TopicsNovember 28, 2023
- Message from the Associate Vice-President and Director of Extension
- Forbes Emergency Walkthrough
- Completing Your APR Using Faculty Portfolio (formerly UAVitae)
- WRRC Water Webinar
- Candidate Interview - Swetabh Patel, Ph.D., Agronomy Extension Specialist
- Invasive Weed Workshop
- Job Openings
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Message from the Associate Vice-President and Director of Extension
A while back, I was at a presentation by University of Minnesota Professor Theresa Glomb, an organizational psychologist who speaks at events across the nation. Her message was about improving the lives of workers. She gave magnets with four phrases: Work Hard, Have Fun, Choose Kind, and Be Present. I constantly work on all four, but the one I struggle with most is “Be Present.” I’m often in a meeting or on Zoom and not present. I’m either checking my phone, checking my email, reading an IM, etc. I think we all need to work on being present.
Yes, there will be those emergencies and situations when you get distracted, but if you take the time to accept an invitation or attend a meeting – Be Present. Listen … actively; engage … actively; Be Present. I’m still working on it – I hope the rest of you will, too. Oh, and Work Hard, Have Fun, and Choose Kind too!
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Forbes Emergency Walkthrough
During this virtual walkthrough, Gene Hall, Ryan Daily, and Jeff Ratje will prepare you to:
- Locate Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) and fire extinguishers
- Identify emergency exits on each floor
- Know and access the Forbes building emergency plan before you are in an emergency
When: 10-10:30 a.m., Thursday, November 30
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| Webinar
Completing Your APR Using Faculty Portfolio (formerly UAVitae)
Join Cathy Martinez, Ph.D., interim Associate Director, 4-H Youth Development, for this first webinar in the Onboarding and Orientation series. This presentation will cover the components of the APR that all faculty complete annually, with examples from various Extension programs. We will likely finish in an hour but sheduled extra time for questions.
When: Noon-1:30 p.m., Friday, December 15
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WRRC Water Webinar
104(b) Grant Program – Student Research Presentations, Part II
Low-Energy Inland Brackish Water Desalination: As water shortages become more relevant within the American Southwest, additional reductions from traditional water supplies will occur. Consequently, to meet the water demand, inland regions will require exploring non-conventional sources to secure their water supply, including brackish groundwater. Arizona has over 600 million acre-feet of brackish groundwater that may be a viable source of potable water using desalination technology. The golden standard for treatment of brackish water is desalination via Reverse Osmosis (RO). However, RO comes with the major drawback of producing high-cost water and large volumes of concentrate to dispose of. Thus, there is a need for low-energy water treatment technologies that are economical, widely accessible, and have low environmental impacts to produce high-quality and cost-effective potable water for all. Nanofiltration (NF) is another pressure-driven membrane process and, compared to RO, consumes less energy while maintaining a high-water flux. Through modeling and pilot testing NF and RO hybrid configurations, the researchers optimized a membrane treatment train to decrease operating pressure, energy consumption, and scale producing ions while analyzing the tradeoffs. These hybrid configurations aim to improve the applicability of desalination in inland regions with the overarching goal of increasing water-energy circularity.
Increasing Water Storage in Arid Soils with Biological Applications: For over twenty years, Arizona has experienced extreme drought. As a result, many farmers and ranchers are now required to reduce their water usage by up to forty percent. One way to meet this requirement would be to develop methods for soils to hold more water. Livestock are often viewed as bad for water resources and soil health, but can livestock be a tool for land managers to improve their soil and save water? In this project, the research team partnered with a farm in Red Rock, Arizona, to study adaptive rotational grazing — a way of grazing livestock that moves herds to new pasture to maintain land and animal health. This grazing treatment was tested by using control plots in two fields. One field had been unused for over 25 years, and the other was in its third year being rotationally grazed. The team measured soil carbon and nitrogen content, bulk density, and water infiltration. Results of the study showed that rotationally grazed plots increased levels of organic carbon and nitrogen in the soil and decreased levels of soil bulk density. Therefore, the less dense the soil is, the more water it can hold. The results showed rotational grazing can help farmers and ranchers decrease their water use. By better understanding how livestock impacts the land, herds can be raised sustainably. This research could also help with flood control, groundwater recharge, and restricted water use.
When: Noon-1:15 p.m., Thursday, November 30
Speakers: Arianna Quinn Tariqi, PhD student, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona; Dustin Fancher, graduate student, Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona.
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| Candidate Interview
Interview Swetabh Patel, Ph.D., for the Agronomy Extension Specialist position at Maricopa and Yuma agricultural centers. Seminar: Developing an Extension and Applied Agronomy (and/or Organic Crop) Research Program for Arizona.
Yuma Agricultural Center
Maricopa Agricultural Center
11 a.m., Thursday, November 30
Join via Zoom
School of Plant Sciences, Marley Building, Room 230
11 a.m., Friday, December 1
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Please join us for this one-day invasive weed workshop. A variety of speakers will present updated information about pesticide law, safety, and local invasive weed updates. Six AZ CEUs available (pending approval).
When: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tuesday, December 5
Cost: $15 and lunch is included.
Please register with the QR code above.
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| Job Openings
Food Safety Assistant/Associate Agent, Yuma, Arizona – This continuing eligible Assistant/Associate Extension Agent position will work with colleagues and industry professionals, developing and delivering research-driven outreach and education programs relative to the agricultural community, particularly in the area of Fresh Produce Food Safety. The primary focus of the position will be to develop and deliver research-based education and assistance to the fresh produce industry in the Southwest. In addition to outreach, the agent will work alongside colleagues (Specialists and agents) to develop and conduct applied research, create scholarly Extension publications, present at conferences and meetings, and pursue grant and gift funding to support research and program work. For more information see the posting on the University of Arizona Talent website.
Extension Specialist (Assistant/Associate) – Family Health and Well-being, Norton School of Human Ecology – This continuing status (i.e., tenure-track) position will develop and lead a statewide initiative to address community health and family well-being, particularly emotional-behavioral health, using a family systems and intergenerational life course approach to human behavior, health and well-being. This work will be informed by the Cooperative Extension System’s National Framework for Health Equity and Well-being (2021).The Specialist will work to strengthen and improve family and community health and well-being and the social-environmental context(s) in which family groups interact. Using effective research-based, equity-focused approaches and advancing policies that help families be resilient and thrive, the Specialist will demonstrate impact through rigorous program evaluation and other applied research. The Specialist will maintain a program of extension, research, and scholarly outreach in community-based family health and well-being programs. This position will involve 60% extension, 30% research, and 10% service as a member of the Human Development and Family Science faculty. For more information visit the posting on the UA Talent site.
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