← LeaderboardsInvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Trustees Of Clark University
$7,970,036
Total funding
30
Grants
Funding over time
peak $2M · FY2008–24$2M$1.5M$1M$500K$0
'08
'09
'10
'11
'12
'13
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
Funding mix
By agency
NASA$3,252,569 · 16
USDA$2,871,765 · 6
DOE$1,518,102 · 6
DOD$327,600 · 2
By mechanism
—$7,970,036 · 30
Investigators at Trustees Of Clark University
InvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Exposure= the full size of every grant they're on ($1M each).
Rising Stars
First grant in the last 5 yrs
Not enough data
Emerging Leaders
6–10 yrs in
Not enough data
All-Time
Most funded here, all years
Not enough data
Largest grants
** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE USDA SPENDS >$5 BILLION ANNUALLY ON CONSERVATION TO ENHANCE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. THE BIOPHYSICAL IMPACTS OF THESE PROGRAMS ON LANDSCAPES AND AQUATIC SYSTEMS (E.G., SOIL RETENTION; NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT DELIVERY; WATER QUALITY) ARE RELATIVELY WELL UNDERSTOOD AND CAN BE MODELED USING READILY AVAILABLE APPROACHES. YET CREDIBLE INFORMATION ON ECONOMIC (AND PARTICULARLY NON-MARKET) BENEFITS IS OFTEN LACKING, PARTICULARLY FOR HETEROGENEOUS CONSERVATION PRACTICES THAT OCCUR OVER LARGE SPATIAL SCALES. USDA AND ITS PARTNERS STRUGGLE TO ESTIMATE NON-MARKET BENEFITS FROM CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT AFFECT NATURAL RESOURCES AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ACROSS VARIOUS GEOSPATIAL SCALES. AT LEAST IN CONCEPT, MANY OF THESE BENEFITS CAN BE MEASURED USING ESTIMATES OF HOUSEHOLDS' INDIVIDUAL AND AGGREGATE WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) FOR SPATIALLY EXPLICIT IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSERVATION-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE OUTCOMES.AMONG AVAILABLE APPROACHES TO ESTIMATE BENEFITS OF THIS TYPE, ONLY STATED PREFERENCE METHODS (E.G., CHOICE EXPERIMENTS) PROVIDE A VALID MEANS TO MEASURE BOTH USE AND NONUSE VALUES LINKED TO CONSERVATION OUTCOMES (E.G., ECOSYSTEM SERVICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES DUE TO CONSERVATION PRACTICE IMPLEMENTATION). YET CURRENT STATED-PREFERENCE METHODS ARE CHALLENGED BY THE INDIVIDUALIZED AND SPATIALLY HETEROGENEOUS WAYS THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, USE AND VALUE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES OVER DIFFERENT SPATIAL SCALES, POSING CHALLENGES FOR THE VALIDITY AND CREDIBILITY OF WELFARE ESTIMATION. HOUSEHOLDS' WTP FOR CONSERVATION-RELATED ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS DEPENDS ON OFTEN COMPLEX MULTI-SCALE SPATIAL INTERACTIONS OF (A) ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE CHANGES, I.E., WHERE THEY OCCUR, AND (B) HOUSEHOLDS' INDIVIDUALIZED PREFERENCES, I.E., WHERE THEY ARE VALUED. ALTHOUGH SUCH INTERACTIONS MAY LEAD TO COMPLEX AND NONLINEAR SPATIAL PATTERNS IN ECONOMIC VALUES, EVEN STATE OF THE ART STATED-PREFERENCE APPROACHES CURRENTLY ESTIMATE WTP USING SIMPLIFIED APPROACHES THAT BELIE THIS SPATIAL COMPLEXITY. FOR EXAMPLE, CURRENT ARCHITECTURE FOR STATED-PREFERENCE BENEFIT ESTIMATION IS POORLY SUITED TO ESTIMATE WTP FOR LARGE-SCALE, SPATIALLY HETEROGENEOUS CONSERVATION OUTCOMES IN WAYS THAT ACCOMMODATE SPATIAL PREFERENCE HETEROGENEITY FOR MANY SMALL-SCALE INTRAREGIONAL CHANGES, WHERE THIS HETEROGENEITY MAY OR MAY NOT BE RELATED TO RESPONDENTS' PRIMARY HOMES.RESPONDING TO THIS GAP IN VALUATION METHODS AND PRACTICE, THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND EVALUATE NEXT-GENERATION CHOICE-EXPERIMENT ARCHITECTURE DESIGNED TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF VALUATION FOR SPATIALLY EXPLICIT, LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE OUTCOMES, GROUNDED IN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT MODELING. THIS REQUIRES COORDINATED INNOVATIONS IN QUESTIONNAIRE ARCHITECTURE, INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT, VALUE ELICITATION AND ECONOMETRIC ESTIMATION. THE APPROACH WILL BE GROUNDED IN: (1) A NOVEL, INTERACTIVE PREFERENCE ELICITATION