Video & Blog highlights

Video

  • Ethan Weikel, P.G., presented the latest Science for Citizens seminar titled "Shifting Strategies as a Result of Reduced Federal Funding". Video recordings are available on IAN's website and YouTube.

Blogs

Guanabara Bay gets D in first report card!

The cover of the Guanabara Bay report card showing the city of Rio de Janeiro with buildings along the coast and forested and rocky hillsides.On July 21, 2017 the Guanabara Bay Report Card was released at the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dave Nemazie and Alexandra Fries released the report card with the help of Joao Coimbra and Bob Summers. The report card focused on water quality indicators for Guanabara Bay and its Basin. The Bay and Basin both received D grades, showing poor water quality throughout a region that supports almost 9 million inhabitants. The international spotlight was shown on Rio, and Guanabara Bay, during the Olympics last year, with the poor conditions evident. To clean up the bay, sewage treatment and proper trash collection and disposal are imperative. The report card is available online at guanabarabay.ecoreportcard.org.

Charleston Harbor project newsletter released

Looking at Arthur Ravenel Jr bridge from inside Charleston HarborIAN Program Director Heath Kelsey and Science Communication Assistant Emily Nastase ventured to Charleston, SC to meet with project partners from University of South Carolina, Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association, and Charleston Waterkeeper to revitalize the 'How's the Beach?' website. 'How's the Beach?' is a site that presents health advisories to the public about bacterial levels in Myrtle Beach, SC and Sarasota, FL. The goal for continuing this project is to expand the site to include health advisories for Charleston Harbor. Details about this project can be found in the newsletter, "Assessing bacterial levels in Charleston Harbor".

IAN welcomes Claire Sbardella

Claire Sbardella with a clump of moss on her head.Claire Sbardella is the new science communication intern at the IAN Annapolis office. She hails from South Carolina and has recently graduated from Washington and Lee University (WLU) with a BA in English and Geology. She has worked on two major research projects at WLU under the guidance of paleontologist and Assistant Professor Dr. Jill Leonard-Pingel and has completed both a capstone and a thesis in her respective majors. Her hobbies include running, playing video games, and visiting state parks. Following this internship (although perhaps not immediately) she plans on going to graduate school for an MS in environmental science.

IAN welcomes Kevin Asplen

Asplen family dachshunds Kevin is a software engineer and lifelong resident of Cambridge, MD. A quest for technical work on the Eastern Shore led to IT positions at K&L Microwave and Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, MD for 5 years, followed by 23 years at K&L as scientific programmer for microwave filter design engineers and as web developer for the marketing team. Kevin's role in IAN is in cloud infrastructure support for the Chesapeake Bay Program with some programming for Horn Point Lab. He is excited about current opportunities to support true science and would love one day to be immersed in modeling or genomics code for an enthusiastic researcher.