ESPP Weekly Update

Seminars, Workshops & Other Events

Job and Training Opportunities

• MSU Graduate Certification in Community Engagement

  The Graduate Certification in Community Engagement is a three-part, non-credit professional development program for MSU graduate students — at any level, in any department, in any college. Once a student completes the three requirements, they earn an official credential on their academic transcripts. The program is designed with flexibility in mind, so graduate students can dovetail this program with their degree requirements and life commitments. It's a wonderful option for ESPP students interested in integrating community-engaged work with their research.

• Research Scientist II (Step 14) — UAH / EarthRISE, Huntsville, AL

  There are two new Research Scientist II (Step 14) positions down in Huntsville as they build out the EarthRISE team further (the new version of NASA SERVIR). An excellent fit for students interested in NASA Earth-system remote sensing and applications. One of MSU's own (a former PhD student of Drs. Das and Mantha) was just hired, so they're actively seeking to keep up the MSU injection into the program.

• Research Scientist II (Step 14) — UAH / EarthRISE, Huntsville, AL

  Second open Research Scientist II posting for the growing EarthRISE program in Huntsville, Alabama. See the full job description at the UAH careers portal for qualifications and how to apply.

Environment News

• Fast-moving wildfire in Reno, Nevada, forces tens of thousands to evacuate homes (The Guardian)

  The Hawk Fire, a fast-moving blaze near Reno, Nevada, has forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes as smoke and flames threaten the city's eastern neighborhoods.

• How do you vaccinate 1,000 tiny penguins against bird flu in the wild? It's "really tricky" but there is a way (The Guardian)

  On Australia's Phillip Island, a vaccination team is working through the night to inoculate roughly 1,000 little penguins against avian influenza — a logistical challenge made harder by the birds' size, speed, and wild habitat.

• London's low emission zone is working — so why are cities around the world so cautious about clean air? (The Guardian)

  Despite measurable air-quality gains in London, cities elsewhere are hesitant to adopt similar low-emission zones, raising questions about what political and economic barriers hold back proven clean-air policy.

• UK's rarest bird of prey rears new chicks in secret location (BBC Earth)

  The Montagu's harrier, Britain's rarest bird of prey, has successfully raised chicks for the second consecutive year at a still-secret nesting site — a significant boost for the recovering population.

• India is turning to ancient water systems as modern ones run dry (BBC Future)

  Water scarcity and climate change are driving communities across India to restore stepwells and other traditional water infrastructure built centuries ago, bringing pre-modern engineering back into 21st-century use.

• Bigger, hotter fires are slowly erasing America's Great Forests (The New York Times)

  Towering woodlands in California and the American Southwest are being permanently replaced by tracts of spiky shrubs as larger, hotter fires reshape the landscape; as one researcher put it, conditions "just aren't normal anymore."

• How Trump is trying to crush California's environmental policies (The New York Times)

  At least six federal agencies have moved against the state that has long led the nation in environmental protections, marking an escalating Washington–Sacramento clash over climate and energy regulation.

• Rare South American diseases offer clues on the next pandemic (The New York Times)

  Viruses like Ebola and hantavirus likely jumped from animals to humans in South America, and scientists say climate change is speeding their spread — making the region's disease outbreaks early warnings of what may come.