Stormwater management professionals and stakeholders across the U.S. Southwest region will be able to learn about the latest, best-practices solutions for stormwater management and financing through the newly established Southwest Stormwater Center (SWSC), a regional knowledge center for new and emerging stormwater control technologies.
The $2.7 million Department of Education award is a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education grant. The four-year project will address the need to advance artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science classroom education in grades K-12. To accomplish this, training and resources will be provided to undergraduate preservice educators and those already in the classroom, with a focus on Nevada’s rural communities.
The Nature Conservancy in Nevada (TNC in Nevada), DRI, and the University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW-Madison) have developed the Nevada GDE Water Needs Explorer Tool. This new online resource helps land and water managers understand how groundwater supports groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) and how changes in water levels can affect them.
DRI’s Charles Morton, Associate Research Scientist of Geography, who had a key role in the expansion of OpenET said, "Delivering wall-to-wall evapotranspiration data across the contiguous United States at the field scale is a major milestone for OpenET, and it’s exciting for us to imagine the future research and practical applications this expanded coverage will unlock."
A year-end donation, no matter the amount, provides immediate support for our scientists’ work and DRI’s strategic priorities. Here are five simple ways that you can help support DRI this giving season: Donate to mission support, gift curiosity lab season tickets to a loved one (or yourself!), donate appreciated stocks, make a qualified charitable distribution, and leave your legacy through a planned gift. Your support makes our important work possible. Thank you!
Recently, in celebration of Nevada Day, DRI highlighted the work that our scientists do across this great state. And while our home has been in Nevada since our founding in 1959, our work has grown to touch nearly every corner of the globe. Whether it’s analyzing ice cores in the Alps, working with local communities to ensure access to clean water in Ghana, or supporting K-12 educators as they bring high-quality, hands-on STEM education to Nevada's classrooms, the projects our scientists undertake are tied together by a common goal – to help create a more sustainable and resilient environment for all people to live, grow, and prosper.
Earlier this fall, the new Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation STEM Co-Lab officially opened at the DRI Northern Nevada Science Center. The Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation generously provided funding to support the purchase of the necessary materials and equipment for the STEM Co-Lab. This space will serve educators and students, host professional development workshops, and education events for the community.
DRI’s Dan McEvoy is a researcher with the Western Regional Climate Center, and he recently co-authored a new study showing the declining groundwater levels in Nevada. He worked with scientist Laurel Saito with The Nature Conservancy to address risks and solutions to this groundwater problem.
The aim for the study, published in Hydrological Processes, was to determine risk factors leading to the declining groundwater levels, and propose science-based solutions for groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs).
The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) has secured a $750,000 grant from NASA’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) to study unique underground ecosystems powered by radiation instead of sunlight. The findings could help guide NASA’s search for life beneath the surfaces of Mars and icy worlds elsewhere in the solar system.
Today, Keep Tahoe Blue, The Tyre Collective, and Desert Research Institute (DRI) announced a groundbreaking collaboration with the Emerald Bay Shuttle and its operator, Downtowner, that brings together science, technology, and alternative transportation to protect Lake Tahoe’s world-renowned water clarity. The pilot program employs The Tyre Collective’s proprietary technology — discrete, compact devices affixed to a vehicle’s undercarriage — to capture harmful tire wear particles directly at the wheel.