2018 Research Project Details + Desired Skills

The Agricultural Paradox: Case Study of South Central Indiana

Small-scale, ecologically sustainable agriculture is often not economically sustainable in the long-term. Large-scale, industrial-oriented agriculture is profitable, but not ecologically sustainable in the long-term. Ironically, farm gate prices (including government subsidies where applicable) for industrially grown commodity crops are lower than those typically produced using ecologically sustainable methods when compared to a standardized price metric, such as parity price. The purpose of the proposed research is to begin to unravel this paradox with an eye toward understanding leverage points that would make ecologically sustainable farming more economically sustainable. Key tasks involve comparison of farm gate and parity prices (several parity price bases exist), working with other members of a team of researchers (EAR funded Sustainable Farming Systems group/Critical Food Studies Lab) to design and implement surveys and interviews, manuscript preparation, and (potentially) presentation of results at national/international meetings. Publication as part of the research team is possible.

Desired skills and interests: interest in farm justice, knowledge of Microsoft Excel, basic familiarity with economics, mathematics and statistics, willingness to learn IRB protocol, good team player, good writing skills, ability to make presentations.
 

Investigating health risk imposed by environmental emergency-related contamination events

Many hazardous waste storage sites, e.g., U.S. EPA superfund sites, have monitoring and management plans to minimize long-lasting harms to residents and the environment. However, potential health threats may greatly increase after unpredictable environmental disasters, such as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Consequently, in areas where superfund sites are present, potential inundated floods and high groundwater level can cause hazardous waste to leach out or “re-mobilize” and migrate to regional water body and wells and pose great threats to community health. In this collaborative project, results from hydrodynamic modeling for PCBs will be utilized in health risk assessment framework to estimate the potential health risk imposed by exposure to PCBs through drinking water. The approaches can be expanded to other hazardous substances and will greatly improve emergency responses and decision/policy making.

Desired skills and interests: interest in environmental health problems. Dedicated and detail orientated. Previous research experience and quantitative analysis skills are preferred but not required.

How are new data-driven technologies being developed to support sustainable practices of farmers?

A number of startups companies are being formed to develop technological solutions to support the data needs of farmers (e.g., PastureMap, https://pasturemap.com/). In particular, these companies are focusing on how technology can help make sustainability more profitable and easier to implement for both small and large farmers. In this research, you will join a research team to examine how farmers in Indiana are currently using data to improve their sustainability, what their challenges are with data, and what kind of strategies/tools/technologies they are using to support their use of data. We will also identify opportunities for novel designs to facilitate farmers’ data needs for sustainability. The undergraduate researcher will assist our team in gathering information about companies developing software/hardware for farmers, interview relevant stakeholders, and participate in design exercises. Students will gain hands-on experience with human-computer interaction and user experience design.

Desired skills/interests: Have an interest in studying how people use (or can use) technology to better their lives. Comfortable interviewing people. Proactive and independent in following up leads and contacting potential research subjects. Willing to learn qualitative methods. Strong writing skills. Programming is a plus but not required. Having a car to travel to farms is a plus.

How do scientists use their training in an advocacy context?

Many scientists excel at producing cutting-edge research, but they often struggle to explain their work to a non-scientist audiences, such as journalists, lawmakers, and the general public. Talking about science to these audiences is usually not part of scientists’ training. When scientists fail to communicate their work effectively, it can result in situations where the public doesn’t understand why certain scientific discoveries matter and why such work should be funded. When science becomes politicized, such as in the cases of climate change and the safety of vaccines, science voices often get drowned out by inaccurate but more media-savvy figures, such as celebrities and politicians. This project examines scientists’ thoughts about communicating with non-scientist audiences through interviews with scientists who work for environmental advocacy organizations, some of which are concerned with issues of sustainability. How do these scientists operate as bridges between the world of neutral research and the world of public advocacy? Expected project outcomes by spring 2019 include completing and analyzing interviews with multiple scientists.

Desired skills and interest: Interest in science journalism, celebrity scientists (such as Neil deGrasse Tyson), environmental advocacy, social science research. Organized, able to coordinate interviews, strong writing ability.

