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  1. Impact
  2. Spotlights

Spotlights

Researchers that have been featured in the NEON Observatory blog
Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Nidhi Vinod

March 29, 2023

Plant scientist Nidhi Vinod, Ph.D. student at UCLA, is an incredible example of what it means to be a successful scientist who has overcome barriers in her field. In interviewing her, we learned of the societal and financial pressure she faced in paving her path forward in the field of ecology, how intertwined her relationship with her ancestors and spirituality is with her love for ecology, and the work she is doing – some utilizing NEON data – to contribute to ecology worldwide.

Nidhi Vinod headshot
Spotlight

Battelle Research Scientist Eric Sokol Studies Antarctica in Cross-Disciplinary Fashion

March 14, 2023

Battelle Senior Ecologist Eric Sokol with the NEON Program works with the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research (MCM LTER) Project to gather and produce ecological data and resources, in one of the most remote locations in the world.

Eric Sokol in Antarctica
Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Kyla Dahlin

February 7, 2023

Dr. Kyla Dahlin of Michigan State University says support networks and mentors have helped her pursue a career researching landscape and plant ecology, remote sensing, and Earth system modeling. From making management plans for city parks, to thinking globally about ecology, she has seen a lot in her STEM journey.

Kyla Dahlin headshot
Spotlight

NEON Remembers Jianwu (Jim) Tang

January 19, 2023

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Jianwu (Jim) Tang this January. He was a respected senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Ecosystems Center (University of Chicago), Woods Hole, Massachusetts, who made many contributions to making NEON what it is today.

Tang thumbnail
Spotlight

AGU-TEX Project Update: Monitoring Blue Oaks in the Sierra Foothills

January 11, 2023

Blue oaks are a keystone species in the woodlands of central California; however, climate change and land management practices have threatened populations in many areas. NEON's Sokaina Alkhafaji partnered with the Sierra Foothill Conservancy and the University of California Cooperative Extension to develop blue oak monitoring protocols that could be used by landowners and conservation organizations across the state.

large blue oak
Spotlight

Women in Ecology - Lori Petrauski

December 15, 2022

For the latest post in this series, we feature Lori Petrauski, a NEON Senior Field Ecologist for Domains 18 and 19 (Tundra and Taiga) in Alaska. Inclusivity, appreciation for nature, and critical thinking about how ecology can help to understand future impacts are at the forefront of her approach to science.

Lori Petrauski headshot
Spotlight

Voices in Ecology - Wilmarie Plaza-Muniz, Domain 04

September 28, 2022

We recently asked Puerto Rican-born Wilmarie Plaza-Muniz, Field Ecologist with the NEON program in the Atlantic Neotropical Domain, to share about her work with the national project, her path into ecology, and how her heritage and passions inform her current work.

WPM iceland
Spotlight

A Change Is Gonna Come: NEON Highlights from ESA/CSEE 2022

September 7, 2022

This summer, more than 3500 ecologists gathered in Montréal for the 2022 ESA/CSEE joint meeting. We were thrilled to participate and have the opportunity to meet NEON data users (and prospective data users) face to face - here are some highlights!

NEON booth at ESA2022
Spotlight

AGU-TEX Project Update: Supporting Wildland Restoration in Colorado

August 3, 2022

Janelle Hakala, a NEON instrument technician and a NEON-TEX Community Science Fellow, worked with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers in Colorado to develop a long-term monitoring plan modeled on the NEON plant protocols.

Plot establishment
Spotlight

Meet Some NEON Airborne Sensor Operators!

July 20, 2022

As they fly around the U.S. collecting data from Domain to Domain, our Airborne Sensor Operators (ASOs) take some pretty good photos! Here we introduce you to three of our ASOs and showcase some pictures taken aboard NEON's Airborne Observation Platform (AOP)—along with some other fun photos of life as a NEON ASO.

