The Project WiCCED Network in Action
Check out what our team members have been up to lately, WiCCED September Newsletter.
Partnering with Oyster Farmers for “Citizen Scientists Program”
Scientific research is often motivated by a desire to improve the livelihoods of targeted communities. However, researchers often work divorced from potential stakeholders, making it challenging to design, implement, and communicate beneficial research. In contrast, the Citizen Scientists Program helps connect researchers with the public to allow for a steady knowledge flow from both parties, increase participation in scientific ventures by the public, and creating more valuable educational opportunities.
Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay’s lab team has been collaborating with oyster aquaculture farmers in Rehoboth Bay, DE, to achieve just that. The first shellfish plot in Delaware was leased in 2017 and since then, several aquaculture farmers have grown oysters in Rehoboth Bay as a sustainable food source. As a relatively new venture, there are a lot of questions about the viability of rearing oysters in the Bay and the potential environmental impacts. The Ozbay Lab first reached out to oyster farmers in the summer of 2019 to promote collaboration efforts for research purposes. The team has seen, firsthand, that members of the public are very interested in learning about water quality that may affect their leased areas and businesses.
To learn more, click link here.
2020-2021 Wesley College STEM Program Scholarship Recipients
Wesley College’s STEM UR-CATS (Undergraduate Research – Center for Analytics, Talent, and Success) allows for engaged STEM learning in different domains and at varying levels of intensity. In fall 2020, through external federal and state funding, Wesley’s STEM UR-CATS program awarded $81,000 in scholarships to fifteen Cannon Scholars for the 2020-2021 academic year. To learn more, click link here.
EPSCoR Project WiCCED Seminar Series 2020
Beginning on September 30, 2020, we will be hosing a monthly research spotlight seminar series to share in the work that is taking place across our institutions! Project WiCCED Seminar Series (9 23 20)pdf
The first seminar will be Dr. Kent Messer, PI, EVIDENCE-BASED BLUEPRINTS FOR BEHAVIORAL CHANGE TO IMPROVE COASTAL WATER QUALITY. Check out the flyer for more information and how to join the seminar. Kent_Messer Seminar
What this Wesley College survey says about virtual education and mental health amid COVID-19
Sixty-eight STEM students at the Dover school were surveyed. Here’s what they said about their changing sense of community, career interests and more – click link here.
VIRTUAL CAMP TEACHES KIDS CYBER SKILLS
UD students help middle schoolers learn computer engineering through Project WiCCED’s Data Core Andy Novocin About 60 local middle schoolers are putting their socially distant time to good use, thanks to a virtual coding and cybersecurity summer camp hosted by computer engineering experts at the University of Delaware. To learn more click link here.