Can our locally grown algae based biofertilizer (created from the emission stacks of IU’s Central Heating Plant) provide the necessary nutrients to grow healthy crops on IU’s Campus Farm and help the Campus Farm achieve organic certification?

This project aims to combine IU’s Farm and Bioreactor System (which converts campus greenhouse gas emissions into a nutrient rich algae based fertilizer) to grow crops at the IU Farm as a more sustainable alternative to harmful synthetic fertilizers. This project seeks to reduce pollution in the air, land and water by taking a harmful waste byproduct (greenhouse gasses) created by IU and converting it into a usable environmentally safer product to grow various plants on campus.

This past summer our group (which included two past 2020 Sustainability Scholars) successfully completed a $50,000 grant from Duke Energy to create the Nation’s first algae based bioreactor that converts campus greenhouse gas emissions into fertilizer, which was then applied to campus flower beds. We plan to build on this success of this project by determining the feasibility of utilizing this algae based fertilizer to grow food on the IU Campus Farm. This project will entail 3 primary goals:

1. Determine if we can fulfill the IU Campus Farm’s fertilizer needs using our algae based fertilizer based on the capacity of our current Bioreactor system.
2. Conduct a literature search and field experiments to determine the ideal (or range) of nutrient ratio(s) needed to maximize the growth rate of the various crops growing on the Campus Farm.
3. Contribute directly to gaining certified organic status for the campus farm.

To achieve these goals a combination of literature review, experimentation and data analysis will be required. The experiment will likely include a field component in which control plots will be compared to algae based fertilizer plots to determine how effective our fertilizer is compared to industry standards.

The outcome of this project will directly contribute to IU’s Farm (an incredible living laboratory) by increasing its sustainability footprint by providing a local, environmentally healthy (non-synthetic) and carbon sequestering organic fertilizer to help the farm achieve its goal of becoming organically certified.

Qualifications include a strong interest in either sustainable farming or innovative ways to utilize waste (for example, turning carbon rich emission waste from emission stacks into algae based fertilizer), or both. Previous experience using data management and statistical software (Access and Excel) is desirable but not required. However, an interest in learning these tools is required.

Measuring Sustainable Cybersecurity: How Benefit Corporations Can Help Protect Privacy, Boost Cybersecurity, and Promote Cyber Peace

Research Q: What would be the impacts of benefit corporations including cybersecurity and data privacy standards in their assessments? How might this be accomplished, and what form might it take?

This project will argue that organizations should treat cybersecurity as a matter of corporate social responsibility to safeguard their customers and the public, such as by securing critical infrastructure. It is in corporations own, long-term self-interest (as well as that of national security) to take such a wider view of private-sector risk management practices so as to encompass less traditional factors akin to what companies have done with respect to sustainability. To that end, the analogy of sustainable development will be developed, focusing on the applicability of certain aspects of the green movement, such as benefit corporations and the Energy Star system, to help foster cyber peace. Tasks will involve researching the benefit corporation and Energy Star assessment tools, and working with the NGO Public Knowledge on the field of sustainable cybersecurity.

Desired skills/interests: A motivated self-starter with an interest in both sustainability and tech and the ability to think creatively about novel intersections and applications.

Sustainable agricultural practices to renew degraded urban soil

The loss of productive farmland to urban and suburban development is a widespread problem that is often presented as an irreversible process. However, the increasing demand for local products and organic or related production practices has allowed for the emergence of small-scale high-value management systems that can produce food within urban landscapes. While these urban agricultural systems are closely related to farming in more rural settings, they face a stricter set of demands: they need to be more productive, to make the use of the small plots of land available in urban landscapes, they need to be more profitable, to effectively compete with urban land prices and provide a viable income for producers, and they need to be more sustainable, to meet the requirements for these niche markets and the scrutiny of surrounding customers. In addition, these urban farms must often make use of land that was dramatically altered during urbanization, such as fields where the topsoil has been stripped away.

