The Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research (CCR) held its eighth annual Reid Bryson Scholarship competition on February 22, 2018, as part of the CCR Symposium. There were 22 student applicants from a diverse set of departments and centers across campus, including CCR, the Nelson Institute, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Geography, Engineering, and Agronomy. This rich variety captures the interdisciplinary nature of Professor Reid Bryson’s studies and will inspire other UW students.
The winners of the 2018 Reid Bryson Graduate Scholarship of $750 were Alyson Douglas from the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS) and Morgan Sanger from the Geological Engineering Department and the Recycled Materials Resource Center (RMRC).
Alyson is a Ph.D. candidate working with Professor Tristan L’Ecuyer on the effects of aerosol on cloud precipitation properties. As an aerosol is added to a cloud, the mean droplet size decreases, which delays precipitation formation. With satellite observations, Alyson shows the precipitation suppression due to delayed precipitation formation, can work to invigorate the cloud. Invigorated clouds are taller, have a smaller area raining, more latent heat release, and more turbulence.
Morgan is PhD candidate working with Professors Angela Pakes and Tuncer Edil on a project called “Eva the Engineer”. It is an interactive elective course developed and taught by Morgan Sanger, Renee Olley, and Tyler Klink to young women in Madison-area middle schools. The primary goal of the program is to educate, excite, and encourage young women to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Hands-on activities are used to teach lessons on the principles of civil engineering, sustainability, and women in STEM.
The winner of the 2018 Reid Bryson Undergraduate Scholarship of $750 is Sanober Mirza from the Biogeography Lab in the Geography Department. She works with Professor Erika Marin-Spiotta on how secondary succession in tropical forests affects different nitrogen cycling processes.
In addition to these winning posters, the scholarship competition attracted an interesting and diverse range of research topics from across the UW campus, including:
- The importance of resource availability and immigration ability to the carnivore guild on the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
- Polar Bear Rhetoric Versus Polar Bear Health
- How developing countries can use ESRI technology and GeoDesign for climate change adaption
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we will be awarding more Reid Bryson Scholarships in 2018 to worthy University of Wisconsin-Madison students.