THAT INCREASES RESPONDENTS' ABILITY TO MAKE INFORMED CHOICES OVER SPATIALLY COMPLEX ECOSYSTEM CHANGES, AND (2) INTEGRATED SURVEY ARCHITECTURE AND BAYESIAN ECONOMETRICS THAT ACCOMMODATE REALISTIC AND INDIVIDUALIZED SPATIAL PATTERNS IN WTP, INCLUDING DISCRETE AND CONTINUOUS FORMS OF HETEROGENEITY UNRELATED TO A PERSON'S HOME. THESE INTEGRATED METHODS ARE DESIGNED TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES FACED WHEN VALUING LARGE-SCALE CONSERVATION IMPACTS SUBJECT TO SMALL-SCALE BIOPHYSICAL AND PREFERENCE HETEROGENEITY. VALUATION SCENARIOS WILL BE INFORMED BY INTEGRATED MODELING OF VALUED CONSERVATION OUTCOMES VIA SWAT/HAWQS (SOIL & WATER ASSESSMENT TOOL / HYDROLOGIC AND WATER QUALITY SYSTEM).TO DEVELOP THESE METHODS, THE PROJECT TEAM WILL LEVERAGE ADVANCES IN ONLINE, INTERACTIVE MAP-BASED SURVEY ARCHITECTURE, TOGETHER WITH NOVEL APPROACHES FOR STATED-PREFERENCE SURVEY DESIGN AND BAYESIAN ECONOMETRICS FOR SPATIALLY EXPLICIT WTP ESTIMATION. THE APPROACH WILL BE DEMONSTRATED USING A CASE STUDY OF CONSERVATION AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE STATE OF VIRGINIA AT THE 12-DIGIT HYDROLOGIC UNIT CODE (HUC) SCALE, AGGREGATED TO 8-DIGIT HUC OR LARGER SCALES FOR THE PURPOSE OF ELICITING VALUES. SCENARIOS WILL CONSIDER WATER QUALITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES CHANGES DUE TO AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PRACTICES, WITH THESE BIOPHYSICAL OUTCOMES MODELED USING SWAT/HAWQS. PARTICULAR ATTENTION WILL BE GIVEN TO THE CAPACITY OF THE INTEGRATED APPROACH TO CHARACTERIZE DISTRIBUTIONAL ASPECTS OF NON-MARKET VALUES OVER DIFFERENT HOUSEHOLDS AND TO PROVIDE VALID BENEFIT ESTIMATES THAT ACCOMMODATE VARIOUS FORMS OF SPATIAL PREFERENCE HETEROGENEITY. THE GOAL IS AN INTEGRATED-ASSESSMENT APPROACH FOR VALUATION THAT PRODUCES VALID WELFARE (OR BENEFIT) ESTIMATES ACROSS VARIOUS SCALES AND ACCOMMODATES INDIVIDUAL SPATIAL PREFERENCES OF EACH HOUSEHOLD, WITHOUT THE RESTRICTIVE ASSUMPTIONS REQUIRED BY CURRENT METHODS.THE METHODS DEVELOPED BY THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A MEANS TO ESTIMATE PER HOUSEHOLD AND AGGREGATE WTP FOR A WIDE ARRAY OF CONSERVATION PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES, CONSIDERING OUTCOMES THAT AFFECT ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ACROSS VARIOUS SPATIAL SCALES. INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF BIOPHYSICAL OUTCOMES AND ECONOMIC VALUES--WITH ATTENTION TO VALIDITY IN BOTH NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE REALMS--WILL ENHANCE THE CREDIBILITY AND RELEVANCE OF RESULTS. THE RESULTING INFORMATION ON ECONOMIC BENEFITS WILL BE RELEVANT TO APPLICATIONS THAT CHALLENGE CURRENT METHODS. THESE INCLUDE CASES IN WHICH (A) WTP FOR CONSERVATION (E.G., ECOSYSTEM SERVICE) OUTCOMES IS AFFECTED BY SPATIAL PATTERNS ACROSS VARIOUS SCALES, (B) CURRENT STATED-PREFERENCE VALUATION METHODS PROVIDE INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO ENABLE RESPONDENTS TO UNDERSTAND ECOSYSTEM-SERVICE OUTCOMES IN AREAS THEY CARE ABOUT, AND/OR (C) VALUES DEPEND ON COMPLEX SPATIAL DIMENSIONS BEYOND THOSE THAT CAN BE CAPTURED VIA COMMONLY APPLIED VALUATION PARADIGMS AND TECHNIQUES. THE RESULT WILL BE MORE VALID, RELIABLE AND CREDIBLE ESTIMATES OF ECONOMIC VALUE LINKED TO AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PRACTICES.ALTHOUGH ILLUSTRATED FOR ONE ILLUSTRATIVE SET OF CONSERVATION PRACTICES AND OUTCOMES IN A SELECTED CASE-STUDY AREA, THESE METHODS WILL BE GENERALIZABLE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS. MOREOVER, BEYOND APPLICATIONS OF THE INTEGRATED MODEL, THE INDIVIDUAL ADVANCES PIONEERED BY THE PROJECT WILL FURTHER EXPAND THE SET OF TOOLS AVAILABLE FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VALUATION. THIS WILL FACILITATE VALUATION OF OUTCOMES FROM AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS OVERSEEN BY FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES, AMONG OTHERS. IN ADDITION TO METHODOLOGICAL BENEFITS, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE EMPIRICAL ESTIMATES RELEVANT TO THE BENEFITS OF CONSERVATION IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED. THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, WE WILL LEVERAGE THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PDS AND ADVISORY BOARD TO ENSURE THAT THE PROPOSED METHODS MEET POLICY NEEDS.