Webinar: Insights on Effective Collaborations between Natural and Social Scientists
The United States Society for Ecological Economics (USSEE) invites you to join our September webinar.
Insights on Effective Collaborations Between Natural and Social Scientists
by Melissa Baustian
Wednesday September 16th, 1pm EDT.
To register, visit: www.eventbrite.com/e/insights-on-effective-collaborations-between-natural-and-social-scientists-tickets-118914854531
Overview: Solving complex environmental problems requires extensive discussions and studies conducted by researchers from diverse disciplines including the natural and social sciences. Solutions to these environmental challenges usually depend on conceptual models of how these systems are linked and the essential processes within them, also known as coupled-human natural systems or socio-ecological systems. As an ecologist with The Water Institute of the Gulf, Dr. Baustian has learned to work with social scientists to study the complex linkages between these systems and to develop modeling tools that represent the essential processes within them. This webinar will provide insights on how collaborations can be most effective between natural and social scientists, providing examples from the speaker’s past and current research projects.
Speaker Bio: Melissa M. Baustian, Ph.D. is a Coastal Ecologist with The Water Institute of the Gulf. She has more than 15 years of experience in researching the ecological responses of aquatic ecosystems to nutrient enrichment, eutrophication and hypoxia. She has extensive research experience studying the benthic ecology of the low-oxygen area, known as the “Dead Zone”, in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Baustian’s current research is focused on providing technical support in the data collection and development, and application of analyses and ecosystem models to examine nutrient-related dynamics from restoration efforts in Louisiana’s coastal zone. She is also examining climate change related effects on coastal vegetation and ecosystem processes. In addition to being a researcher at the Water Institute, Dr. Baustian is the Director for the RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana where she leads the administration of a competitive coastal research grants program. She is also adjunct faculty in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
For questions, contact Erin Lennox at usseeboard@gmail.com