Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

Biogeosciences

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Image credit: Harald Arlander

About the DEI Committee

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Biogeosciences Section

The purpose of the DEI Committee is to enhance, support, and celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and justice in the Biogeosciences Section, AGU, and STEM more generally.

Travel Grant Awardee Spotlight

For the 2021 AGU Fall Meeting, the AGU Biogeosciences section DEI committee awarded a set of travel grants to underserved members of our scientific community to help increase participation and representation at the fall meeting. We had over 26 great applicants in this inaugural year of the program, and it was very difficult to narrow down to the final 5 that received awards here. We are very excited to have helped enable these individuals to share their expertise and perspectives with the broader AGU community as a part of the fall meeting.

Below, we highlight the outstanding awardees and the research and contributions they make to the scientific community.

If you would like to support these travel grants and other DEI programming in the Biogeosciences section, donations can be made here. For more information or to get involved, please contact AGU Biogeosciences.

Josué Rodríguez-Ramos

Colorado State Univeristy

Research Interests

Viruses, Microbial Ecology, Multi-omics

Currently studying: I study how viruses impact microbial community composition and function, and how these interactions influence ecosystem biogeochemical cycles. With my research, I hope to elucidate microbial community interactions and cross-feeding that can further inform ecosystem models to help us predict how environmental systems will respond to climate change and other anthropogenic impacts.

What excites you about AGU?: I am very excited to go back to in-person networking events and meeting people that have similar research interests. As a person of color in STEM, I find that big conferences like AGU let me connect with more people that look like me and make me feel like I belong in this field. I'm very much looking forward to new connections and meaningful interactions!

Sharad Kumar Gupta

Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana, Punjab, India

Research Interests

Crop Yield Estimation; Crop Health Monitoring - Abiotic and Biotic Stresses; Natural Hazards

Currently studying: I am involved in several projects related to application of remote sensing in agriculture such as farm and district level wheat yield estimation and prediction; detection of biotic and abiotic stresses in maize, wheat and potato using remote and proximal sensing; finding inter-relationships amongst residue burning, soil moisture, and air quality, etc. Recently, I have also worked on identification of biotic stress in cotton using Sentinel - 2 images.

What excites you about AGU?: Being an early career researcher, I am very excited to meet fellow early career researchers and learn about their work. It will help me broaden my research scope and build healthy collaborative partners for future research in my area of interests. Moreover, I would like to join several sessions which will help me build a deeper understanding of agriculture and soil sciences for food security. I have opted as a reviewer for the Outstanding Student Presentation Award. This engagement will help me develop critical skills for reviewing and analyzing students' work, which will further help me guide students as a Ph.D. advisor in the upcoming years. Furthermore, I am excited to help the students through Mentoring 365 program.

Alexa Atziri Salinas

University of Notre Dame

Research Interests

Arctic plant phenology

Currently studying:I am currently studying the asynchrony in Arctic plant phenological response to limiting environmental cues, like temperature and light, at the start- and end-of-season. Quantifying this response is critical in outlining species- to community-level interactions with variable cues, as well as informing how these dynamics may change with warming.

What excites you about AGU?:I am most excited about the ability to share my work with others, as well as discover how others have made advancements in their own fields. Science communication is important to me, so the opportunity to learn how to most effectively convey the importance of my work is valuable. Throughout the week, I hope I am able to network, see what my post-grad options are, and dive into all of this newfound knowledge in climate change research!

Maura Slocum

University of Pennsylvania

Research Interests

Soil Carbon Biogeochemistry

Currently studying:Carbon storage and cycling in African Dark Earths.

What excites you about AGU?:As the only graduate student in the only soils lab in my department, I am very excited to meet with fellow soil carbon researchers. This will be my first oral presentation at a conference and I'm excited to synthesize and share my work.

Shreya Srivastava

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Research Interests

Geomicrobiology, Genomics, Biogeochemistry

Currently studying:My research involves understanding the interaction between microbes and the environment using metagenomic, bioinformatics and microscopic analysis... I am currently working on a project that seeks to understand how microbial and functional diversity relates to dynamic conditions driving coupled Fe-S-C cycles observed in the hyporheic zones of riparian wetlands with a special focus on the highly active “cryptic” sulfur cycling processes.

What excites you about AGU?:The opportunity to connect with and learn from other scholars is what excites me about engaging with the AGU community. The last year has tested us as a globe and the logistical challenges for our research due to the pandemic have led me to work in isolation at times. As an early career professional, I have come to understand the critical importance of connecting with other scholars and presenting my work... I greatly value the opportunity to learn from other scholars and to continually reimagine the potential for our research. I hope to connect with the community once again and to share my research and recent learning with others.

Best Practices Guide

Whether new to AGU's fall meeting or a long-time attendee, the best practices guide to AGU's fall meeting is intended to help attendees create an inclusive meeting environment for all who attend.

Best practices guide for increasing diversity, equity and inclusion at the Fall Meeting '21

Available here

Dec 13-17th, 2021




COMMITTEE MEMBERS

John

Maya Almaraz

Co-Chair

Research Focus

C & N Cycling

Climate Change

Food Systems

University of California - Davis

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John

Kyle Arndt

Early Career Committee Rep.

Research Focus

Greenhouse gas fluxes

Remote sensing

Ecosystem ecology

University of New Hampshire

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John

Emily Cardarelli

Co-Chair

Research Focus

Microbial Ecology

Nitrogen Cycling

Subsurface Ecosystems

Astrobiogeochemistry

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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John

Jen Glass

Committee Member

Georgia Tech

 

John

Peter Griffith

AGU Governance Committee Rep.

Research Focus

Remote sensing

Carbon Cycle

Ecosystem ecology

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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John

Colleen Hansel

President - Elect Biogeosciences Section 

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

    

John

Nagissa Mahmoudi

Committee Member

McGill University

  

John

Vasco Mantas

Committee Member

Research Focus

Earth Observation

Land Cover Dynamics

Satellite Based Estimates

University of Coimbra
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John

LaToya Myles

AGU Honors & Recognition Committee

Research Focus

Surface-Atmosphere Exchange

Nitrogen Cycling

US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

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John

Gyami Shrestha

Committee Member

US Carbon Cycle Science Program, USGCRP, UCAR

John

Margaret Torn

President Biogeosciences Section

Lawrence Berkeley Lab

John

Robert Ulrich

Committee Member

Research Focus

Biomineralization

Vital Effects

Data Science

Machine Learning/AI

Geochemistry

University of California
Los Angeles

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