$799,994
· FY2022 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE USDA SPENDS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER YEAR ON CONSERVATION TO ENHANCE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. THE BIOPHYSICAL IMPACTS OF THESE PROGRAMS (E.G., ON SOIL RETENTION AND WATER QUALITY) ARE RELATIVELY WELL UNDERSTOOD AND CAN BE ESTIMATED USING STANDARD MODELING APPROACHES. YET THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THESE PROGRAMS REMAIN LARGELY UNKNOWN, AND CREDIBLE INFORMATION ON NON-MARKET BENEFITS IS PARTICULARLY LACKING. DESPITE AN EXTENSIVE LITERATURE ON NON-MARKET VALUATION, THE METHODS FROM THIS LITERATURE ARE OFTEN IMPRACTICAL TO USE FOR THE ESTIMATION OF VALUES PROVIDED BY USDA AND OTHER CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. LARGE-SCALE, APPLIED VALUATION OF THIS TYPE ALMOST UNIVERSALLY REQUIRES BENEFIT TRANSFER, OR BT. BT USES EXISTING ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FROM PRIOR STUDIES AT ONE OR MORE LOCATIONS TO PREDICT ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES SUCH AS WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) AT OTHER, TYPICALLY UNSTUDIED LOCATIONS. BENEFIT TRANSFER CAN PRODUCE ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FOR AREAS AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS FOR WHICH ORIGINAL ECONOMIC VALUATION STUDIES HAVE NOT BEEN CONDUCTED--THEREBY QUANTIFYING THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION TO THE PUBLIC. YET BT METHODS TO SUPPORT RELIABLE LARGE-SCALE VALUATION ARE INADEQUATELY DEVELOPED, PARTICULARLY FOR APPLICATIONS SUCH AS RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS WITH WIDESPREAD, DIFFUSE AND PATCHY IMPACTS. DUE TO THE LACK OF SUFFICIENTLY ACCURATE BT METHODS, USDA AND ITS PARTNERS STRUGGLE TO PRODUCE CREDIBLE ESTIMATES OF NON-MARKET CONSERVATION BENEFITS.ADDRESSING THIS UNRESOLVED RESEARCH AND POLICY NEED REQUIRES A SET OF FLEXIBLE, STANDARDIZED BT APPROACHES THAT ARE ABLE TO PREDICT BENEFITS FOR THE LARGE SPATIAL SCALES OVER WHICH CONSERVATION OCCURS, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY ACCOUNTING FOR THE IMPORTANT EFFECTS OF LOCALIZED, PLACE-SPECIFIC SPATIAL AND OTHER DIMENSIONS ON VALUES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS. RESPONDING TO THIS IMPORTANT GAP IN KNOWLEDGE AND METHODS FOR ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, THE PRESENT PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND EVALUATE BT PROCEDURES WITH A PREVIOUSLY UNATTAINABLE CAPACITY TO ACCOUNT FOR LOCALIZED SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY OF CONSERVATION-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS OVER LARGE SPATIAL SCALES (SUCH AS WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS), WHILE IDENTIFYING AREAS WHEREIN IMPROVEMENTS ARE MOST VALUED BY TARGET POPULATIONS, INCLUDING DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES. ALTHOUGH APPLICABLE TO ANY CONSERVATION OUTCOME, METHODS WILL BE ILLUSTRATED FOR BTS THAT PREDICT WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) FOR SPATIALLY DIFFUSE WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS.THE PROJECT ADDRESSES USDA AFRI ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS (A1651) PROGRAM PRIORITIES, WHICH CALL FOR BENEFIT TRANSFER TO INFORM BENEFIT-COST CALCULATIONS FOR CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCE POLICY DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION. THESE NOVEL METHODS WILL INTEGRATE (1) LOCALLY WEIGHTED META-REGRESSION MODELS (LW MRMS) FOR WTP METADATA THAT PRODUCE UNIQUE BENEFIT FUNCTIONS FOR EACH SITE, (2) INTERAC,TIVE MAP-BASED SURVEY ARCHITECTURE THAT IDENTIFIES HIGHLY VALUED (SALIENT) AREAS NATIONWIDE FOR SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS, (3) A MACHINE-LEARNING SPATIAL SALIENCE CLASSIFICATION MODEL (SCM) THAT USES THESE SURVEY DATA TO PROVIDE GENERALIZABLE PREDICTIONS, FOR ANY CENSUS BLOCK GROUP (CBG) NATIONWIDE, ON THE DEGREE TO WHICH ANY POTENTIAL WATERSHED AREA IS SALIENT (OR PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT) TO RESIDENTS FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS, AND (4) VALIDATED METADATA ON HOUSEHOLD WTP FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS IN US WATERBODIES DRAWN FROM PRIOR STUDIES IN THE VALUATION LITERATURE, AUGMENTED WITH SCM RESULTS TO SUPPORT LW MRMS WITH ENHANCED WTP-PREDICTION ACCURACY. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE TRANSFORMATIVE YET STANDARDIZED BT METHODS ABLE TO PREDICT VALUES DUE TO DIFFUSE CONSERVATION OVER LARGE SCALES, TOGETHER WITH A SET OF NATIONWIDE SPATIAL SALIENCE DATA LAYERS THAT CAN BE USED INDEPENDENTLY TO IDENTIFY AREAS WHEREIN WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS ARE MOST VALUED BY RESIDENTS OF ANY CBG. THESE METHODS WILL ENHANCE THE ACCURACY OF LARGE-SCALE BT, BY INCORPORATING SYSTEMATIC INFORMATION ON THE EXTENT TO WHICH PATCHY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS OCCUR IN LOCAL (OR NON-LOCAL) AREAS THAT ARE IMPORTANT (OR SALIENT) TO HOUSEHOLDS. IN DOING SO, THESE APPROACHES WILL INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF USDA AND OTHERS TO QUANTIFY THE ECONOMIC VALUES GENERATED BY AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.$799,772
· FY2024 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
OBSERVING AND UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACTS OF A THINNING AND RETREATING SEA ICE COVER ON LIGHT PROPAGATION, PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY, AND BIOGEOCHEMISTRY IN$621,900
· FY2014 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
PROTECTING FOREST CARBON STORAGE AND UPTAKE IS CENTRAL TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLICES AIMED AT MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE. THE SUCCESS OF SUCH$552,861
· FY2014 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
THE USDA AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY ON CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT ENHANCE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, IMPROVE RURAL QUALITY OF LIFE, AND BENEFIT THE US PUBLIC. THESE PROGRAMS PROMOTE AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY AND PROVIDE BENEFITS SUCH AS IMPROVED WATER QUALITY AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, BOTH REGIONALLY AND NATIONWIDE. THE BIOPHYSICAL IMPACTS OF THESE PROGRAMS, E.G., EFFECTS ON WATER QUALITY AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS, CAN BE ESTIMATED USING ESTABLISHED BIOPHYSICAL MODELS. THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THESE PROGRAMS, HOWEVER, ARE GENERALLY UNKNOWN. DESPITE DECADES OF ACADEMIC AND OTHER RESEARCH SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS, USDA IS CURRENTLY UNABLE TO ACCURATELY MEASURE THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICE BENEFITS PROVIDED BY MANY OF ITS POLICIES AND PROGRAMS. BECAUSE ORIGINAL, PRIMARY-DATA STUDIES TO MEASURE THESE VALUES CANNOT BE CONDUCTED EVERYWHERE, LARGE-SCALE ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VALUATION (ESV) OF THIS TYPE ALMOST ALWAYS REQUIRES BENEFIT TRANSFER. BENEFIT TRANSFER USES EXISTING ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FROM PRIOR STUDIES AT ONE OR MORE LOCATIONS TO PREDICT ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES SUCH AS WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) AT OTHER, TYPICALLY UNSTUDIED LOCATIONS. BENEFIT TRANSFER CAN PRODUCE ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FOR AREAS AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS FOR WHICH ORIGINAL ECONOMIC VALUATION STUDIES HAVE NOT BEEN CONDUCTED--THEREBY PROVIDING ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FOR LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION. METHODS SUCH AS THESE CAN PROVIDE OTHERWISE-UNAVAILABLE INFORMATION ON THE PUBLIC BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. HOWEVER, BENEFIT TRANSFER METHODS SUFFICIENT FOR RELIABLE, REPEATED, LARGE-SCALE ESV ARE NOT YET SUFFICIENTLY DEVELOPED.ADDRESSING THIS LONGSTANDING CHALLENGE REQUIRES PRACTICAL AND