ARID Awards 5 Student Research Grants to Support Interdisciplinary, Community-Engaged Research
January 31, 2025
The ARID Institute awarded five $5,000 research grants to support students carrying out resilience-related interdisciplinary and community engaged research. The applicant pool was very strong, with many very interesting and innovative projects. The finalists were picked due to the strength of their research question, the strength of their abstract, the degree of interdisciplinarity, the strength of their link to resilience, the potential for broader community benefits, and the strength of the external partnership. The students selected for the grant are:
- Tessa Hernandez, undergraduate senior, Earth and Planetary Science: Working with EJ Air to investigate concentrations of heavy metals in Albuquerque's soil and wild plants.
- Tyler Clayshult, graduate student, Water Resources Program: Working with NM Environment Department, Surface Water Quality Bureau to monitor and predict harmful algal blooms in the Middle Rio Grande.
- Jane Saweregera and Ziquing Xie, PhD students, Economics: Working with Regen Aquaculture to develop a dynamic bioeconomic model to identify optimal harvest schedules for aquaponic farms.
- Bianca Camacho, undergraduate senior, Geography and Environmental Studies: Working with Tamaya Horse Rehab and Santa Ana Pueblo to work with university students and indigenous youth on hands-on experiments on the composition, ratios, and distribution processes of manure for local agricultural systems.
- Esther Hewitt, undergraduate senior, Sociology (Sustainability minor): Working with the City of Albuquerque Sustainability Office to support, track, and analyze public engagement in the City's pollution reduction activities.
