Home / Funding / Travel Grants / Travel Grant Recipients / 2016-2017 Travel Grant Recipients
Social Insects in the Northeast Regions (SINNERS), Washington, D.C., 10-11 December 2016
Because of TIE Funding... Since I study social insects (honey bees), this conference was a great opportunity to network with people in this niche of ecology. Being able to attend this conference was also beneficial to me because I presented data from a pilot project and I asked conference attendees for suggestions. I got suggestions from other bee people, ant people, and termite people; the varied social insect expertise was invaluable!
American Meteorological Society 16th Annual Student Conference, Seattle, Washington, 21-22 January 2017
Because of TIE Funding... The TIE travel grant allowed me to travel to the conference and present my poster, and gave me a chance to interact with other students doing similar research. I also got a chance to see what research other students are doing in this field. While I've presented posters before, this was my first time doing so at such a large conference, and it gave me the opportunity to improve my presentation skills in a one-on-one setting, as well as to an audience.
World Environmental and Water Resources Congress (American Society of Civil Engineers – Environmental and Water Resources Institute), Sacramento, California, 21-25 May 2017
Because of TIE Funding... I presented my talk in a Sustainability session focused on the energy-water nexus. I was put in this session because of the hydropower emphasis of my work, but the topics were diverse and ones with which I am not as familiar. I heard multiple presentations related to the water footprint of various energy sources in California, and another presentation related to the water temperature impacts of thermoelectric power plants. I tried to draw parallels between my flow alteration work, and the temperature alteration work that a Ph.D. student from the University of Illinois was doing. Attending this session piqued my interest in the water-energy nexus and led me to contemplate some of the renewable energy integration issues I had pondered when I attended a pre-conference workshop for a grant I was previously awarded for hydropower-related research.
Summer Soil Institute, Fort Collins, Colorado (Colorado State University and The Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory), 11-24 June 2017
Because of TIE Funding... In the past several years of my academic career I have learned that the keystone to many global environmental challenges are tied to soil. My attendance at SSI allowed me to improve my understanding of soils, the program offered an incredible educational experience involving many of the essential components of soil science. Now with a more holistic understanding of soils from soil biodiversity, to soil processes and ecosystem services, I plan to use my new skills to inform my current research project on soil health policy.
Data Collection and Research for Ph.D. dissertation, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 24 July - 16 August 2017
Because of TIE Funding... My dissertation involves an analysis of national climate funds in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. The TIE Travel Grant Award was vital in allowing me to complete my field work. I was able to meet a range of key informants from across relevant ministries, the Prime Minister’s Office, the CRGE Facility, research institutions, and development partners. The interviews will be a vital source of material for my dissertation and will allow me to explore the nuances of how Ethiopia has used its national climate fund to mobilize resources in detail.