RELIABLE BENEFIT TRANSFER METHODS DESIGNED FOR LARGE-SCALE ESV. VALUATION META-REGRESSION MODELS (MRMS) PROVIDE A PROMISING FOUNDATION FOR THESE BENEFIT TRANSFERS. THESE MODELS SYNTHESIZE DATA (CALLED VALUATION METADATA) FROM MANY PRIOR ECONOMIC VALUATION STUDIES ON SIMILAR TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL OR ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS (E.G., WATER QUALITY CHANGES) TO PRODUCE AN UMBRELLA VALUATION FUNCTION. THESE FUNCTIONS MAY BE USED TO PREDICT THE SAME TYPE OF VALUES FOR SITUATIONS OR LOCATIONS WHERE NO ORIGINAL ECONOMIC VALUATION STUDIES HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED. METHODS OF THIS TYPE CAN PROVIDE IDEAL TOOLS TO HELP UNDERSTAND AND PREDICT THE PER HOUSEHOLD, REGIONAL AND NATIONWIDE BENEFITS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS, SUCH THAT THOSE THAT RESULT FROM AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION. YET DESPITE THE PROMISE OF THESE VALUE-PREDICTION MODELS, NO EXISTING MRMS POSSESS THE COMPLETE PROPERTIES REQUIRED TO SUPPORT FLEXIBLE, VALID AND RELIABLE LARGE-SCALE BENEFIT TRANSFER FOR AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.RESPONDING TO THIS GAP IN AVAILABLE METHODS, THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP, ILLUSTRATE AND EVALUATE THE FIRST INTEGRATED BIOPHYSICAL AND META-ANALYTIC BENEFIT TRANSFER MODEL SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO ESTIMATE SPATIALLY EXPLICIT ECOSYSTEM SERVICE BENEFITS FROM LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION, WHILE ADDRESSING KEY LIMITATIONS THAT HAVE AFFECTED PRIOR BENEFIT TRANSFER APPROACHES. THE APPROACH WILL ENABLE PRACTICAL, VALID AND RELIABLE BENEFIT TRANSFER USING META-REGRESSION METHODS INTEGRATED WITH COMMON TYPES OF BIOPHYSICAL MODELS USED TO PREDICT ECOSYSTEM SERVICE CHANGES. THE APPROACH WILL BE DEMONSTRATED USING CASE STUDIES AT MULTIPLE HYDROLOGIC UNIT SCALES WITHIN TWO US REGIONS (MIDWEST, NORTHEAST), FOCUSING ON AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT ENHANCE AQUATIC SYSTEMS AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. THE METADATA WILL EXTEND EXISTING DATA DRAWN FROM PRIMARY STATED PREFERENCE STUDIES OF WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) FOR WATER QUALITY CHANGES THAT AFFECT AQUATIC SYSTEMS, AND WILL BE SUPPLEMENTED USING EXTERNAL DATASETS ON LAND USE/COVER, HYDROGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, AGRICULTURE, AND HUMAN POPULATIONS. THE RESULTING META-REGRESSIONMODELS WILL INCLUDE MULTIPLE INNOVATIONS TO ENABLE VALID AND RELIABLE WTP PREDICTIONS TARGETED TO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AND TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICE CHANGES. THESE ESTIMATES WILL BE VALIDATED USING A LARGE-SCALE PRIMARY STUDY ADAPTED FOR THIS PURPOSE, LEVERAGING ONGOING WORK FUNDED BY US EPA. THESE MODELS WILL ENABLE PER HOUSEHOLD AND AGGREGATE ECONOMIC VALUE ESTIMATES FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM SERVICES CHANGES IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, AND WILL ENABLE LOCALLY TARGETED BENEFIT TRANSFERS THAT ACCOUNT FOR SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY IN BENEFIT FUNCTIONS, BIOPHYSICAL IMPACTS AND ECONOMIC VALUES. THE APPROACHES WILL BE ADAPTABLE TO A WIDE RANGE OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMS. THE GOAL IS A FLEXIBLE AND PRACTICAL BENEFIT TRANSFER FRAMEWORK APPLICABLE TO LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT ENHANCE WATER QUALITY AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. THIS WILL INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF USDA AND OTHERS TO UNDERSTAND THEECONOMIC VALUES GENERATED VIA US AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.$470,682
· FY2020 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
CONTINUED CLIMATE WARMING IN THE ARCTIC WILL LIKELY HAVE PROFOUND CONSEQUENCES FOR MANY SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE REGION, INCLUDING DECLINES IN SEA ICE$440,486
· FY2014 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
