NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

美国国家科学基金会生物学博士后奖学金将研究和培训相结合，为年轻科学家在生物学领域的职业生涯做好准备，并要求制定计划，扩大在科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体的参与。这些奖学金将推动美国国家科学基金会在现在和未来实现STEM劳动力多样化的努力。特蕾莎·麦克休的奖学金包括一项研究计划，研究干旱土壤中微生物生态中的水蒸气吸附。这项研究的主办机构是美国地质调查局，位于犹他州摩押的西南生物科学中心，赞助科学家是萨沙·里德。研究结果被用于摩押一个已建立的教育项目，名为“指导科学：向休闲导游传达科罗拉多高原科学”，该项目面向每年与数万名游客互动的地区导游。该奖学金教学部分的主办机构是华盛顿州贝灵汉的西华盛顿大学，赞助科学家是黛博拉·多诺万。教学部分包括来自西北印度学院和贝灵汉技术学院的教师，他们将以探究为中心的活动纳入改革后的生物学课程。水是生命的基础，干旱和半干旱生态系统的结构和功能比任何其他生物群落更强烈地受到水供应的控制。虽然旱地生态系统从降水以外的来源获得水，但人们对通过水蒸气吸附提供给旱地土壤的液态水（也称为“非降雨”水）如何帮助调节旱地群落及其活动知之甚少。在土壤比上面的空气干燥的时候，大气中的水蒸气可以被土壤捕获或吸附，随后在土壤中形成液态水。虽然这种现象在世界各地经常发生，但它仍然是一个相对未开发的领域。本研究在干旱的西南地区进行了一系列的实地和实验室研究，探讨了水蒸气吸附作为旱地微生物的关键水源。

NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biology combine research and training components to prepare young scientists for careers in biology and require a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science and engineering. The fellowships advance NSF efforts to diversify the STEM workforce now and in the future. This fellowship to Theresa McHugh includes a research plan that investigates water vapor adsorption in the microbial ecology in dryland soil. The host institution for the research is U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, where the sponsoring scientist is Sasha Reed. Research results are being used in an established education program in Moab called "Guiding Science: Communicating Colorado Plateau Science to Recreational Guides," for regional guides who interact with tens of thousands of tourists each year. The host institution for a teaching component of the fellowship is Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, and the sponsoring scientist is Deborah Donovan. The teaching component involves faculty members from Northwest Indian College and Bellingham Technical College to incorporate a reformed biology curriculum centered on inquiry-based activities.Water is fundamental for life, and the structure and function of arid and semi-arid ecosystems are more strongly controlled by the availability of water than any other biome. While dryland ecosystems obtain water from sources other than precipitation, very little is known about how liquid water supplied to dryland soils via water vapor adsorption (also called "non-rainfall" water) helps regulate dryland communities and their activity. During times when the soil is drier than the overlying air, atmospheric water vapor can be captured or adsorbed by the soil, subsequently forming liquid water within soil. Although this phenomenon can occur quite regularly in regions throughout the world, it remains a relatively unexplored area. This research investigates water vapor adsorption as a critical source of water for dryland microorganisms using a series of field and lab studies in the arid Southwest.