Indiana University recently broke ground on a campus farm that occupies such a site, and in September 2018 will start a multi-year research project to investigate alternative management strategies for turning a highly degraded urban field into a highly sustainable, productive, and profitable urban farm. This research will focus on the use of compost amendment, cover crops, and both moveable and permanent forms of "high tunnel" plastic structures. While the field experiment cannot begin until the spring of 2019, a literature review and detailed research plan must be developed prior to this time. The Sustainability Scholar will be conduct this preparatory work under the supervision of Dr. Jon Eldon, and may be invited to join the subsequent research project.

Desired skills and interests: Interest and/or experience in agricultural science and food production, excellent organizational and record-keeping skills.

Real Food on the IU Bloomington Campus

Research questions:

• What percentage of food and beverage purchases during the 2018 fiscal year was on Real Food (i.e., local and community-based, fair, ecologically sound, or humane, according to RFC guidelines)?
• What are the Real products being purchased and from which vendors/distributors?
• What percentage of food and beverage purchases is on Disqualified Food (i.e., disqualified for CAFO, GMO, labor violations, ultra-processed)?

Our current industrial food system is unjust and unsustainable. The Real Food Challenge (RFC) is a national student movement to transform our food system. This initiative involves assessing the amount and types of food purchased by a university from socially just, sustainable sources, such that we can learn how to shift food procurement to support more just, sustainable food systems.

In this project, a student will be asked to assess procurement data for IU dining services in terms of the RFC criteria. They will use Excel to gather and organize food procurement data and do analyses. The student will draw on previous research by IU students and do primary research on new vendors, distributors and products.

The key tasks are acquiring purchasing/sales reports for all food and beverages at IU-B during FY17-18, analyzing this data with respect to the RFC Guide criteria, calculating percentages of Real and Disqualified Food, and compiling a list of all Real products. The end goal for April 2019 is a research report ready for dissemination to faculty, staff, students, administration, and our vendors and distributors. The student will be working alongside an IU Dining intern and myself.

Desired skills/interests: Must be dedicated, hardworking, and detail oriented. Some experience with Excel is desired, but not required. A very strong interest in sustainability and food systems is desired. Some knowledge regarding sustainable food systems is preferred.

Hoosier farming histories and sustainable futures

Research questions:

• What are farmers growing in Indiana, and how has this changed?
• Who are Hoosier farmers, and how has this demographic changed?
• What are examples of diversification and sustainable production in the state?

Recently, the Union of Concerned Scientists ranked Indiana’s food system as 46^th out of all 50 states. This is largely because Hoosier farmers are producing feed and fuel, rather than food. With the rise of monocultures in the wake of climate change, Indiana’s food system has become less sustainable, but there are farmers moving toward more diversified, sustainable production.

This project will begin with collecting and assessing USDA Agricultural Census data over the last century (this time period might change). The researcher will investigate what crops have been lost in the process of farm simplification, and what types of farmers have been lost in the consolidation of operations. Next, the researcher will identify areas of diversification and/or production of food crops and collect stories from farmers successful in sustainable transitions. S/he will work with myself and the Sustainable Food Systems Science team out of the Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.

The key tasks are acquiring agricultural census data, analyzing changes over time, and identifying examples of farm diversification and sustainable production. The end goals for April 2019 are a report on the history of Hoosier farms and a review of several examples of sustainable agricultural development from across the state.

Desired skills/interests: Must be dedicated, hardworking, and detail oriented. A very strong interest in sustainable food systems is desired. Some knowledge regarding farming and food systems is preferred. Excellent writing skills preferred.

How can utilities and governmental units further the acceptance of water reuse and recycling while maintaining positive public relations and sustainable profits?