CURRENT PREDICTIONS ARE THAT GLOBAL FOOD DEMANDS WILL OUTPACE AGRICULTURAL CROP PRODUCTION BY 2050. ALTHOUGH 80% OF THE ATMOSPHERE IS COMPOSED OF DINITROGEN GAS, IT IS INACCESSIBLE TO MOST PLANTS IN THAT FORM, MAKING NITROGEN AVAILABILITY ONE OF THE PRIMARY BARRIERS TO INCREASED CROP PRODUCTION. THIS LIMITATION SPAWNED THE DEVELOPMENT OF NITROGEN-BASED FERTILIZERS, WHICH MORE THAN TRIPLED GLOBAL CROP YIELDS. BETWEEN 1960 AND 2000, THE APPLICATION OF NITROGEN FERTILIZERS INCREASED ~800% CAUSING A DOUBLING OF GLOBAL CEREAL PRODUCTION. WITHOUT THEM, OVER FOUR TIMES AS MUCH LAND WOULD BE NECESSARY TO MEET CURRENT GLOBAL DEMAND. HOWEVER, CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS ARE EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT. LESS THAN 50% OF THE NITROGEN IS APPLIED IS CAPTURED BY CROPS SO MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS ARE OFTEN UTILIZED, BUT THIS HAS RESULTED IN SOIL ACIDIFICATION AND INCREASED EMISSION OF GREENHOUSE GASES. AWARENESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS HAS CREATED A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT IN AGRICULTURE TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY USING MORE EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUES.ONE SUCH METHOD IS BY USING SOIL MICROBES THAT CAN SUPPLY PLANTS WITH USABLE NITROGEN THROUGH A PROCESS CALLED BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN FIXATION (BNF). UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF CURRENT AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH CREATING A SOIL ENVIRONMENT THAT IS HOSPITABLE FOR THESE BACTERIA. WE WILL COLLECT SOIL FROM DIFFERENT FIELD SITES BOTH AGRICULTURAL AND FROM UNDISTURBED PRAIRIE TO MEASURE AND CULTURE THESE NITROGEN-FIXING BACTERIA. WE WILL THEN GROW WHEAT IN SOIL FROM THESE SITES, AND ALSO IN THE PRESENCE OF THESE MICROBES TO MEASURE THE EFFECT ON PLANT TRAITS. WE HOPE TO SHOW THAT THE MICROBES IN PRAIRIE SOIL ARE MORE ABUNDANT, BETTER AT PROVIDING NITROGEN, AND LEAD TO MORE PRODUCTIVE CROPS. IF THIS IS TRUE, WE CAN ARGUE THAT AGRICULTURE SHOULD MOVE TOWARDS USING FEWER CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS AND USE TILLING METHODS THAT ARE NOT AS DESTRUCTIVE FOR THE SOIL, WHICH CAN DECREASE THE ABUNDANCE OF THESE HELPFUL MICROBES. THE RESULTS FROM THIS WORK WILL PROVIDE SHAREHOLDERS AND RESEARCHERS WITH DATA ABOUT WAYS TO IMPROVE CROP YIELDS TO MEET GLOBAL FOOD DEMANDS IN MORE ECONOMICALLY EFFICIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE WAYS.$410,824
· FY2022 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
NOVEL SUPERCONDUCTING STATES IN ACTINIDES AND OTHER ANISOTROPIC SUPERCONDUCTORS$407,599
· FY2008 · Department of Energy
PHYSICS OF CHANNELIZATION: THEORY, EXPERIMENT & OBSERVATION$356,969
· FY2008 · Department of Energy
INTERNATIONAL EROSION, PARTICLE TRANSPORT, AND CHANNELIZATION DRIVE BY FLUID FLOW$346,682
· FY2013 · Department of Energy
IN THE UNITED STATES, MORE THAN HALF OF PRIMARY CROP SPECIES AND 20% OF PRIMARY CROP PRODUCTION RELY IN PART ON ANIMAL POLLINATION, MOST OF WHICH IS PROVIDED BY BEES. THESE POLLINATOR-DEPENDENT CROPS--MOSTLY FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND NUTS--TEND TO BE HIGH-VALUED, HIGH-NUTRITION FOOD AND SHORTAGES IN THE AVAILABILITY OF POLLINATION SERVICES COULD BE DEVASTATING FROM BOTH NUTRITIONAL AND ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES. RECENT DECLINES IN BOTH MANAGED AND WILD POLLINATORS HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED IN PART TO HABITAT LOSS AND PESTICIDE EXPOSURE. IN ADDITION TO GENERAL LAND-COVER CHANGE ACROSS THE U.S., SUBSTANTIAL MANAGED-BEE SUMMER "PASTURE" IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS HAS RECENTLY BEEN CONVERTED TO CROPLAND. AT THE SAME TIME, NEONICOTINOID INSECTICIDES ('NEONICS'), HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN SUDDEN DIE-OFFS OF MANAGED BEES AND LONG-TERM DECLINES IN WILD BEE POPULATIONS. IN PARTICULAR, NEONICS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE POLLEN AND NECTAR OF CROPS AS WELL AS THE FLORA IN ADJACENT BUFFER STRIPS, AND NEONICS CAN REMAIN IN SOIL FOR SEVERAL YEARS THREATENING GROUND-NESTING POLLINATORS.GROWERS OF POLLINATOR-DEPENDENT CROPS ARE THUS