Project and Water News

Is the Intermountain West in a state of drought, or is dry the new normal? On today’s Radio West, host Doug Fabrizio invites Dan McCool, Director of the University of Utah’s Environmental and Sustainability Studies program, and Salt Lake Tribune reporter Brian Maffly to answer this critical question.

Listeners can tune in to KUER FM 90.1 or catch the show streamed from www.kuer.org at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., tune in to SiriusXM Public Radio Channels 121 or 205 at 11 a.m. (MT), or check out the Radio West podcast, available via iTunes and KUER’s website.

Researchers and students will gather in Nashville the week of November 3 for “Research, Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: EPSCoR as a Vehicle for Delivering on National Priorities.” The national conference will showcase the research contributions of the EPSCoR jurisdictions while highlighting opportunities for job creation, entrepreneurship, external engagement and innovation.

Sessions will focus on topics related to increasing the nation’s research capacity and solving issues of national significance, such as collaborating with industry for workforce development, broadening participation in STEM, developing infrastructure and more. A competition for students, “America's Science Idol,” will challenge participants to demonstrate their communication skills while representing science concepts to a general audience.

It’s back-to-school time, and this year, teachers from Utah and Wyoming will have a new set of resources to get students engaged in science. The CI-WATER Toolboxes are available for teachers of all grades across Utah and Wyoming. Each toolbox includes water testing kits, role playing equipment, Hydropoly game, field guides, books and more. So far, several teachers from Utah and Wyoming have already signed up to use the toolbox. Stay tuned for a follow-up from these teachers about how they incorporated the toolbox into their classrooms. 

Undergraduates majoring in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM), this one’s for you.

You may have sweeter job prospects than students in many other fields, but gone are the days when simply showing up to class and getting good grades could guarantee you a job at graduation. According to career advisors, wise STEM students make time for out-of-class activities through which they apply skills and knowledge, demonstrate teamwork and build a professional network (and their résumés).  

Fortunately, Utah and Wyoming’s universities offer numerous sponsored and informal opportunities to do this, with clubs and competitions, student chapters of professional associations, study groups and more.

To find out what’s going on at your school, check your university, college and department web pages, and talk with your professors and peers. Carving out a little time for an extracurricular before the semester is underway can give you just the edge you need down the road.