Water Science Communication Fellowship lets students get their feet wet in research: UNM Newsroom

What do donut economics, a high school lesson plan, and little cow pictures all have in common?

All of these things were represented in several projects as part of the 2024 UNM Undergraduate Water Science Communication Fellowship presentations recently held at the University of New Mexico.

The program paired undergraduate students with faculty and other students across campus to collaborate on creating a creative water science communications project that would be used to explain the research to the general public.

The event, which originated in the UNM Grand Challenges Sustainable Water Resources focus area, was one of several events during the annual Undergraduate Research Opportunity Conference (UROC).

Students majoring in everything from chemical engineering to political science participated in the presentations, where they communicated their research projects related to the issues of water resources and the environment, told from each student’s unique point of view – influenced by their academic major , the work of a UNM mentor, and their personal interests and talents.

For some, the project was a podcast, a painting, or a sculpture (one of which featured running water). For others, the project involved a video or a website. Other students took a more traditional approach and communicated their research on a poster.

The Water Science Communication Fellowship was established in 2022 by Anjali Mulchandani, assistant professor in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, together with Sydney Donohue Jobe, education specialist for the Center for Water and the Environment.

Since then, the event has grown from 10 students in the first year to 15 this year. The reach has also expanded, with students who participated last year now serving as mentors to the current cohort of students.

Jobe said the goal of the water science communication fellowships is to provide students with an accessible way to get involved in research, especially with people outside their academic field.

“It gets students involved in research across campus and collaborating in an interdisciplinary way,” she said.

And for Kamryn Zachek, an economics and philosophy student who participated in the first event in 2022 when she was a freshman, her role is even bigger. For the past two years, she has been the student leader and helped plan the event along with Mulchandani and Jobe.

Zachek, now a junior, said she was in charge of organizing biweekly meetings from January to April with the participants, where they would share the progress of their projects and provide them with peer feedback and guidance on summaries and projects.

Jobe said this model – of creating future leaders – is one of the most beneficial outcomes of the water science communications fellowship program.

“I’m most proud of how it’s going into its third year,” she said. “It is very nice to see how we take a student cohort with us and let those students continue with their mentor and the research. We also see that they get internships and jobs as a result, so the impact is long-lasting.”

Each participating student will receive a $1,000 stipend to complete their communications project, which may be based on a faculty member’s water research or on their own water-related research. No research experience is necessary and students from both STEM and humanities are invited to participate.

Zachek said she first got involved in the water science communications program because she was interested in undergraduate research, and then got much more out of the experience than she expected.

“One of the most positive impacts is joining a research team and connecting with other mentors,” she said.

As an economics major, she had the opportunity to meet faculty and other students in different disciplines. She is currently interested in water-related research and plans to attend law school after completing her bachelor’s degree.

Jobe said the water science communication fellowship is also part of a study itself, looking at the learning outcomes of the program.

“We look at how the fellowship influences students’ research identity and self-efficacy, and how interdisciplinary partnerships increase,” she said.

She is working with Mulchandani, Zachek and Vanessa Svihla, a learning scientist with joint appointments in the UNM Organization, Information and Learning Sciences (OILS) program, as well as the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

The students who presented and their project titles were:

• Tiwalola Anawo, biological anthropology major, “Uncovering the Chemical Factors in the Restoration of Animas Rivers.” Mentor: Rafael Oliveira.
• Roselynn Padilla, liberal arts major, “Waterworks: Promoting Diversity and Interest in U.S. Water Infrastructure Careers through Secondary Education.” Mentors: Joni M. Palmer and Sydney Donohue Jobe.
• Doorthy Mberile, computer engineering major, “Impact of Wildfires on New Mexico Rivers.” Mentors: Ricardo González-Pinzón and Paige Tunby.
• Elena Finnegan, a community and regional planning major, “The Future of Green Water Infrastructure.” Mentors: Heather Himmelberger and Joni M. Palmer.
• Paris Eisenman, civil engineering major, “Mechanics and Risks of Atmospheric Water Collection.” Mentors: Anjali Mulchandani, Constanza Kremer and Matthew Russell.
• Quyen Le, a chemical engineering major, “Tackling water scarcity using membrane distillation technique to treat existing wastewater sources.” Mentor: Allyson McGaughey.
• Dana Awad, chemical engineering major, “An infographic to introduce conventional and advanced membrane processes and applications.” Mentor: Allyson McGaughey.
• Carmen Atchley, civil engineering major, “Climate Change in New Mexican Communities and Solution Created by Atmospheric Water Harvesting.” Mentors: Anjali Mulchandani and Matt Russell.
• Justin Spitz, medical laboratory science major, “Water Science for Healthcare Professionals.” Mentor: Heidi Honegger Rogers.
• Abigail Castro, economics major, “Addressing Goal 6’s water challenges with donut economics.” Mentor: Heidi Honegger Rogers.
• Harmony Martinez, biology major, “Flow to Faucet: Studying Southwestern and Stream Systems through the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed.” Mentor: William Mejia.
• Kenya Hernandez, chemical engineering major, “Plastic – A Part of You.” Mentors: Maycee Hurd and Sydney Donohue Jobe.
• Elena Rosales, biology and sustainability studies major, “Local Carbon Interactions: Exploring Biogeochemical Research in the Bosque Ecosystem.” Mentor: Alex Webster.
• Diego Salazar, environmental sciences major, “Long-term ecological research in Rio Calaveras.” Supervisor: Laura Crossey.
• Ella Bodor Hatfield, political science major, “How Procedural Justice Improves Community-Based Water Management Practices: Studies from Honduras.” Mentor: Jami Nunez.

Sustainable water resources are one of UNM’s original Grand Challenges – problems of global, national and regional importance requiring interdisciplinary solutions – that have proven necessary to improve New Mexico’s lives and economy. Water research is now housed in a new UNM research center called ARID (Accelerating Resilience Innovations in Drylands).

The Water Science Communication Fellowship is funded primarily by private donations. To learn how you can support this program and ensure it continues, please contact Mary Wolford, senior director of development in the School of Engineering, at [email protected], or Anjali Mulchandani at anjalim@unm .edu.

Top image: Quyen Le, chemical engineering major, presents “Tackling Water Scarcity Using Membrane Distillation Technique to Purify Existing Wastewater Sources.”