CONFRONTED WITH POTENTIAL ON-FARM TRADEOFFS BETWEEN EFFECTIVE PEST CONTROL AND SUCCESSFUL POLLINATION AND THEIR DECISION MAKING IS FURTHER COMPLICATED BECAUSE POLLINATORS AND PESTICIDES OFTEN CROSS PROPERTY BOUNDARIES. FARMERS DIFFER IN THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF BOTH THE POLLINATION SERVICES PROVIDED BY INSECTS AS WELL AS IMPACTS OF NEONIC EXPOSURE ON SUCH SERVICES. THEY ALSO DIFFER IN THEIR WILLINGNESS TO ADJUST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO ADDRESS THESE IMPACTS, AND THESE DIFFERENCES LIKELY DEPEND ON THE PARTICULAR CROPSCAPE (I.E., THE LAND-USE PATTERNS AND SPECIFIC CROPS GROWN) WITHIN WHICH THE FARMER OPERATES. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT WILL FIRST DEVELOP AN INTEGRATED POLLINATOR-PESTICIDE CROPSCAPE TYPOLOGY THAT PLACES EACH COUNTY IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. ALONG A POLLINATOR RISK-REWARD GRADIENT. BROADLY SPEAKING, POLLINATOR RISK COMES FROM LANDSCAPES WITH HIGH PESTICIDE USE AND LOW POLLINATOR HABITAT NEAR OR ADJACENT TO POLLINATOR-DEPENDENT CROPLAND WHILE POLLINATOR REWARD COMES FROM LANDSCAPES WITH LOW (OR MITIGATED) PESTICIDE USE AND HIGH POLLINATOR HABITAT. THE RESEARCH WILL THEN CONDUCT GROWER SURVEYS IN SELECT CROPSCAPES TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (I) HOW AWARE ARE GROWERS OF THE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS THROUGH WHICH POLLINATORS ARE EXPOSED TO NEONICS? (II) WILL PROVISIONING OF INFORMATION REGARDING THE DAMAGES OF NEONICS AND THE BENEFITS OF POLLINATOR HABITAT OFFER ENOUGH PRIVATE INCENTIVE FOR GROWERS TO CHANGE THEIR MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OR ARE ADDITIONAL POLICIES OR PROGRAMS, SUCH AS PAYMENTS FOR HABITAT CONSERVATION OR PESTICIDE ABATEMENT, WARRANTED? (III) HOW DO DIFFERENCES AMONG GROWERS AND CROPSCAPES VARY ACROSS THE U.S. AND HOW CAN WE USE THIS INFORMATION TO GUIDE TARGETING OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL POLLINATOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS? ULTIMATELY, THE RESEARCH WILL IDENTIFY WHICH CONSERVATION STRATEGY (I.E., COMBINATION OF POLLINATOR HABITAT PROVISIONING AND PESTICIDE DRIFT ABATEMENT) IS BEST SUITED FOR EACH CROPSCAPE TYPE AND WILL GUIDE POLLINATOR CONSERVATION PROGRAM TARGETING BASED ON BOTH POLLINATOR REWARDS AND POLLINATOR RISKS.$340,506
· FY2019 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
THE OVERARCHING SCIENTIFIC GOALS OF ACT-AMERICA ARE TO REDUCE UNCERTAINTIES IN BOTH MESOSCALE ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT AND BIOGENIC SURFACE CARBON FLUX$305,449
· FY2016 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(T&E) TRANSMISSION OF RADIO-FREQUENCY SIGNALS THROUGH PLASMA DURING HYPERSONIC FLIGHT$299,922
· FY2008 · Department of the Air Force
GENE REGULATORY NETWORKS CONTROLLING CARBOHYDRATE-SELECTIVE DECONSTRUCTION PATHWAYS IN FUNGI$217,380
· FY2018 · Department of Energy
IN THE PREVIOUS FUNDING CYCLE WE DEVELOPED A MODELING FRAMEWORK THAT EXPLOITED THE NEW FOREST DISTURBANCE TIME SERIES MAPS PROVIDED BY THE NASA FUNDE$183,963
· FY2010 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
LAND COVER CHANGE AND DISTURBANCE AFFECT GLOBAL CLIMATE THROUGH BOTH BIOCHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL MECHANISMS, AND RADIATIVE FORCING FROM ALBEDO IS THOUGH$180,383
· FY2014 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
THE FOLLOWING IS A PROPOSAL FOR WORK NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE NASA NEW INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM GRANT (NNX15AC64G) FOLLOWING THE MOVE OF THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FROM PRINCETON UNIVERSITY TO CLARK UNIVERSITY S GRADUATE SCHOOL OF GEOGRAPHY. THE ORIGINAL OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSAL WERE TO: 1. IDENTIFY PATTERNS OF CROPLAND CHANGE WITHIN ZAMBIA 2. IDENTIFY LANDSCAPE-SCALE TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY WITHIN ZAMBIA S CROPLAND. 3. UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CHANGES IN CROP PRODUCTIVITY LANDCOVER AND CLIMATIC VARIABILITY. TO ACHIEVE THESE OBJECTIVES THE PROJECT WAS DESIGNED AROUND THREE PRIMARY TASKS: 1. DEVELOP A NEXT-GENERATION LANDCOVER MAPPING SYSTEM THAT CAN ACCURATELY DELINEATE SMALLHOLDERS FIELDS AND USE THIS SYSTEM TO TRACK CROPLAND CHANGES OVER TIME. 2. DEVELOP A METHOD TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE SMALLHOLDERS CROP YIELDS BY INTEGRATING IN SITU ENVIRONMENTAL SENSING REMOTE SENSING AND NUMERICAL MODELING AND APPLY IT TO ESTIMATE HOW ANNUAL YIELDS HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME. 3. USING THE RESULTS OF TASKS 1 AND 2 UNDERTAKE STATISTICAL ANALYSES TO DETERMINE WHETHER A) PRONOUNCED CROP PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES ARE CORRELATED WITH AND PRECEDE INCREASES OR DECREASES IN FARMLAND AND B) WHETHER HIGHER YIELDS LEAD TO INCREASED OR DECREASED SENSITIVITY TO CLIMATIC VARIABILITY PARTICULARLY RAINFALL. THIS PROPOSAL NECESSITATED BY THE PI S CHANGE OF INSTITUTION (TO CLARK UNIVERSITY EFFECTIVE AUGUST 21 2017) ADDRESSES THE REMAINING WORK TO BE DONE TO COMPLETE THESE TASKS FACTORING IN THE PROGRESS MADE AGAINST THE ORIGINAL TASKS AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE PROJECT SINCE INCEPTION.$148,488
· FY2020 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
THE FRAMEWORK WILL PROVIDE POLICY MAKERS WITH MORE EFFECTIVE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND MORE ACCURATE AND TIMELY ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION AT LOCAL AND REGIONAL LEVELS.$135,000
· FY2020 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
AUSTRALIA PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN GLOBAL CARBON AND WATER CYCLES AS A RESULT OF ITS LARGE INTER-ANNUAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY. THOUGH WELL KNOWN FOR DROUGHTS AUSTRALIA HAS MOST OF ITS CONTINENT SEVERELY AND PERSISTENTLY AFFECTED BY THE RECENT MILLENNIUM DROUGHT WHICH IS REGARDED AS ONE OF EARTH S MOST SEVERE AND PERSISTENT DROUGHTS DURING THE SATELLITE ERA. TREE MORTALITY HAS BEEN WIDELY REPORTED DURING AND POST THE MILLENNIUM DROUGHT. GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF AUSTRALIAN ECOSYSTEMS IN THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE THE APPARENT VULNERABILITY OF THESE FORESTS TO DROUGHT-INDUCED DECLINE AND THE PROJECTION OF HOTTER AND DRIER CONDITIONS FOR MUCH OF THE CONTINENT IT IS CRITICAL TO ANALYZE THE IMPACTS OF RECENT CLIMATE EXTREMES AS AN INDICATOR OF THE POSSIBLE IMPACTS OF FUTURE TRENDS. HOWEVER LARGE-AREA MONITORING AND COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENTS OF VEGETATION DIEBACK AND RECOVERY AT CONTINENTAL SCALE TO THE SCALE OF VEGETATION PATCHES REMAIN LACKING. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO ASSESS VEGETATION DECLINE AND POSSIBLE RECOVERY FROM THE MILLENNIUM DROUGHT OVER AUSTRALIA USING MULTI-SENSOR (E.G. MODIS AVHRR QUICKSCAT) AND HIGHER RESOLUTION DATA (LANDSAT). THE CORE METHOD OF THIS WORK IS TO ANALYZE A SET OF AVAILABLE REMOTE SENSING DERIVED TIME SERIES OF VEGETATION ATTRIBUTES INCLUDING FRACTION OF ABSORBED PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVE RADIATION (FPAR) PHOTOSYNTHETIC VEGETATION COVER (PV) CANOPY WATER CONTENT (E.G. VEGETATION OPTICAL DEPTH (VOD)) AND ABOVEGROUND BIOMASS (AGB) OR CARBON (ABC) TO ASSESS THE MAGNITUDE SENSITIVITY AND CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF VEGETATION RESPONSE TO DROUGHT AND THE DEGREE OF RECOVERY POST-DROUGHT. OUR ANALYSIS WILL PROVIDE NOT ONLY CONTINENTAL OVERVIEW BUT ALSO REGIONAL DETAILS FOR DROUGHT IMPACTS; ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF VEGETATION SENSITIVITY ACROSS DIFFERENT ECOHYDROLOGICAL SETTINGS; AND CONTRIBUTE VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO THE CUMULATIVE EFFECTS AND POST-DROUGHT RESPONSES. THESE IMPLICATIONS FOR ECOSYSTEMS WATER AND ENERGY CYCLES WOULD MAKE THIS WORK DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE SMD EARTH SCIENCE DIVISION S PROGRAM TO DETECT AND PREDICT CHANGES IN EARTH S ECOLOGICAL AND BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES.$135,000
· FY2020 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
PHYSICS OF CHANNELIZATION: THEORY, EXPERIMENT & OBSERVATION$129,473
· FY2010 · Department of Energy