economics professor and director of the KU Center for Environmental Policy, and the photographs that will be presented in the exhibit.  The essay discusses the core themes of the Phase VI award that addressed farmer land use decisions, climate change, and bio-fuel prospects.  The photographs capture the legacy of Kansas farmers' independent spirit and raises awareness of how much is at stake as the farming communities of Kansas look to their future.

Kansas Teachers Conduct Field Research and Write Lesson Plans at The 2018 Ecosystems of Kansas Summer Institute

Teachers participate in field research and write related lesson plans to take back to their home schools.

     As part of the Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant and Soil Systems (MAPS) across Kansas outreach initiatives, high school biology teachers from across the state the participated in the The 2018 Ecosystems of Kansas Summer Institute at the University of Kansas (KU) Field Station on June 4-8, 2018.  Eleven high school teachers were invited to attend.  The teachers participated in activities related to Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Prior to the workshop, teachers selected Aquatics, Terrestrial or GIS as an area of interest they wished to focus on for the week. University of Kansas (KU) MAPS faculty Helen Alexander, Jim Bever, and Peggy Schultz; Kansas Biological Survey faculty and staff, Jerry DeNoyelles, Ted Harris and Dana Peterson; UKan Teach faculty Steve Obenhaus and Michael Ralph; and Sarah Abeita, a biology teachers at Free State High School , led field activities, facilitated group discussions, and guided lesson planning.
     Each day began with a whole group field or water activity at either the KU Field Station or at the Free State High School Prairie Restoration Project, and was followed by afternoon breakout sessions focusing on the teachers’ area of interest.  The goal of each focus group was to create Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) biology lessons and experiments that connected the teacher’s curriculum with MAPS current research.  Teachers were then asked to share their lessons with colleagues from across the state through in-service opportunities or by creating blog posts on the Kansas Association of Biological Teachers website. The institute also provided the opportunity for teachers to apply for funding to purchase the supplies needed to implement the lessons at their home campuses.  Faculty focus group leaders will continue to work with the teachers throughout the 2018-2019 school year by visiting schools and Skype conferencing.
     As for the comments on the overall Institute experience, one teacher said, “I loved the connections, both with teachers and facilitators, the most. The arrangements were well planned and organized.” Another teacher added “I think that it was fun to learn from the professors and understand what kind of research is being done.” All the teachers thought the morning field and aquatic activities were the highlight of the Institute.  In addition, teachers were asked to reflect on their focus group experience and one teacher commented “My focus group was great. The facilitators always were asking what WE wanted to get out of the experience,” and another shared, our focus group “came up with a great experimental design and all of the members in my group added their own twist or expertise.”  One teacher summed up the whole institute experience by saying, “I very much appreciated the flexibility … [the institute] … offered to allow us to choose our own professional development whilst also directing us to the relevant research they do. It was a transformative experience.”

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for the Ecosystems of Kansas Summer Institute is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas. The grant's workforce development and educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS KANSAS NSF EPSCoR MAPS - Research & Education Innovation (REI) Awards - In Microbiome Research

Kansas NSF EPSCoR is announcing a funding opportunity for REI Awards in the area of microbiome research. REI Awards are for small projects that will either allow for networking and planning or for the immediate pursuit of larger projects for developing new transformational concepts. These are awarded for both research and education, given their close relationship. These awards are in the same spirit as and share goals with NSF EAGER (Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research) awards, for high risk/high gain research ideas.

The current RII Track‐1 award funding REI Awards is titled Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS). Broadly, MAPS’ mission is to elucidate how microbiomes interact within native and agriculturally dominated aquatic, plant, and soil habitats, leveraging the steep precipitation gradient across Kansas as a means of projecting system response to environmental change. Only projects with research in areas that are related to the current Kansas NSF EPSCoR focus of microbiomes as broadly construed to be in aquatic, plant and/or soil systems are eligible for REI Awards.

Any individual with PI status at Kansas State University, University of Kansas, Wichita State University, Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Pittsburg State University or Washburn University.

Submission Deadline:
Proposals due by 5:00 pm on Friday,
June 29, 2018.

For More Information and to download RFP; Timeline Example; and NSF EPSCoR Budget Form go to: 

Kansas NSF EPSCoR
Research & Education Innovation (REI) Awards RFP 
Timeline Example

The source of funding for REI Awards is Kansas NSF EPSCoR, which receives its funding from the current National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-1 award (OIA-1656006). Matching support is provided by the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) and the participating universities.

Free NSF Webinar to highlight NSF Funding Opportunities to Broaden Participation in STEM

The National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) is hosting a

FREE Webinar 

on June 14, 2018 from 1:00-3:30 pm ET 

The Webinar will feature and discuss current funding opportunities available at NSF aimed at broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and targeting underrepresented groups and Minority Serving Institutions. Funding opportunities for programs like NSF INCLUDES, ADVANCE, LifeSTEM, IUSE, ITEST, GRFP and many others will be highlighted. NSF Program Officers and Staff from all four EHR Divisions will be represented.

Divisions include:

• Division of Research on Learning 
• Division of Graduate Education 
• Division of Undergraduate Education
• Division of Human Resource Development 

In addition, Q & A opportunities with Program Officers will be provided during the webinar.

Administrators, faculty, researchers, evaluators, and other STEM education leaders working to broaden participation in STEM in formal and or informal contexts are encouraged to attend.

Please register here as soon as possible 

Once you have registered, help spread the word about the webinar by forwarding this link to your STEM & broadening participation in STEM networks.