Featured Awards – August 2016

NASA awarded Mark Chopping (Earth and Environmental Studies, CSAM) a $10,537 supplement for “Forest and Shrub Mapping with MISR” which will map forest and shrub aboveground woody biomass and canopy structure for diverse environments, over both limited and larger areas and for multiple orbits and years, using data from the NASA/JPL Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer.

Nina Goodey (Chemistry and Biochemistry, CSAM) and Jennifer Krumins (Biology, CSAM) were awarded $320,180 for the first year of “RUI: SusChEM: Increasing Soil Enzymatic Function with Targeted Microbial Inocula.” This project will study how high enzymatic activity can convert soils contaminated with metals and organics into functional, productive environments. It will also support a minimum of eight students.

Pankaj Lal (Earth and Environmental Studies, CSAM) was awarded $69,845 by the National Science Foundation for the second year of “CAREER: Geographic Suitability, Socioeconomic Uncertainty, and Environmental Consequences: Exploring Place-based Opportunities for Bioenergy Sustainability.” This project will explore place based solutions for cellulosic bioenergy sustainability, through a unique approach that coordinates three strands of research: fuzzy logic theory based geospatial suitability, stated preference survey and stochastic analyses based socioeconomic uncertainty, and life cycle assessment based environmental analyses. Two dominant cellulosic bioenergy feedstocks, namely switchgrass in Midwestern US and pine in Southern US, will be studied.

Bryan Murdock, Krystal Woolston, Danielle Dapiran (Center for Community Engagement), and Randall FitzGerald (NJ School of Conservation) were awarded $300,414 by the NJ Commission on National and Community Service for the second year of funding for the “Montclair State University EECO Project.” The program will engage twenty AmeriCorps members who will support the development and implementation of a full service university-assisted UACS community school project in Orange, NJ.

Robert Prezant (Dean, CSAM) and Aihua Li (Mathematical Sciences, CSAM) received a $72,253 subaward from Rutgers University for the third year of the NSF-funded project, “Garden State LSAMP Phase II,” which will continue and extend the programmatic support for underrepresented students heading into the sciences other than medicine.

The US Department of Education awarded $1,167,888 to Jennifer Robinson (Center of Pedagogy, CEHS) and Susan Wray (Early Childhood, Elementary and Literacy Education, CEHS) for the third year of a $6.2 million project called “Newark Montclair Urban Teacher Residency.” This program, in partnership with the Newark Public Schools (NPS), seeks to improve student achievement by applying rigorous research-based teacher preparation to the concrete needs of the NPS. The Newark Montclair Urban Teacher Residency is designed to recruit talented individuals, including those from underrepresented groups and other careers, into teaching math, science, and early childhood special education. The NMUTR also increases teacher quality and retention, which ultimately improves student achievement.

Michael Weinstein (Dean’s Office, CSAM) received a $6,005 subaward from New Jersey Institute of Technology for the NJ Sea Grant Consortium-funded project “At Risk – Healthy Coastal Ecosystems and Resilient Communities & Economies in an Era of Climate Change: A Balanced Approach to Protecting People, Property and Nature in Historic Greenwich Township, N.J.” Dr. Weinstein will develop an Environmental Constraints Analysis to evaluate proposed engineering designs to mitigate storm surge and flooding during severe storm events at Greenwich, NJ.