SENR Announcements

Please join the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) in welcoming new faculty members Drs. Allison Rober and Kevin Wyatt. We look forward to catching up with them soon to share more about their expertise and interests!

SENR also welcomes Devin Mingesbruney, who joins the Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab (TWEL) to coordinate the Ohio Lights Out programs and work on avian conservation in urban areas and today, Harrison Fried, joins the Environmental Professionals Network (EPN) as program director. 

We are excited to welcome our new students! As of now, we have 104 undergraduates (80 new first years and 24 new transfer students) and 32 graduate students joining SENR this academic year! Our instructors will teach 63 unique courses with a total of 77 total course offerings not including the various independent studies and undergraduate and graduate research sections. Our academic teams are ready, offering opportunities to engage, advise and support them as they embark on their academic journeys with us. 

New this year! The SENR Seminar Series will feature external and student speakers, plus EPN Events!  Be on the lookout for calendar invites to the Autumn 2024 SENR Seminar Series, which will be held in Kottman Hall 103 from 4 to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays throughout the semester. This series promises to be an exciting and enriching experience, featuring:

• PhD students presenting research talks
• Masters students delivering lightning talks
• Invited speakers sharing their diverse expertise

Join us for an opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research and network with fellow scholars. We look forward to your participation!

Photo caption: Our SENR faculty pose for a group photo.

• The Revised ENR Graduate Program Handbook is available here. Bookmark it!
• Please use the SENR Handbook (go.osu.edu/SENRHandbook) for answers to questions/links to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and let faculty member Robyn Wilson know when something is missing! It is also linked on the main page of ENR@Work and will guide the rebuild of enr@work soon. 

  enr@work is the intranet for the School of Environment and Natural Resources faculty, staff and graduate students. Information is shared on enr@work to assist in your day-to-day work. The site is under construction and will eventually reflect the structure found in the SENR Handbook.  Until the site is fully update, it may be best to use the Handbook as your reference manual for day-to-day work questions.

• If you wish to share news with undergraduates in the SENR Undergraduate and Career Newsletter, please submit here>>
  The newsletter is delivered every other Sunday of the semester.  

Majority of Farm Families Struggle With Access to Child Care, According to Survey | Shoshanah Inwood

OSEP grants support campus-wide sustainability efforts | Anne Baird

UC ornithologist on training the next generation of bird banders: 'They're going to inherit the Earth' | Holly Erickson, FFW Major

The USDA has invested $10 million into a project, which partners Ohio State and Central State with two universities in Missouri on WOSU All Sides with Anna Staver | Douglas Jackson-Smith *Interview starts at about the 18:32 timestamp.

Ohio State University to lead $10M effort to bridge gap between research and farmers | Douglas Jackson-Smith

Journal Articles

Kerry Ard, Jason Thomas, Clair Bullock, Toxic air pollution and cognitive decline: Untangling particulate matter, Health & Place,
Volume 89, 2024, 103330, ISSN 1353-8292, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103330.

Sandip Mondal, Tania Burgos-Hernandez, Timothy I. Ralston, Abasola C.M. Simon, Brian K. Slater, Terry L. Niblack, Horacio D. Lopez-Nicora, Urban greenspaces shape soil nematode community across soil depth gradients: Belowground life at The Ohio State University, Ecological Indicators, Volume 166, 2024, 112399, ISSN 1470-160X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112399

Javier M. Gonzalez, Warren A. Dick, Khandakar R. Islam, Dexter B. Watts, Norman R. Fausey, Dennis C. Flanagan, Marvin T. Batte, Tara T. VanToai, Randall C. Reeder, Vinayak S. Shedekar, Cover crops, crop rotation, and gypsum, as conservation practices, impact Mehlich-3 extractable plant nutrients and trace metals, International Soil and Water Conservation Research, Volume 12, Issue 3, 2024, Pages 650-662, ISSN 2095-6339, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2023.11.001.

Lal, R. Artificial intelligence for assessing organic matter content and related soil properties. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation July 2024, 79 (4) 66A-73A; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2024.0403A

Factsheets

Faculty member Manbir Rakkar is a co-author on a new Ohioline factsheet available on how soil health responds to gypsum application based on Ohio-based research trials.

