ESPP Research Colloquia

 

ESPP hosts a Research Colloquia Series that extends the format of the former student research presentations by ESPP dual major students to now include a variety of formats including student and expert panel discussions, faculty roundtables and debates. These events utilize ESPP's unique network of MSU expertise spanning MSU's colleges to address important and timely environmental issues that cross disciplinary boundaries. The ESPP Research Colloquia Series is a forum for MSU students, researchers and visitors to engage in research discussions where an interdisciplinary perspective is critical.

ESPP has also expanded its Distinguished Lecture Series to include events organized jointly with other units at MSU. ESPP is offering to partner with individual departments and units at MSU wherein ESPP co-sponsors a limited number of visits by distinguished scholars to deliver lectures on pressing environmental issues. For more information and criteria, please see this PDF.

 

 

Schedule for 2019 Colloquia

 

Date	Topic	Panel Discussants	Location
10 a.m. Thursday Feb. 28	Food for Thought: Examining the Food Waste Phenomenon	Sheril Kirshenbaum - Host for “Our Table” at Food@MSU, and coordinator of the MSU Food Literacy and Engagement Poll. Amanda Kreuze - PhD student in Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences. Phil Chase - Assistant Director of the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Health and Nutrition Services. Sriram Narayanan - Associate Professor, Department of Supply Chain Management. Organized and moderated by Judith Namanya, Geography and ESPP	273 Giltner Hall Flyer
2 p.m. Monday March 18	Climate and Environmental Justice: From the Perspectives of Indigenous Scholars	Marie Schaefer, PhD candidate in Community Sustainability; Paulette Blanchard, PhD candidate at the University of Kansas Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science; Dominique M. David-Chavez - Fellow at the Center for Collaborative Conservation at Colorado State University and PhD candidate in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources .Organized and moderated by Patricia Jaimes, Earth and Environmental Sciences and ESPP	273 Giltner Hall Flyer
2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Monday April 15	Win-Win Opportunities in Environmental Policy	Dylan Brewer (PhD Economics at MSU, starting Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech) Haoyang Li (PhD Economics at MSU, starting Assistant Professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics) Patrick Doran (PhD Ecology at Dartmouth, Associate Director of the Michigan Nature Conservancy) Jill Deines (PhD Fisheries and Wildlife and Environmental Geosciences at MSU, Postdoctor Researcher at Stanford)	273 Giltner Hall Flyer
12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Tuesday April 16	Sustainable Coffee Development in Rwanda	Andrew Gerard, Community Sustainability and ESPP; Dr. Ameet Morjaria, Assistant Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences, Northwestern University; Dr. Maria Claudia Lopez, Assistant Professor of Community Sustainability, MSU;Dr. David Ortega, Associate Professor of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics, MSU	Room 201, International Center Flyer
9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Friday April 19	From the Ground Up: Improving Soil Health in Africa Through Partnership	Opening Keynote speaker Dr. Saweda Liverpool-Tasie, Associate Professor of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics; "Frontiers in Soil Health" panelists Drs. Cynthia Donovan, Lisa Tiemann, Joseph P. Messina, Timothy Harrigan; "Soil Health Partnership" panelists Drs. Wenda Bauchspies, Leo Zulu and Nicole Mason-Wardell; closing keynote speaker Dr. Sieglinde Snapp, Professor of Plant, Soil and Microbial Science	Room 303, International Center Flyer

 

 

 

 

Note to Our Student Presenters:

The student-organized colloquia provides ESPP dual major students a venue to gain practical knowledge and experience organizing interdisciplinary scholastic activities, skills necessary for a variety of career activities such as professional conferences and research panels.  A dual major student first identifies a broader research area that encompasses his or her research work, and then invites one or more other speakers who are experts in this area to serve on a discussion panel. The or panelists could be fellow students, faculty members such as the student’s advisors or committee members, or other researchers. A typical colloquium will include a 30 to 50 minute presentation by the student followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers for the student, and 30 minute panel discussion with questions for the panel prepared by the student.
New and existing ESPP Dual Major Students (who have not yet presented under the previous presentation format) will be required to organize their own colloquium before they graduate.  It is up the student at what point in their graduate program they will organize their colloquium.  The student can choose one of two approaches for their colloquium: it can be used by an early career graduate student to explain their research interests, ask specific questions of the panel and audience, and get feedback on their research trajectory; or the colloquium can be used by a senior graduate student to share their results and conclusions.  With either approach, a dual major student’s colloquium will serve as a venue to highlight important issues in the broader research area, to showcase the student’s own research approach in this broader context, and, with the presence of the student’s advisors and/or committee members, to defend the student’s research methods and gather feedback.
The student organizer will be responsible for:

• scheduling a date in the seminar series before the start of the semester with the series committee (contact Karessa Weir weirkare@msu.edu);
• inviting and organizing the panelists; preparing a 30 to 50 min. presentation; and
• preparing questions to lead the panel discussion after the student presentation. 

The number of student-organized colloquia will vary each semester to accommodate dual major students so they can meet this requirement.  Questions about organizing your colloquium should be sent to Karessa.