The green city: URI team wins $970,000 grant to map alternative urban food networks
John Taylor, associate professor of agroecology at the University of Rhode Island, has received a $973,479 award from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, one of 12 to receive funding through the institute’s Urban, Indoor, and Other Emerging Agricultural Production Research, Education and Extension Initiative. The agency’s $9.4 million in grants are part of a broad U.S. Department of Agriculture investment…
The Second-to-Last Lobsterman on Block Island
New Shoreham, R.I., née Manisses (translation: Island of the Little God), better known as Block Island, is 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. The smallest town (by population) in the smallest state in the country, it is home to 1,000 or so year-round residents, and its principal industry is tourism. At the height of the season…
Cassidy Need Won’t Kill Hornworms. But She Knows a Wasp That Will
The summer day is shimmering hot, its stillness unbroken but for the buzzing of dog-day cicadas. Cassidy Need ’20, owner of sustainable gardening company Native Edible Designs, is standing in a client’s garden and making a case for a method of gardening that produces far more than just a pretty view. This is a garden that gives…
Making It Hum
A light rain spits from the sky and the smell of salt fills the air as Perry Raso ’02, M.S. ’06, founder and owner of Matunuck Oyster Farm, stands waist-deep in Potter Pond, in South Kingstown, R.I. “This is farming,” he says, “it’s just underwater farming.” Dozens of buoys fill the cove where he stands, lines strung between…
Three URI students receive prestigious Goldwater Scholarships
Three University of Rhode Island students have been selected to receive 2023 Goldwater Scholarships, the most prestigious national scholarship for undergraduate students studying and planning research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering…
Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Kolbert to close out URI’s yearlong environmental humanities lecture series
In more than two decades of award-winning reporting, science writer Elizabeth Kolbert has built a reputation as one of the nation’s most prominent voices on climate change. On Thursday, April 13, Kolbert will bring her years of expertise to the University of Rhode Island to close out the Center for the Humanities’ yearlong series…
URI Master Gardeners open their gardens to visitors for statewide garden tour this June
What might be the best summer road trip in Rhode Island takes place this June, when 18 private and public gardens tended by University of Rhode Island Master Gardener volunteers will open their garden gates to welcome the public for the 11th Gardening with the Masters Tour, a biennial event…
URI to host Rhode Island Land and Water Conservation Mini-Summit on April 8
The University of Rhode Island’s Cooperative Extension, with the Rhode Island Land Trust Council and Audubon Society of Rhode Island, are joining forces to offer a half-day Land and Water (and Gardens) Mini-Summit at URI this year…
Mapping RI’s shoreline access
Though just 37 miles wide and 48 miles long, Rhode Island boasts 400 miles of shoreline. And graduate student Erica Meier knows most all of its 400-plus public access points…
URI water expert’s river simulation table lets students and planners visualize water’s path
With the recent floods on the West Coast and the approach of the anniversary of the record-breaking March 2010 floods in Rhode Island, University of Rhode Island professor Soni Pradhanang shared insights into the challenges of managing water, demonstrating a URI resource that helps others better analyze and predict water patterns and impact…
URI names Bethany Jenkins interim vice president for research
The University of Rhode Island has named Bethany Jenkins, professor of cell and molecular biology and oceanography, interim vice president for research and economic development, effective April 8…
The van Beuren Charitable Foundation Awards $3 Million to URI
The van Beuren Charitable Foundation has generously awarded the University of Rhode Island a $3 million grant to support the development of a new Ocean Engineering Complex on the URI Narragansett Bay Campus (NBC) that will propel the development of the region’s blue economy…
URI researcher discusses parasitic fungus at the heart of HBO sci-fi series
If you’re a fan of HBO’s post-apocalyptic series “The Last of Us” – or the video game that inspired it – you’ve probably heard the term Cordyceps. In the show, the parasitic fungus has mutated, graduating from infecting insects to humans – transforming them into mind-controlled zombies. But it’s not all science fiction…
Extreme weather affected local water quality in 2022
Last year’s intense summer affected water quality in ponds, lakes, rivers and streams throughout Rhode Island – for the better in some places, for the worse in others. Continuing weather extremes, like the wetter-than-normal fall and winter are likely to impact sites this year too…
