Weekly Update (04/28/2025)
ESPP News
Course Announcements
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ESP810: Understanding Trust in the Environmental Governance Context
Dr. Joe Hamm will be teaching a new course in ESPP this coming fall called “Understanding Trust in the Environmental Governance Context”. In it, we’ll survey the concept of trust as well as strategies for monitoring, building, and protecting it across environmental contexts. We’ll explore trust within and between organizations, and between the public and governance. That will overlap a bit with more traditional policy as well as having direct implication for successful policy implementation at all levels. The class will meet at 3:00-5:50 PM on Wednesdays in Giltner Hall 273.
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The College of Communication Arts and Sciences is offering five 1-credit courses this summer on a variety of engaging topics—open to graduate students at all levels and from any discipline! These CAS 892 courses are a great opportunity to explore new subjects, gain additional credits, and enhance your graduate experience. If you’re interested in enrolling, please email Nicole Bond for an override into the course.
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Dr. Yadu Pokhrel will be offering ENE 890, Advanced Hydrology in Fall 2025. Additional details are available in the attached course flyer. Please check if you are interested or share it with those who may be interested. Class meets: Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:30-9:50 AM (Room: TBD)
Course Overview: The focus of this course will be on advanced topics in hydrology that are essential for hydrological modeling over varying spatial (global to watershed) and temporal scales. It is intended to provide the theoretical basis for an advanced hydrological modeling course. The general concepts in physical hydrology, covered in ENE 421 (e.g., runoff, evapotranspiration, groundwater flow), will be discussed first before moving on to the advanced topics which include solving complex governing equations of energy and water balance used to resolve various surface and sub-surface hydrological processes. Some examples include 1-D and 3-D Richard’s equation for unsaturated flow and Saint-Venant equations for integrated river-floodplain-reservoir routing. Advanced numerical schemes used to solve these equations in land surface models will also be discussed.
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IBIO/FOR/FW 870: Spatial Ecology
Spatial Ecology is the science of understanding and predicting ecological patterns in space. More specifically, spatial ecology is the science of understanding spatial patterns in the environment and how they link to underlying biological and physical processes. In this course, you will learn the basic and applied aspects of spatial ecology. This course will cover spatial ecology in the context of terrestrial and aquatic environments, including interface environments, as well as the influence of humans on spatial ecology. Contact Kelly Kapsar (kapsarke@msu.edu) or Lala Kounta (kountala@msu.edu) for more information.
Seminars, Workshops, and Other Events
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Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture: Anthony Bebbington | 10 AM, May 1, 2025 | Virtual
Dr. Bebbington is the International Program Director for Natural Resources and Climate Change at the Ford Foundation and Higgins Professor of Environment and Society at Clark University, USA. He has also held positions at several other organizations, such as the World Bank. Dr. Bebbington has conducted pioneering work on environmental governance, extractive industries, smallholder agriculture, social movements, and non-governmental organizations. His outstanding achievements have been recognized by many prestigious honors and awards. For example, he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient. Dr. Bebbington’s lecture is titled “Building Infrastructures for a Socially Just Mitigation of Climate Change”. Please do a very simple registration to receive the Zoom link for the lecture.
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Great Lakes Plant Science Conference | September 12-14, 2025 | The Lansing Center
This conference will bring together plant scientists and students to push the boundaries of plant science, promote collaborations, and empower the next-generation plant science leaders. This conference is organized by 10 universities in the states and provinces around the Great Lakes and open to anyone in the world.
The deadline for submission has been extended to May 18, 2024. The conference welcomes panel discussions, symposia, individual presentations, flash talks, posters, spark sessions, and workshop contributions on the following sub-themes:
- Putting sustainability research to work
- Fostering collaboration for a just and sustainable future
- AI for sustainability
- Cultivating transformative change in agriculture
- Moving forward with sustainable transportation
- Transforming the future of sustainability through the humanities
- Spirituality as a catalyst for sustainability transformation
Jobs and Training Opportunities
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Junior/Assistant Specialist at CEGA
The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at UC Berkeley is seeking a Junior or Assistant Specialist to work on the Kenya Life Panel Survey (KLPS) and/or the General Equilibrium Effects of Cash Transfers project(s). This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated and organized self-starter eager to contribute to the success of a dynamic research organization, while expanding their networks and positioning themselves for future career growth. The role will report to Professor Miguel and Dr. Walker.