Water is a precious resource across the world. According to NASA satellite data, “Twenty-one of the world’s thirty-seven largest aquifers are severely water-stressed.”  One man working on water solutions for India, Rajendra Singh, posited that “World War III will be fought over water.”   The average US citizen uses about 425 liters a day (as opposed to 340 liters/day in Canada, 140 liters/day in Europe, and 3 liters/day in Africa). Technology is developing rapidly, and many say it is advanced enough to make the reclaimed water (once sewage water) clean enough for drinking. That being said, the social stigma surrounding water reuse is negative.  The necessity of reusing water is asserted by leaders, like Peter Ng, the Chief Executive of PUB, Singapore’s national water agency.  In the US, increased and prolonged periods of draught will inevitably lead to requirements for water conservation with which Americans are largely unfamiliar and to which they may be hostile.

The student researcher will need to create multiple surveys that evoke qualitative and quantitative thinking from the participants. It will be crucial for the researcher to understand and evince passion for navigating public and corporate relations while creating sustainable solutions. The surveys will help to identify attitudes driving lack of public trust in reused water and potential areas of opportunity for companies to influence change.  Student will then also prepare and present results to be shared with IU Utilities, as well as outlining ways in which the research results might drive additional individual or class (service learning) projects around water conservation), as well as a classroom presentation around sustainability and conservation.

Desired skills and interests:  water conservation, environmental science, communications and sustainability, public health, safety, and quality of life.

Making sustainable food consumption decisions

Various environmental problems result from human activities yet humans often go out of their way to behave sustainably. Understanding how to motivate and empower sustainable behavior and sustainable decision-making is a new area of research that combines psychology, economics, and environmental science. The selected undergraduate researcher will join the new Sustainable Food System Science (SFSS) program at IU to study how people make sustainable food consumption decisions. What motivates people to buy local or organic produce? What motivates people to consume less meat or shop at the farmers market? He/she will assist with the creation, distribution, and analysis of a survey to understand food consumption decisions among various populations. This will involve reviewing literature on what food consumption activities have been studied in the past, helping to develop a survey that will be used to study food consumption activities, piloting the survey with students on campus, and helping to analyze data from the study.

Desired skills and interests: Sustainable behavior, food choice. Interest and/or experience with social science research. Interest in quantitative and qualitative research. Excellent writing skills.

Effect of motivational text messages and e-brochure on recreational noise related knowledge, attitude and behavior among undergraduate students at Indiana University Bloomington.

Recreational noise exposures via personal listening devices (e.g. smartphone, tablet or ipod) and other events (e.g. concerts) could lead to declined hearing ability among young adults, including college students. Educational hearing conservation activities such as motivational text messages and dissemination of information through internet brochure or leaflets may enhance the knowledge and attitudes of young college students, which may eventually promote positive hearing conservation behavior among these students. Only a small number of educational intervention studies have been implemented and available in the literature on college student populations regarding the efficacy of such smartphone technology-based educational approach. The goal of the proposed project is to conduct an experimental study on 100 undergraduate students in Indiana University Bloomington who will be divided into two groups: an educational intervention group that will receive the text messages and e-brochure links through smartphone over a six-month intervention period and a control group that will not receive any form of education during that period. Pre and post intervention knowledge, attitude and behavior will be assessed on all 100 students to evaluate the efficacy of such educational intervention.

The selected undergraduate researcher will work with the supervisor (Dr. Khan) and other graduate and undergraduate students in his team and assist them in preparation of the survey questionnaire, and will subsequently conduct survey interviews, data entry and data analysis.

Desired skills and interest: environmental health, public health, occupational noise exposures. Interested in conducting fieldwork in the campus.

Tracking Human Land Cover Change

Human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere are causing global warming and changes in climate at a rate unprecedented in the Earth's history. Land cover change (mainly deforestation) is the second largest source of human-related CO2 emissions because carbon that was locked up in the biomass of trees is suddenly released into the atmosphere. As a result, many countries have pledged to reduce their CO2 emissions by reforesting large tracts of land. These pledges are important, as for some countries they are their main contribution to both alleviating the effects of climate change as set in the UNFCCC Paris Agreement and to meeting the UN 2015 Sustainable Development Goal. To verify that countries are fulfilling these pledges, we need a robust and reliable method for measuring, mapping, and monitoring land cover change. Satellite data are increasingly being used to monitor land cover change (both deforestation and reforestation), but there are challenges to overcome before researchers can be sure they are capturing changes caused by human activity as opposed to natural shifts. One way to do this is to assess if satellite land cover change products capture known instances of deforestation and reforestation in specific areas. However, reforestation initiatives are carried out by a wide range of stakeholders, from governments to private landowners to NGOs. As such, there is no common database documenting these initiatives.

