Climate Research Heats Up with Big Grant
National Science Foundation Grant for Research, Education, and Outreach on Climate Change Effects
Researchers tackling the state's climate-change issues are getting a big boost from a $15 million federal grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The money will help UNLV and other Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) institutions build a network of data stations as well as a special IMAX-like "Solutions Room."
The five-year effort will team nearly 20 UNLV faculty members with researchers from UNR, Desert Research Institute, and Nevada State College to develop the infrastructure necessary to determine how climate impacts the state's ecosystem services, especially water resources.
"Climate change and its associated impacts to resources, economics, and society are among the most important issues facing the region, nation, and world," said Thomas Piechota, co-principal investigator and UNLV director of sustainability and multidisciplinary research. "This project will not only improve our understanding of climate change impacts to our ecosystems and water resources, but will also focus on solutions to scientific and social issues that lead to informed decision making."
Interrelated Components
An interdisciplinary team of faculty from each institution will focus on six interrelated components:
- climate modeling
- ecology
- water resources
- policy and outreach
- education
- cyberinfrastructure
UNLV will participate in all of these areas with a focus in water resources, policy, and education.
A project highlight includes the development of an ecological monitoring network to measure the basic parameters of climate change. The network of stations will boost research in ground water recharge, wildland fires, and invasive and endemic species.
The "Solutions Room"
UNLV will house a three-dimensional visualization facility in its new Science and Engineering Building that will make interactive, real-time data accessible to researchers, students, decision makers, and the public. The "Solutions Room" will serve as a hub for teams to interpret climate-related issues in an IMAX-like setting.
The grant also will fund:
- three new faculty positions
- graduate student assistantships
- undergraduate fellows
- postdoctoral fellows
More than $1 million will allow research teams from other institutions to take advantage of the infrastructure developed through the grant.
Funds Distribution
Grant funding from the NSF will be distributed among partner institutions, with UNLV receiving approximately $4.5 million. As part of NSF requirements that states show commitment to the project, NSHE is contributing $6.5 million to the project.
The grant was funded by the NSF through Nevada EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research). EPSCoR began in Nevada in 1985 to strengthen research and education in science and engineering in states that are historically underfunded by federal agencies.
For more information, go to www.nevada.edu/epscor.
Related Information
National Science Foundation
