Collaboration at the New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center: “It’s a Family Operation”

Sean Towers, Dave Jones, and Mark Baranoski work to repair one of AIC’s seawater intakes. Photo credit: David Bushek.

New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) is a research and extension powerhouse that shares knowledge and best practices from its farms, labs, institutes and innovation hubs with residents and businesses in the state. Behind the scenes, NJAES teams are doing complex work that requires diverse skillsets, hands-on experience and keen problem-solving abilities. The New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center (AIC) is an NJAES …

Engineering Solutions to Rising Sea Levels Subject of Big Ten Network Interview with George Guo

Screenshot of George's Commercial

By Carol Peters EOAS faculty member Qizhong (George) Guo, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, discussed with BTN’s LiveBIG a few of the solutions he and his team have proposed to address sea level rise. Representing Rutgers University in a Big Ten Network LiveBIG interview titled “Rutgers Engineers Infrastructure that Addresses Sea-Level Change,” EOAS faculty member Qizhong (George) Guo …

Rachael Shwom Co-Authors Study Showing Carbon Labels Can Be Part of Climate Change Solution

Labels at all resolution levels shown are currently in use. Certificate labels indicate that the labelled products meet some standard, ordinal ratings differentiate among several levels of carbon footprints of the same product, quantitative labels offer numerical measurements of carbon footprints and some labels combine quantitative and ordinal ratings. Graphic credits: Roselin Christina.S (stars) and iconoci (footprints), Noun Project (https://thenounproject.com/).

Carbon labels can be an effective measure to change consumer and corporate behavior as the growing threat of climate change progresses, according to newly published research by Rachael Shwom, associate professor in the Department of Human Ecology, and a team of co-authors. Shwom, who is also the acting director of the Rutgers Energy Institute, conducts research that links sociology, psychology, …

Julie Lockwood Named Interim Director of EOAS

Julie Lockwood

Julie Lockwood, professor and chair of the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, has been appointed interim director of the Rutgers Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) effective Feb. 3, 2022. A Rutgers faculty member since 2004, Lockwood is a global leader in the study of invasive species …

Häggblom, Lockwood, Reinfelder Elected as Fellows of the AAAS

Max Haggblom, Julie Lockwood,, and Ying Fan Reinfelder

By Carol Peters The three EOAS faculty members are among twelve Rutgers professors elected in 2022. Three EOAS faculty members have been elected to the newest class of fellows for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). They are Max Häggblom, Julie Lockwood, and Ying Fan Reinfelder. The three are among twelve Rutgers professors elected this year, the …

Rutgers Professor Pamela McElwee Among Co-Chairs Named to Two New Global IPBES Assessments

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Pamela McElwee, professor in the Department of Human Ecology at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, was among six new co-chairs named today by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to lead work on two major new multi-year international scientific assessments. McElwee is one of three co-chairs to lead the IPBES assessment of the interlinkages among biodiversity, …

Ancient Mesopotamian Discovery Transforms Knowledge of Early Farming

Drone footage of the Khani Masi plain in the Garmian Province, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, taken in 2018. Photo courtesy of Sirwan Regional Project and Dr. Elise Laugier

Rutgers researchers have unearthed the earliest definitive evidence of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) in ancient Iraq, challenging our understanding of humanity’s earliest agricultural practices. Their findings appear in the journal Scientific Reports. “Overall, the presence of millet in ancient Iraq during this earlier time period challenges the accepted narrative of agricultural development in the region as well as our models for how ancient societies …

Rutgers Among Global Organizations Awarded Funding to Advance Data-Driven Climate Solutions

Accelerator Grant Program Graphic

Rutgers New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center and the NJAES Office of Research Analytics are among 10 global climate action organizations named by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation to its 2022 Accelerator Grant Program to advance their use of data and AI for impact, as part of the foundation’s $4.5 million commitment to climate action. Rutgers works to help New Jersey adapt to climate change …

Distinguished Professor Max Häggblom Leads $1.5 Million NSF Study on Microbiomes of Polar and Alpine Soils

Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Max Häggblom, is principal investigator of a collaborative, multinational project, “Dimensions US-China-South Africa: Establishing genetic, phylogenetic and functional mechanisms that shape the diversity of polar and alpine soil microbiomes,” funded by the National Science Foundation. Rutgers co-principal investigators are Lee Kerkhof, professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, …

Science Storytelling as Community Engagement: Rutgers Releases “Fields of Devotion” Short Film Trailer

Fields of Devotion: Vannini Farms, Vineland, NJ

The Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Departments of Marine and Coastal Sciences and Plant Biology, along with the Rutgers Center for Agricultural Food Ecosystems (RUCAFE)—a part of the New Jersey Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health—are launching a unique “Science Storytelling as Community Engagement” initiative. The intent is to increase understanding and dialogue between Rutgers scientists and the broader community. Distinguished professor Oscar Schofield, chair of Marine and Coastal Sciences noted, “it is imperative for scientists to find innovative ways to engage the public in science learning. …