The selected student would assist in compiling such a database by: 1) reviewing scientific literature, government documents and NGO reports; and 2) creating a GIS and web-based interface that documents and maps deforestation and reforestation activities that have already taken place. Depending on the time, skills and interests of the selected student, they could then participate in evaluating satellite land cover change datasets to assess if they accurately capture the deforestation and reforestation activities compiled in the database.

The selected student would learn about land cover change impacts on the climate, carbon, and water cycles. Previous experience working with GIS software is desirable but not required. The student will gain valuable skills and expertise in big data analysis using remote sensing and GIS software.

Impact of environmental challenges on seasonal phenology of dark eyed Juncos

Every year as spring approaches and the climate warms in the temperate zone, huge flocks of birds either begin to breed or move northwards. This annual breeding or movement of birds reflects the seasonal recurrence of biological activities and associated physiology underlying migration, reproduction, and molt.  Research has shown that endogenous clocks are entrained by annual changes in day length (photoperiod) resulting in photo-induced phenotypes that correspond to seasonal life history state (LHS) in the wild.  Each phenotype is accompanied by changes in behavior, neural activity, physiology and hormones (Gwinner and Helm, 2003). In species with a broad geographic range, populations that breed farther north often migrate and breed later in the spring. The dark-eyed junco is a songbird species, some of which are residents that breed as far south as North Carolina, while others are migrants that breed as far north as Alaska. Juncos from different breeding populations exhibit different timing when held in the same environment. A recent study from our lab shows difference in the photoperiodic threshold dependent on the breeding latitude. Resident birds showed early recrudesce then migrants that breeds far north. 

Based on the preliminary data we now want to study the impact of environmental challenges on the progression of spring seasonal phenology. The selected undergrad researcher will assist with the catching of birds from fields, set up of experiments, care and maintenance of birds during experiment, and contribute in scheduled samplings (bleed, food intake and other physiological measurements). The plasma samples collected during experiment will be processes for hormone assays such as Testosterone and triglyceride or fatty acids as biochemical measure to know the changes in seasonal phenology.

Results will help us to understand how the environmental stochastic affects the seasonal phenology and ultimately life history states of juncos.

Desired skills and interests: Interest / experience in ecology field work. Interest in catching, care and maintenance of birds. Interested in physiology and quantitative research.

Examining Barriers and Benefits of Physical Activity Resources in Rural Settings: A Four County Case Study

In Indiana, approximately 14% (890,000) residents live in a rural community. Residents living in rural counties (≥ 50,000 residents) face numerous personal, social, and environmental barriers that make it easy or difficult to be active. High-risk behaviors, limited job opportunities, scarcity of resources, and geographic isolation attribute to these differences. One challenge for rural residents is limited access to physical activity resources including, but not limited to gyms/health clubs, community centers, and outdoor recreation spaces. It is hypothesized that both physical activity resources and a positive perspective of overall health reinforce participation in physical activity. 

The selected undergraduate researcher will collect primary and secondary data using the Internet, surveys, and key informant interviews in four rural Indiana counties:  Daviess, Lawrence, Martin, and Orange (Table 1).  S/he will create geospatial maps to explore similarities and differences in the distribution of physical activity resources.  In addition, the undergraduate researcher will develop surveys and an interview guide to examine five critical components related to access to physical activity resources:  accessibility, availability, affordability, affordability, and acceptability. 

Desired skills and interests: Interest and/or experience with public health systems research. Interest in quantitative and qualitative research. Excellent writing skills. Excellent time management.  Outstanding interpersonal communication skills.  Results will contribute to the effectiveness of existing and future population-based physical activity interventions and community policies that motivate rural residents to engage or sustain physical activity.

