A Climate of Hope

In this stream, we study learning within the naturalistic setting of museums exhibits at the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU). Using interdisciplinary mixed methods from the social sciences, we aim to build knowledge that can advance research and practice in informal science education.

Sustainable Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture plays a critical role in creating healthy, livable cities and presents opportunities to increase food security in our communities. Yet, as housing demands and urban growth intensify, growers must get creative—especially in places like Salt Lake City, where 34% of residents grow at least some of their own food each year.

The Mass and Density of Snowflakes

We have developed the first device to measure the mass and density of individual snowflakes, a problem that has vexed the atmospheric sciences for nearly 100 years and is critical to predictions of weather and climate.

Revealing Environmental Change Through Lake’s Memory

By working with plant, animal, and fungal collections, you’ll explore how organisms are identified and classified, and how ecological studies are conducted using museum specimens. You’ll also delve into ancient environments by studying lake sediments—nature’s own archives of past ecological conditions.

The Beaver Stream: How beavers impact the water cycle in the Wasatch Mountains

Beavers are the ultimate engineers of their environments, and one key environmental service these engineers provide is the storage of water in their ponds.

Microalgae in the Great Salt Lake

Monitoring Forest Disturbance from Space

Forests are increasingly threatened by climate change and human activity. To understand these threats, we must know when, where, and how forests have been affected by wildfires, drought, and other disturbances.

Plant Responses to a Warming Climate

Understanding vegetation feedback mechanisms under a changing environment is crucial for the prediction of carbon and water fluxes in models, where the predictions are later used for conservation and climate-related policies.

Multi-Messenger Science with IceCube Neutrino Observatory

The “Multi-messenger Science with IceCube” stream engages students in active research with the objective of improving the multi-messenger science capabilities of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica. Participants will develop an understanding about how IceCube detects neutrinos and how to correlate signs with astrophysical sources.

Public Health Vector Biology, Ecology, and Management

Research in mosquito control is whimsical and complex, spanning topics in community ecology, population genetics, pathology, epidemiology, and fundamental principles like mosquito behavior.