Research Staff Profile --Sharon Tracey

Connecting Environmental Researchers

The goals of The Environmental Institute (TEI) are to help coordinate and support new interdisciplinary environmental initiatives across colleges on campus; provide a central access point for environmental information; and help develop partnerships between the University and public environmental agencies and other groups. As the recently appointed Associate Director, Sharon Tracey works with faculty and staff across campus; as well as with government, non-profit, and industry groups, to achieve these goals. According to Tracey, “The environmental expertise and research on campus is truly impressive – our role at TEI is to identify the points of connections between disciplines and colleges where working together to discuss key issues, address an environmental problem, or design a solution can make a much larger impact and truly showcase the breadth of the University’s expertise and resources.”

[TEI] supports these cross disciplinary connections in many ways including organizing interdisciplinary working groups; hosting a cross-disciplinary environmental lecture series; holding workshops, conferences and public forums; developing proposals; and serving as an information portal to campus environmental expertise.

Unlike most other institutes on campus, TEI is not part of a particular college. Instead, it reports to the Vice Provost for Research to better serve researchers across campus. For those outside of the University, TEI can point the way to environmental expertise and initiatives on campus and field inquiries from potential external collaborators.

Tracey has been with the Environmental Institute for fourteen years, and has served in a variety of roles during this time from managing grant programs to starting up new institutes and consortia to developing new interdisciplinary projects. Prior to her arrival on campus she worked as a writer and editor, received an advanced degree in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley, worked as an environmental consultant in Washington D.C., and coordinated regional services for Franklin County.

One of the special projects she developed as Assistant Director was the Environmental Fellowship Program funded by the Department of Energy, which brought postdoctoral fellows to campus to develop interdisciplinary research initiatives and start environmental working groups in targeted areas related to the environment. Faculty from nineteen departments and five colleges participated in the three working groups organized during this two-year project and developed twenty proposals and new collaborative relationships. These and related initiatives resulted in close to $1.0 million in funding and launched the interdisciplinary working group as one model for interdisciplinary collaboration.

The working group model provides one way an interdisciplinary group of researchers representing different colleges can come together around a common interest or funding opportunity. According to Tracey, “these groups are somewhat fluid; forming and meeting periodically as opportunities are identified. The group provides a forum for figuring out how campus researchers might work together to develop and respond to some of the big environmental issues.” TEI provides a venue, organization and support and can help group members identify and develop research opportunities, develop industry contacts, and develop other collaborative opportunities. Current groups include the water resources and monitoring and sensing group and the environmental impacts of nano materials group. Faculty interested in participating in or developing a new working group can contact Tracey at TEI.

Four years ago, Tracey launched the TEI lecture series which brings the University community together around a central environmental issue such as water sustainability, food systems, energy, and climate change. The series brings a diverse group of natural scientists, social scientists, engineers, and policy makers to campus to deliver a public lecture and meet with faculty and students engaged in related research and educational activities. These day-long discussions with leading experts provide another avenue for developing new opportunities in environmental research. The lectures are cosponsored by the Vice Provost for Research, the Graduate School, and a number of the Schools and Colleges across campus. They are free and open to the public. The spring 2008 lecture series will feature the theme of emerging technologies and the environment. For more information go to the TEI website.

TEI is also the home to the Massachusetts Water Resources Research Center. Since 1984, this member of the national system of water institutes has been an invaluable TEI unit that supports research, education, and technology transfer on water resources issues of state, regional, and national importance. For the past five years the Center has also sponsored an annual conference that brings together scientists, practitioners and policy makers to discuss current critical water research and applications. The 2008 conference on April 8th will focus on integrating water resources management and is expected to draw a diverse audience from academia, regulatory agencies, industry, nonprofits and other groups interested in water resources. The Center is currently seeking sponsors as well as a call for papers. For more information go to the conference website.

TEI has also been awarded an EPA cooperative agreement to host a series of international environmental conferences over the next five years. The first conference to be held in June 2008 will focus on better strategies and decision making for cleaning up contaminated waste sites. The second conference planned for June 2009 will be an international conference on nanotechnology in the environment, encompassing research, applications, and impacts of nanomaterials. Baoshan Xing, Professor of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences and the lead faculty in the environano working group, will serve as Co-Director of the conference. According to Tracey, the conference and activities of the environano working group will compliment the role UMass Amherst has already taken as a national leader in nanotechnology. These conferences also provide another window to showcase the campus’ leadership in the environment.

TEI’s mission also is to make the research process easier for interdisciplinary groups on campus by expanding its role as an environmental information portal for the University. The TEI website provides overview information on interdisciplinary environmental initiatives, links to other environmental resources on campus and hosts a faculty expertise database that enables interested parties to locate environmental expertise on campus by keyword or by interdisciplinary clusters. In addition, the Water Resources Research Center maintains several databases including the acid rain monitoring database and stormwater database of best practices.

As the way researchers approach environmental issues on campus evolves, so too does TEI. As Associate Director, Tracey now oversees TEI operations and works with Vice Provost for Research Paul Kostecki on plans for the future. According to Tracey, “I hope faculty and their respective colleges see that we are here to enhance and magnify the environmental research capacity of our campus. By keeping our interdisciplinary focus we can fill in the gaps and support new cross-disciplinary collaborations as needed.” In fact, according to Tracey, her most satisfying moments are when these connections between faculty and departments across campus are made visible and lead to new collaborations. If you would like to learn more about TEI, please email Sharon Tracey.