substations. Equipped with a meaningful deliverable, Sarasota County disaster planners may directly apply Christopher’s groundbreaking research as they devise storm surge damage mitigation strategies to decrease recovery time and expense. Beyond its Sarasota County disaster planning applicability, Christopher’s research may also be applied to other depthsensitive infrastructure, such as freshwater wellheads. Additionally, his research may prove relevant in addressing depth-sensitive mangrove and saltwater marsh ecological concerns. Complementing his Ronald E. McNair Scholar and Hill Fellowship grant recipient status, Christopher’s NSF-EPSCoR program involvement has permitted him to further enrich his undergraduate University of Idaho experience. Funded by EPSCoR, Christopher presented portions of his research findings at the 2010 Association of Pacific Coast Geographers (APCG), the 2011 3rd Annual EPSCoR Tri-State Western Consortium, and the 2011 Association of American Geographers (AAG) conferences. Resulting from his 2011 AAG conference presentation, Christopher was contacted by an editor of Physical Geography to submit a paper for consideration in a future special issue concerning sea-level rise. In the future, Christopher intends to pursue a graduate degree focusing upon water hazards, water resources, and climate change implications and would like to address issues particular to the states of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. According to Christopher, “the background in research that EPSCoR, and my mentor, have enabled is enriching the quality of education I am receiving under my standard class load. The experience has been invaluable in my preparation for a career as an academic. I am not able to overstate the value of the opportunity to conduct and present, as an undergraduate, the research that EPSCoR has facilitated.”
Kerrie Riley Kerry Riley, a Hydrology major at Boise State University (BSU), works with Dr. Jennifer Pierce, associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at BSU, to conduct research which focuses on understanding the historical (last 10,000 yrs) relationships among climate, vegetation, fire, and geomorphic response in the Middle Fork Salmon River, Idaho. More specifically, her research is designed to increase understanding in the effects that climate has played on the timing and severity of wildfires and how the landscape has responded via post-fire erosion to these changes through time. This research will help to better understand and predict future climate, fire, and landscape response (erosion) relationships. Kerry, who is originally from Morgantown West Virginia, has benefited from her participation in Idaho EPSCoR research. According to Kerry, “I have grown immensely as a scientist and science educator through this EPSCoR Assistantship. I have had the opportunity to work in the most beautiful river
corridor I could imagine, the Middle Fork Salmon River, and collaborate with top scientist in the field of geomorphology including Dr. Jen Pierce, Dr. Ben Crosby, and Dr. Elowyn Yager. These highlights are a small fraction of the numerous lessons that I have experienced through this amazing educational opportunity.” Kerry is already finding great success in her academic career, having recently been selected one of the winners of the poster competition at the 3rd Annual Tri-State Western Consortium meeting where she presented her work, “A 10,000-year record of fire activity and fire-related sedimentation in the Middle Fork Salmon River.” Kerry’s plans are to continue her education and join a Ph.D. program in the field of geomorphology. As Kerry states, “I would ultimately like to teach geomorphology at the college level and work towards increasing awareness and understanding of science in the community.”
Jiří Kadlec Jiří Kadlec, a native of Prague, Czech Republic, is working towards his Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Science (Geosciences) at Idaho State University (ISU). He is currently working with Daniel P. Ames, associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at ISU, on the design and development of open source geographic information systems for hydrologic analysis (MapWindow, DotSpatial, HydroDesktop). The goal of Jiří’s research is to enable free access to climate and water data from all parts of the world by working with local organizations and also using satellite estimates in areas of low data availability. According to Jiří, there is an extensive amount of climate and hydrologic data (precipitation, temperature, soil water) that are accessible free of charge using the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) that can be used to assess the impact of past and present climate change on water resources. In many parts of the world outside the United States of America, climate and hydrologic data are not available for users through the web. By making the water and climate data available free of charge, the public awareness about changing climate and its impact on water ecosystems is increased. Jiří’s professional aspirations are to defend his Ph.D. thesis in spring 2012, and promote the advancement of research and development in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and hydrology as a university professor in Europe and the Czech Republic. He was recently one of the winners of the poster competition at the 3rd Annual Tri-State Western Consortium meeting where he presented his work, “Design of a web map application for accessing free hydrologic data.” According to Jiří, “The EPSCoR assistantship has been a great opportunity for me to meet other students, researchers and professionals in Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico. It broadened my horizons.”
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