Museums and Archives in an Era of Climate Change

Indiana University’s museums, archives, and special collections provide access to a deep and broad range of cultural documentation, ranging from biological specimens, paintings, films, rare books, and incredible amounts of data. These institutions preserve, house, exhibit, and make available for research hundreds of thousands of unique objects. Preserving these materials for use presents significant questions about the sustainability of collections and archives all over the world in the age of the Anthropocene, especially in relation to climate change. For example, low-lying institutions and data stores are threatened by rising sea levels, and rising temperatures and humidity levels threaten to more-quickly destroy our cultural artifacts. How can we make our museums, archives, and special collections more resilient to the impacts of climate change? This project will identify preservation needs and their environmental impacts primarily at the Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive, along with possibly one other museum environment. IULMIA’s preservation needs for film, magnetic videotape, and other distinctive materials present an important case study in archives’ environmental footprint. Moving image materials pose unique challenges in their preservation and restoration, in addition to demanding standards for their long-term storage. Film degrades quickly and is especially sensitive to temperate and humidity fluctuations. The undergraduate researcher will work with IULMIA, and possibly one other institution, to inventory preservation and storage needs, analyze pressing and future environmental concerns, and recommend resources and actions to better impact the sustainability of these collections. This project will build on work at the Comparative Classification Lab in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, by synthesizing knowledge and practices in environmental studies and management, museology, and archives.

Desired skills and interests: Museum and archives studies; environmental policy and regulations; energy consumption; climate change studies. Interest in qualitative and quantitative research. Excellent writing and communication skills.

 

Invaders or Homecomers: Toward a Nuanced Approach to Non-Native Plants in Landscape Design on Campus and in Adjacent Neighborhoods

Among the many plant species circulating on the Bloomington campus and in surrounding neighborhoods, might there be relatively benign non-natives plants that are not incompatible with native plants and their associated bees and butterflies? Might there even be non-native ornamentals that support native insects by virtue of their color or nectar? Might we develop ways of non-absolutist thinking about this issue? 

Rationale: There are several different perspectives on a proposal to ban the sale of 44 plant species in Indiana that will be making its way through state government this year.[1]  One thing many of these perspectives may implicitly have in common is an absolutist view towards good and evil plants, useful or expensive to pull out. But among cutting-edge garden designers and plant ecologists, there is a notion that, not unlike people, as plants travel around the world, some may find a new home, i.e., be “homecomers” that can support a healthy, diverse and beautiful landscape of predominantly native plants in a benign or even supportive way.[2] This project will explore this emerging approach in landscape design. 

Key Tasks/Data Collection: The student will learn basic skills of ethnography: participant observation, networking, interviewing, collection and analysis of verbal and visual data, reading relevant scholarly or non-scholarly writings. The student will identify people who know and care about this issue, making sure to collect data and analyze a variety of perspectives: experts who maintain campus landscapes or who work in landscaping companies, gardeners in neighborhoods surrounding the campus, environmentalists and policy-makers involved in the construction of the invasive species ban or in working with gardeners to create a healthier balance of native/invasive plants. Important opportunities for participant observation may arise, e.g. public hearings and comments on the proposed rule banning invasive species; accompanying and talking to people as they work in gardens or on campus.

Outcome: A poster presentation with images and text illustrating your ethnographic analysis of natives, homecomers and invasives and their human interlocutors. And possibly, recommendations for future policy may be crafted.

Skills and Interests: Strong interest in learning how to be an ethnographer. Good at independent thinking, talking to people, finding one’s way around, photography or drawing. Interested in landscapes, design, plants, and the interface between law, policy and landscape.

[1] Kugler, Carol. 2018. Proposed rule bans sale of 44 plant species in Indiana. Herald Times, July 20, A1 and A5.

[2] This project was inspired by a conversation with John Michler, garden designer from Michlers Florist and Garden Design in Lexington, Kentucky, and by my own forest edge garden. The term “homecomer” comes from Wes Jackson’s book, On Becoming Native to this Place. See also Doug Tallamy’s Bringing Nature Home on value of native plants.