Aaron Benedek graduated 5/98 with a COE as a UA student.

Maria E Banks graduated 5/95 with a BMU as a UA student.

Byron P Alvarado graduated 5/96 with a BS MEE as a UA student.

I am a 3^rd year Ph.D. student in the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science; I am currently working to understand how soils form over time in Southeastern Arizona as part of the Catalina-Jemez Critical Zone Observatory (CJCZO, criticalzone.org/catalina-jemez/). Along with my current research, I am currently developing a video series about the researchers working on the CJCZO with the Flandrau Science Center (flandrau.org). The Critical Zone is the thin outermost layer of the Earth’s crust, from the top of the tree canopy down to groundwater; this layer of the planet is where the majority of life exists. The concept of the Critical Zone is integral to the earth and life sciences, but this important layer of the planet remains largely unknown to the general public. With this video project I hope to increase the awareness and understanding of the Critical Zone, and the science currently being done to understand this layer of the planet.

The videos will feature short profiles of the researchers and their projects currently working on the CJCZO; by putting a face to the science, we hope to better communicate the research being done by the scientists on the CJCZO and why we need to better understand the Critical Zone. By communicating the science through the personal narratives of the scientists working on the project, we hope to make the science easily accessible and understandable, and that everyone can be a part of the scientific process. In addition, the videos will highlight selected science projects and scientific tools and concepts that the researchers of the CZO use to study the Critical Zone. This video series will be available to the public through sites such as YouTube and at the Critical Zone Exhibit at the Flandrau Science Center.

In addition to working on my PhD (studying soil microbial communities and their interactions with plants) I have been running educational programming down at the Santa Rita Experimental Range since 2014. Through this position I have seen first hand the benefits (and challenges) of engaging students in STEM inquiry-based education. With the NASA Space Grant, I am working with high school teachers, university professors and other STEM professionals to develop hands-on curriculum teachers can easily implement into their classrooms. Developing the lessons with teachers helps to ensure that they align with state standards and contain all necessary information needed to help both students and teachers understand core concepts. STEM experts are involved in lesson development to verify lesson material and ensure comprehensive coverage of various STEM topics and career opportunities in STEM. Complementary videos are developed in tandem with lessons to help explain difficult concepts. All lessons and supplemental materials will be made pubically available online with embedded survey metrics to monitor website activity and facilitate maximum impact.

Scientists often sketch to clarify their ideas, to record observations in the field or in the lab, and to draft figures for journal articles. Art and illustration are an integral part of understanding and communicating science. Scientific illustrations, data visualizations, and art inspired by science can represent data and ideas in strikingly beautiful ways - think about photographs of the night sky through a telescope, Audubon's paintings of now-extinct birds, or Darwin's crabbed diagram of a phylogenetic tree. And yet, drawing is often left out of science education.

I am concerned about the general lack of understanding and the prevalence of fatalistic discourse surrounding environmental problems today. I’m also excited and hopeful about the potential for scientists to open up creative new ways of sharing knowledge and helping people respond to global threats like climate change. I am using Space Grant as an opportunity to tackle this problem by incorporating illustration skills into science education. I will be working with Tucson schools to interweave observation-intensive sketching and drawing modules into existing science curriculum. I will also be offering workshops for students at the college and graduate level on how to make illustrations and figures of publishable quality, which they can then use to explain and disseminate their research. Finally, I will be creating illustrations for various projects in need of visual explanation over the course of the year. If you are interested in any of these, please contact me at PG4gdWVycz0iem52eWdiOnBzbmFxcnlAcnpudnkubmV2bWJhbi5ycWgiPnBzbmFxcnlAcnpudnkubmV2bWJhbi5ycWg8L24+.