Recent Indonesia visit affirms a half-century of connection
A University of Rhode Island connection, a half-century strong, started with questions of maritime boundaries in the Indian Ocean. As the 1970s dawned, URI marine faculty were asked to advise on…
Award-winning musician, scholar to discuss the role of nature in Black spirituals
Jake Blount, an award-winning musician and scholar of early folk music of Black Americans, will give a lecture and concert on Friday, Feb. 24, as part of the University of Rhode Island Center…
Focus on food safety: URI nets $205,000 for food safety education and outreach
Recalled sausage and chicken, hummus and spinach – it sometimes feels like you’ve just filled your fridge only to learn that certain purchases are dangerously off-limits. Consumers need to be able to trust the food they purchase and consume. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 48 million people in the U.S. get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from…
Rhode Island Coastal: Hazards, Analysis, Modeling and Prediction (RI-CHAMP)
RI-CHAMP is a digital dashboard that allows emergency managers to overlay hurricane and nor’easter prediction models onto data points across Rhode Island that mark critical infrastructure assets such as generators, transformers, roads, and pump facilities…
A History of URI’s East Farm
Nearly 100 years of education and outreach, the extraordinary living laboratory of URI’s East Farm continues to provide the community of Rhode Island with training and expertise…
URI researcher gets up-close lesson in hydrology
As reports of atmospheric rivers and life-threatening floods in California captured headlines at the start of this year, making 2023 a year for the weather history books, one URI water researcher found himself up close with the issue in a decidedly personal way. Kyle Young, a Ph.D. candidate in hydrogeology at the University of Rhode Island, now living in Martinez, California, found his own home…
URI geosciences faculty discuss earthquake in Turkey, Syria
With the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria, University of Rhode Island professors Meng “Matt” Wei and Brian Savage shared their insights.Wei, an associate professor in URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography, says, “This earthquake sequence was a ‘dual-event,’ which means two earthquakes…
Two URI faculty members named AAAS fellows
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected Clinical Professor Sunshine Menezes and Professor of Oceanography Steven D’Hondt to the rank of AAAS Fellow. The organization recognizes those whose work on…
Nature writer Gavin Van Horn opens spring lectures Feb. 8 on ‘Re-Envisioning Nature’
The University of Rhode Island Center for the Humanities will open the second half of its “Re-Envisioning Nature: An Environmental Humanities Lecture Series” on Feb. 8 with Gavin Van Horn, executive editor at the Center for Humans and Nature Press…
URI biologists aim to find what it takes for species to escape the parasitic lifestyle
Single-celled creatures known as Nephromyces come from a long line of parasites—the same line, in fact, as the microorganism that causes malaria. But with a little help from some friends—namely a group of bacteria that help to perform some key metabolic functions—Nephromyces species managed to escape the parasitic lifestyle. With a new grant…
URI Marine Affairs program, Tall Ships America forge new partnership
Students interested in Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island have long been part of an innovative and ground-breaking program that takes a 360-degree approach to understanding issues and solving problems critical to responsible coastal and marine management. Founded in 1970, URI’s Marine Affairs program is the first of its kind…
University mourns the loss of Landscape Architecture Professor Richard Sheridan
In the days following the unexpected death of University of Rhode Island Professor Richard Edward Sheridan, URI community members are remembering him as a dedicated, witty and warm man who loved his family, his job and the beach…
URI students’ research finds illegal sale of pet turtles in U.S. has found a niche on the web
Nearly 50 years after a federal law banned the sale of hatchling turtles because of public health concerns, online pet dealers in the U.S. continue to get around the regulations, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Rhode Island, working with a colleague…
Proximity to electric vehicle charging stations positively impacts home values
A new study finds that proximity to electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) can raise property values depending on where homes are situated. The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Rhode Island, the University of Maryland College Park, Princeton University…