Newsletter

The summer edition of The Ohio Woodlands, Water, and Wildlife Newsletter is available to read with articles on a new resource to assist in identifying Ohio Forest Pests, Creating Living Landscapes for Birds, Bees, and Other Beneficials and announces a new series for woodland owners eager to enhance their land management skills! The newsletter is published in part with funding from the Renewable Resource Extension Act (RREA).

Webinar

Faculty member Robyn Wilson was a featured presenter for the August 6 Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) webinar, "Taking ACTION: Promoting Water Conservation Practices." 

The SENR calendar is robust with many opportunities to engage, discover and deepen knowledge. Check it often for new opportunities. Be sure to also check out the SENR's Career Development Event Calendar for upcoming events, including the SENR Internship Poster Forum, the Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Career Fair, and say hello and introduce yourself at the SENR Employer Engagement Tabling Event. 

Event Quick Links for August

• August 20: Ohio Woodland Stewards Webinar – (first in a series for woodland owners) Woodland Wisdom: Learn to Balance What you Have with What you Want >>
• August 20: Freshwater Science Webinar: Investigating Hypoxia Dynamics in Lake Erie>>
• August 22: Ohio Woodlands Stewards - Name that Tree>>
• August 22: Exploring Crop and Livestock Integration: Barriers and Benefits (Wayne County)>>
• August 27-28: 2024 Lake Erie Workshop for Science and Outdoor Writers>>
• August 28: The Good, The Bad and the Hungry: Dealing with Wildlife in the Garden>>
• August 28: Pancakes with Pollinators at Ohio State Mansfield>>
• August 28: Exploring Crop and Livestock Integration: Barriers and Benefits (Darke County)>>

Looking Ahead

• September 4:  Understanding Algal Blooms - State of Science Conference hosted by Ohio Sea Grant >>
• September 17-19: Farm Science Review (schedule for the FSR at the Gwynne Conservation Area posted soon on the calendar)
• September 19: OEC/EPN - Protecting the Spaces and Places of Ohio's Environment>>
• September 23:  Save the Date: Coffee, Cocoa and Communication Chat. Meet the SENR Communications Team in an in-formal setting and share ideas on innovative and collaborative ways to boost awareness, understanding and impact of your work!
• October 8: EPN Breakfast - Our Minds Matter: Enhancing climate resilience skills and well-being for environmental students and professionals >>
• November 8: Ohio Water Resources Center - Interdisciplinary Water Research Symposium>>

Photo caption: Faculty member Manbir Rakkar was the keynote speaker at “Cover Crop ‘Til You Drop!” offered on July 31, 2024 and hosted by the OSU Extension Water Quality Team. This was their second annual field day focused on agricultural conservation practices with this year's theme focused on all things cover crops, including economics, research results, programs available for funding, as well as how this practice impacts soil health and water quality. The FREE event was supported by Cargill with sponsorship from The Nature Conservancy.

We are seeking a coordinator to oversee research and stewardship mission areas of the Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetlands Research Park (ORWRP) at The Ohio State University.  This urban wetland facility is located on the campus of The Ohio State University and is managed primarily by the School of Environment and Natural Resources, for which it plays a key role in research, education, and outreach. Full details are available here>>

Before you dive into autumn semester, be sure to learn about the latest updates to teaching and learning tools and other technology services from the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI). Learn more about our new proctoring tool, Honorlock; review changes and improvements to CarmenCanvas; check out new features in Mediasite; find out how you and your students can access Adobe Express and Creative Cloud; and so much more.

Link: https://it.osu.edu/news/2024/08/14/important-teaching-and-learning-tool-updates-autumn-2024

SENR Announcements is a way to share highlights, happenings, and opportunities. We look forward to helping shine a light on your research, outreach, and teaching. If you'd like to submit content for Announcements, please send to the following Communications Team email: FAES-SENRComm@osu.edu

Schedule for Announcements 
August 19, 30
September 13, 27
October 11, 25
November 8, 22
December 6, 20

Thank you for sharing your news with us!
**Don't forget to follow us on social and help us spread the word of your impact! #SENRisHere