AOP D18 Deadhorse, Alaska
Spotlight

AGU-TEX Project Update: Forecasting Berry Futures in Alaska

June 22, 2022

NEON field staff are monitoring fruiting and ripening of five species of berries at four terrestrial field sites in Alaska to support the Alaska Berry Future Project. Lori Petrauski, a NEON Senior Field Ecologist for Domains 18 and 19 (Tundra and Taiga), planned and set up the new berry monitoring protocol as part of her Thriving Earth Exchange (TEX) fellowship.

Alaska blueberries harvested in a yellow basket.
Spotlight

Domain Digest No. 5: ESA's SEEDS students visit Puerto Rico

May 25, 2022

Students participating in ESA's SEEDS program receive engaging and hands-on ecological experiences developed for mainly undergraduates. The goal is to enable diverse students to learn more about ecological sciences and the many ways in which they could pursue Ecology as a career path. SEEDS students visited the NEON GUAN site in March 2022, their first trip since the pandemic.

D04 staff and students from the ESA's SEEDS chapters at NEON's GUAN site in Puerto Rico. The field trip was held in March 2022.
Spotlight

Voices in Ecology - Jeb Timm, NEON Domain 18/19

May 11, 2022

In our second of this blog series highlighting the many diverse backgrounds and paths in ecology, we talked to NEON's Jeb Timm, who grew up in and works in semi-remote Alaska, about his current role and any advice he has for the next generation of ecologists—particularly those pursuing technical or vocational paths into the field.

Jeb Timm
Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Shalane Frost

March 28, 2022

We spoke with Shalane Frost, one of NEON's assistant Domain managers for field operations in Alaska, about her unique career path and balancing her ecology studies with her athletic career. Frost believes that a career in ecology should not be one-size-fits-all, and that people in STEM—especially women—should feel empowered to explore a variety of paths that incorporate ecology into their academic and professional journeys.

Shalane Frost
Spotlight

PR Data Jam Brings Data Science Methods to K-12 Students -- El PR Data Jam trae métodos de ciencia de datos a estudiantes de K-12

March 23, 2022

Six teachers and more than 50 students across Puerto Rico had the opportunity to explore ecological questions using NEON data as part of the 2021 PR NEON Data Jam. The event, coordinated by Forward Research and sponsored by Battelle, was built on the LTER model using NEON data from the Guánica Dry Forest (GUAN) site in Puerto Rico (D04).

Flux tower at the Lajas Experimental Station field site
Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Corinna Gries

February 3, 2022

We spoke with Dr. Corinna Gries, one of the Environmental Data Initiative (EDI) leads at the University of Wisconsin with decades of experience in data management, about the benefits of digitizing data and making it more publicly accessible. Her unique career path provides a window into the increasingly critical—yet often overlooked—intersection of technology, scientific research, and data management in STEM fields.

Corinna Gries
Spotlight

NEON Spotlight: The Best of 2021

December 17, 2021

As 2021 comes to a close, we want to highlight the exceptional work delivered this year by the National Ecological Observatory Network. Here are some of the most exciting news items involving the NEON program over the past year.

Flux tower at the Lajas Experimental Station field site
Spotlight

Voices in Ecology – Shea Uehana, NEON Domain 20

November 18, 2021

We recently asked Hawaii-born NEON Senior Field Ecologist Shea Uehana to share about his work with the ecological project, his path into the field of ecology, and how his background informs his current work.

Shea Uehana
Spotlight

Domain Digest No.1: In the Field with the NEON Program

November 4, 2021

In the first of a new blog series - Domain Digest - take a brief look at some of the daily activities of our field staff across the Observatory!

Fall fish sampling in ND
Spotlight

Meet the First Cohort of the NEON Ambassador Program!

October 26, 2021

NEON's Ambassador Program is envisioned to empower and connect researchers and educators who are eager to engage with their communities. They will help their communities use NEON to accelerate scientific discovery, enhance educational opportunities, increase diversity and inclusion of the scientific community, and/or inform public policy. The inaugural cohort of NEON Ambassadors will contribute to a community-driven design for the new program.

Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Roisin Stanbrook

June 9, 2021

While some people find bugs to be scary or gross, Dr. Roisin Stanbrook hopes to change that perception by showing how insects are critical to the conservation of our natural world. In addition to detailing her fascinating work with dung beetles, Stanbrook discussed how her non-traditional path to conservation ecology is an asset in the long run, and how she hopes to teach her students the same.

Dr. Roisin Stanbrook
Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Bala Chaudhary

May 5, 2021

We spoke with Dr. Bala Chaudhary, assistant professor of Environmental Science and Studies at DePaul University, about her career, about how the lack of representation of people of color – both while she was in school and in her professional career – drives her to work toward creating a more equitable academic system, and she shared insightful ways that universities and labs can improve.

Bala Chaudhary
Spotlight

Forging Fresh Futures at Spring SciTeens Camp

April 28, 2021

Recently, SciTeens partnered with Florida State University to offer a virtual Data Science Camp for high school students in Florida. Participants learned how to manipulate and analyze data in the Python computer language and present data at a college level. The students in the Ecological Data Science Camp explored data from the NEON program and had an introduction into techniques for importing and analyzing the data.

 John Sutor and Carlos Mercado-Lara, creators of SciTeens.
Spotlight

Women in Ecology – Erin Hotchkiss

March 31, 2021

This month, Dr. Erin Hotchkiss talked with us about her current and upcoming projects, including a collaboration with NEON using sensors at NEON stream sites to investigate the relationships between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Erin Hotchkiss
Spotlight

NCEAS and NEON develop virtual onboarding resource for a changing world

March 11, 2021

The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and NEON have developed an open resource onboarding document geared to support researchers beginning their postdoctoral work with NEON - it can be easily adapted for other early career scientists entering roles.

NCEAS_thumbnail
Spotlight

Women to Watch in Ecology for 2021

February 25, 2021

Our list of 'NEON Women to Watch' honors women we highlighted this past year whose educational and professional experiences provide a fascinating glimpse into women's paths in academic science, the crucial role of mentors and advocates in a student's development, and how the field can be more inclusive going forward.

Women in Ecology. Clockwise from upper left: Ana Bento, Alex Harmon-Threatt, Dana Chadwick, Nyeema Harris.
Spotlight

EREN-NEON Flexible Learning Projects Enable Socially Distanced Ecology

February 17, 2021

The pandemic has created new challenges for educators—but that doesn't mean learning has to stop. The Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN) collaborated with the NEON program in 2020 to create a series of Flexible Learning Projects that enable students to practice hands-on field ecology wherever they are—on campus or at home.

Be on flower
Spotlight

Thriving Earth Exchange and NEON Launch New Community Science Partnership

February 12, 2021

AGU's Thriving Earth Exchange Program has welcomed the newest cohort of Community Science Fellows, and first in partnership with NEON! This cohort is comprised of field staff across 12 of NEON’s Domains. Beginning in February 2021, they will be conducting outreach to communities within their Domains, and ultimately working with them to launch collaborative, co-developed community science projects that produce on-the-ground impact through application of NEON’s data and resources.

NEON TEX Fellows underwent 10 hours of TEX Community Science Training
Spotlight

SciTeens: Data Science and Ecology for Gen Z

February 10, 2021

SciTeens is the brainchild of founders Carlos Mercado-Lara and John Sutor, who started the organization in 2018 when they were high school seniors. Their mission is to make free STEM resources – including data science resources – accessible to all students through online curricula, outreach, and mentoring. They leveraged ecological data from the NEON program to create their first data science projects.

 John Sutor and Carlos Mercado-Lara, creators of SciTeens.
Spotlight

NEON-ESA Early Career Scholars Share Their Experience at ESA2020

February 9, 2021

NEON and the Ecological Society of America established a NEON-ESA Early Career Scholars (NECS) program for 2020 to support a group of early career scholars attending ESA2020. The chosen scholars received registration to the Annual Meeting, which centered on the theme of "Harnessing the ecological data revolution," and benefited from virtual networking with NEON.

BONA tower, AK

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Copyright © Battelle, 2019-2020

The National Ecological Observatory Network is a major facility fully funded by the National Science Foundation.

Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.