University of South Carolina’s Alicia Wilson to discuss subseafloor hydrogeology discovery
The University of Rhode Island’s Biological and Environmental Sciences Colloquium will host Alicia Wilson, professor of hydrogeology and director of the School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment at the University of South Carolina, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 1 p.m. in Potter Hall at the Kingston…
Planning for Rhode Island’s food future
More than 350 people have tuned in to learn about and discuss Rhode Island’s food future as part of the 7th Annual Rhode Island Food System Summit. Hosted by the University of Rhode Island, the summit focused on “Setting the Table for a 2030 Food Vision” and featured…
Outgoing Student Alumni Association President to bring fresh perspective to family business
Senior year of college is typically a heavy lift. That description takes on new meaning in the case of University of Rhode Island senior Arianna Helger who not only carries a full-time course load but regularly juggles work in her family business, quahogging in Narragansett Bay, and her role as…
URI’s 2023 food summit will ‘Set the Table for a 2030 Food Vision’
While Rhode Island’s food sector is one of its largest – representing nearly $4.5 billion in aggregate economic output and supporting 70,000 jobs – the state is still overly reliant on distant food…
URI Master Gardeners partner with community libraries for poinsettia sale
Community libraries, senior centers, and food pantries around Rhode Island look a bit brighter these days, thanks to the URI Master Gardener Program’s poinsettia propagation project…
URI inducts 12 retirees into Lifetime Service Society
The University of Rhode Island inducted 12 former employees into its Lifetime Service Society during ceremonies Dec. 2 that celebrated at least 40 years of each individual’s dedicated work at the University…
URI entomologist wins $2.6 million NIH grant to study evolution of Lyme disease bacteria in deer ticks
University of Rhode Island entomologist Jannelle Couret is tipping the way we understand the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Instead of looking at it from the human perspective, she and an interdisciplinary team of researchers are taking the view of the tick…
New URI-led initiative will provide rapid response, funds to support Rhode Island seafood industry
A new initiative, spearheaded by University of Rhode Island Professor Marta Gomez-Chiarri, will fund research – industry teams to address challenges faced by the seafood industry in Rhode Island…
A Union of Concerned Scientists director to speak at URI Dec. 13
Closing out this year’s Honors Colloquium on Tuesday, Dec. 13 is Ricardo Salvador, a senior scientist and director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, who will speak…
Growing URI’s exhibit spaces: New show in the Greenhouses examines food through an artistic lens
Walk to the path by the Greenhouses, across from the Fine Arts Center. Find the Horridge Conservatory and cross through that warm and bright space, teeming with unique specimens. Pass by the indoor koi pond and take a right at the greenhouse’s end. Walk by College of the Environment and Life Sciences’ class…
Food justice activist Leah Penniman to speak on racism and sovereignty in the food system at URI Dec. 6
Leah Penniman, a Black Kreyol farmer, author and food justice activist, will present virtually at the 2022 University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium, Tuesday, Dec. 6, on “Uprooting Racism and Seeding Sovereignty in the Food System.”…
Author, activist Terry Tempest Williams to address Environmental Humanities Lecture Series
Terry Tempest Williams, an award-winning writer, naturalist, activist, and educator, will wrap up the fall schedule of the University of Rhode Island Center for the Humanities’ year-long discussion, “Re-Envisioning Nature: An Environmental Humanities Lecture Series.”…
URI, R.I. Sea Grant, DEM, municipal partners invite public to take part in shoreline monitoring program
New equipment at three Rhode Island coastal sites now enables the public to use smartphones to take photos that could help government collect data on climate change impacts such as flooding and erosion, and ultimately inform practical planning…
Mother Jones correspondent to speak on agriculture in crisis at URI Nov. 29
Tom Philpott, a food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, will present at the 2022 University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium, Tuesday, Nov. 29, on “Perilous Bounty: Emerging Crises in Industrial Agriculture.” Philpott is the author of the book Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming…
Rhode Islanders strongly answer ‘yes’ on Question 1 for improvements to URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus
Rhode Island voters strongly said they want the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Campus to continue being a global center of excellence in ocean science by approving a $100 million bond referendum on Tuesday. With 412 of 414 polling places reporting as of late Tuesday night, 57.5 percent…
College of the Environment and Life Sciences New Faculty 2022
The University of Rhode Island College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS) welcomes seven new faculty members this fall. With expertise and interests ranging from hydrology to STEM education, and phytoplankton to environmental law, these new faculty members…
Commencement 2022: URI wildlife, conservation biology graduate ready for his career to take flight
Each year, the University of Rhode Island honors graduating seniors for their superior academic achievement. Their selection is based on grade point average, as well as other criteria determined by their individual…
“Urban Farming, Community Organizing, and Family: A Black Chef’s Journey” at URI on Nov. 15
Black chef, community organizer and urban farmer Denzel Mitchell, Jr., of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore, will present at the 2022 University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium, Tuesday, Nov. 15, on “Urban Farming, Community Organizing and Family: A Black Chef’s Journey.” Mitchell is the co-executive director of education…
‘Labor and the Food System’ at URI Oct. 25
Attorney and activist Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and president of One Fair Wage, will present at the 2022 University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium Tuesday, Oct. 25, on “Labor and the Food System.” Jayaraman is director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on…
Coastal Institute 2 Green Office Boosts its Certification to 4 Stars!
The folks at Coastal Institute 2 achieved full points during their certification process last school year, earning 3-star certification. They also earned additional bonus points for the Recycling category, and all the required points in the Transportation category, as well as bonus points…
Stopping the Biggest Oil Spill You’ve Never Heard Of
In 2018, the Louisiana Coast Guard determined that an oil platform toppled by Hurricane Ivan 14 years earlier was still leaking large amounts of oil. In 2019, Timmy Couvillion, owner of the New Orleans-based Couvillion Group, led the development and deployment of a sophisticated containment system to capture the flowing oil. Pieced together deep underwater, the 40-by-40-foot structure has captured more…
Amanda Missimer and Vanessa Venturini want you to stop wasting food
First, some hard truths about food waste: In America, about 108 billion pounds of food, more than one-third of all available food, is thrown away annually. That’s 130 billion meals wasted and $408 billion squandered…
Master Gardeners grow for good at Providence Public Library
Plant and tree books are always among the most popular in any library’s children’s collection. The Secret Garden and The Giving Tree are time-honored classics for good reason, tapping into that desire…
Taking a hike? Remember, it’s deer tick season
If you’re a hiker or just love the outdoors, fall is probably your favorite season. Temperatures are cooler but still warm enough, days are still long, and for…
Chef of ‘best new restaurant in the U.S.’ to discuss ‘The (R)evolution of Indigenous Food Systems of North America’ Oct. 4
Chef, restaurateur and indigenous food advocate Sean Sherman will present at the 2022 University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium Tuesday, Oct. 4, on “The (R)evolution of Indigenous Food Systems of North America.” A member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, Sherman was born and raised…
Agricultural policy leader, URI alumna to discuss ‘Becoming an Agricultural and Food Justice Advocate’ Sept. 27
Agricultural and food justice advocate Vanessa García Polanco ’18 will present at the 2022 University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium Tuesday, Sept. 27, discussing “The Exception and Not the Norm: Becoming an Agricultural and Food Justice Advocate.” An alumna of the University, she has…
Humanities lecture series looks at importance of environmental humanities in addressing, understanding our biggest issues
Like the environment itself, reasons to be worried about it are all around us – air pollution and plastics in the ocean, drought and wildfires, rising sea levels and global warming. Looking for answers, we many…
Native American activist to discuss “Restoring Indigenous Foodways in a Time of Climate Change” Sept. 13: Winona LaDuke lecture kicks off URI’s fall Honors Colloquium
Harvard-educated economist, environmental activist, author, hemp farmer, and former two-time Green Party vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke will kick off the 2022 University of Rhode Island…
URI’s Free Farmers Market wins national sustainability award
A team effort by staff from across campus at the University of Rhode Island has led to recent recognition by the National Association of College & University Food Services. URI recently received word that it won the Grand Prize Sustainability Award,…
URI Writing Awards recognize eight students for works in advocacy, creative, scholarly/research and science writing
Eight University of Rhode Island students were named recipients of the 2021-2022 URI Writing Award. The award recognizes an undergraduate and graduate winner…
Ready Resource: URI’s Plant Protection Clinic available for plant consultations
This summer’s dry conditions are leading many of us to look nervously out the window at our stressed-out shrubs, and perhaps even the plants found inside our home. Rest assured, care and advice…
Three URI professors win $735,000 grant from NASA-EPSCoR to study methane emissions from rocks common to Earth, Mars
Over the next three years, three University of Rhode Island researchers are hoping to broaden the scientific understanding of methane emission dynamics in ultramafic rock systems – work that one day may help…
Working alongside their mentor, URI alumni share study results on climate change in tropical countries
For Richard Pollnac, the focus has always been on people. This University of Rhode Island professor emeritus has spent his career studying the cultural impact on people living near bodies of water. An anthropologist by training, he began his career…
How to keep your garden up in the middle of a drought
For backyard gardeners, mild droughts and water ban restrictions common during the summer months can be a cause for concern. Kate Venturini Hardesty, a program administrator and educator…
Caution advised around summer toxic algae blooms
As the warm days of summer draw us outside, the public is reminded to take care when in contact with local freshwater waterways, as some contain toxic levels of cyanobacteria, which can carry a serious health…
URI professor elevated to Fellow of American Society of Landscape Architects
University of Rhode Island Professor William Green has been elected to the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows, one of the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members. Green is among 27 members …
CELS Alum Named A Switzer Environmental Fellow
Asta Habtemichael, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, was recently chosen as one of 20 environmental scholars to receive a Switzer Environmental Fellowship. The prestigious fellowship, a program of the Robert and Patricia Switzer…
RISE, Vineyard Wind sponsor URI Energy Fellows Program
The University of Rhode Island’s Energy Fellows Program has announced that RISE Engineering and Vineyard Wind have reaffirmed their commitment to the program as sponsors. RISE is sponsoring a summer industry training program…
University of Rhode Island Shark Camp launches for Providence school students, July 12-14
For the first time in two years, University of Rhode Island Professor of Biological Sciences Brad Wetherbee will hold URI Shark Camp, hosting 16 high school students from The Met School in Providence and from the Narragansett Indian Tribe…
URI, Indonesia recognize 50-year partnership
The University recently celebrated the 50th year of its partnership with the Republic of Indonesia in an event that included traditional dances, speeches by University and Indonesian representatives, and the awarding…
URI’s Metcalf Institute receives $1.7 million grant to develop science communication fellowship for marginalized populations
The University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute was recently awarded a $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create the SciComm Identities Project (SCIP), a fellowship designed to train and support…
Coastal Institute Announces 2022 Distinguished Fellow Awards
For their exceptional volunteer service to communities in Rhode Island and beyond which have benefitted tremendously from their knowledge, guidance, and concern for a span of coastal issues, a cadre of University of Rhode Island (URI) colleagues are the recipients of 2022 Distinguished Fellow Awards, the most prestigious honor…
URI announces Class of 2022 Academic Excellence Award winners
Each year, the University of Rhode Island honors graduating seniors for their superior academic achievement. Their selection is based on grade point average, as well as other criteria determined by their individual…
URI establishes scholarship for undergraduate students who are citizens of Narragansett Nation
Each year, the University of Rhode Island honors graduating seniors for their superior academic achievement. Their selection is based on grade point average, as well as other criteria determined by their individual…
Mentors, students wanted for new food system fellowship program
Each year, the University of Rhode Island honors graduating seniors for their superior academic achievement. Their selection is based on grade point average, as well as other criteria determined by their individual…