By Dr. Kristin Drexler
Faculty Member, School of STEM
and Dr. Daniel Welsch
Faculty Member, School of STEM
The University’s new Center for Research in Earth/Environmental Sustainability and Technology (CREST) will hold its first-ever CREST Conference on Earth Day (April 22).
This one-day online event is free and open to the University’s students, faculty, alumni and staff. It is expected to be an annual conference. This year’s theme is “Sustaining Futures: Research, Resilience, and Responsibility.”
Affectionately known as “CREST Con,” the conference will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. Everyone must register for CREST Con by visiting our conference website.
What’s Happening at CREST Con?
During this event, you’ll hear talks by faculty and students about important and timely sustainability topics, such as:
- Climate change
- Environmental policy
- Environmental justice
- Emerging contaminants
Speakers at CREST Con
Our keynote speaker is Dr. Andreea Mosila, a recent Fulbright Scholar and graduate of the University’s global security doctoral program. She will present her research on climate change and its impacts on global security.
Additional speakers for CREST Con include both students and faculty. Some of these speakers are:
- Dr. Marie Isom, presenting on eco-anxiety and climate grief
- Dr. Jolene Mendel, presenting on extreme climate events and lessons from Shakespeare
- Dr. Mo Lahsaiezadeh, presenting on groundwater management and drought in California
We also have an exciting and broad range of presenters covering many aspects of sustainability research. The session tracks so far include:
- Systems and Society, Applied Solutions, and Innovation
- Science and Policy
A Conversation with the Chair of the CREST Con Organizing Committee
Dr. Danny Welsch is a professor of environmental science at the University and the Chair of the CREST Con organizing committee. I had the chance to ask Danny about CREST Con and what we can expect this year.
Kristi: CREST Con – how exciting!
Danny: Yes! We hope everyone can join us on April 22.
Kristi: How did the idea for CREST Con begin?
Danny: The CREST conference began basically for the same reasons that the CREST Center began. We knew there were many people across the University doing research, undergoing creative endeavors and developing courses that touched on sustainability.
Sometimes, the best work comes out of connections between these different groups, and we wanted to provide an opportunity for everyone to present what they’ve been working on. We really just wanted to create the chance for collaborations and the exchange of great ideas.
Kristi: Danny, you and I are two of the founders of CREST. Remind our readers: why are we doing a CREST Con and who are we doing it for?
Danny: For the first year, the CREST conference is internal to the University and is really designed to improve connections across our sustainability community. As we grow the CREST Center, we hope it will become a national and international clearinghouse for all aspects of sustainability work.
That effort would include creative work as well as work in national security, environmental science, business and finance, and other sectors.
Kristi: Why did you choose April 22 for CREST Con?
Danny: April 22 is Earth Day, which first took place in 1970 and marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Because sustainability grew out of the environmental movement, we felt that this was a logical time to both recognize the history of the field and discuss how we can keep moving forward to ensure our planet’s long-term viability.
Kristi: What are we hoping for the future of CREST Con?
Danny: The conference is housed under our brand-new CREST Center. As we expand the Center and the work done by CREST faculty and students gets more visibility, we hope to expand the conference along with it.
We plan to develop the conference with two goals. First, further expand the visibility of the work done by CREST. Second, provide an even greater outlet for sustainability work across the nation and around the world.
There are many conferences out there that focus on sustainability, but there are very few that seek to tie all aspects of it together. That will always be one of the goals of this CREST conference; it will provide an opportunity for even greater collaborations.
Kristi: Why are you involved in CREST Con? Why do you believe in it, Danny?
Danny: I’m involved in CREST Con because I’ve seen our world change dramatically – in both positive and negative ways – over my 50+ years on this planet. It’s essential to understand those changes and how humans can adapt to them.
It will be critical for us to continue living on Earth, especially as our population continues to increase. I’ve always approached adapting to environmental changes from an environmental science perspective, but I understand that there are many more avenues to be pursued.
Scientists simply help us understand how the planet works and how it will change. Adapting to that change will take members from all communities, including the arts, business, politics, security, and many others. I’ve struggled to find avenues where all of these groups can come together and discuss the important topics we’ll need to consider in the coming decades.
The Goals of CREST
CREST has various goals. It intends to:
- Engage students and faculty in applied science and interdisciplinary research
- Establish an innovative, interdisciplinary faculty-student research collaboration with local and international partners in field research
- Amplify global initiatives at the University, such as the Global Digital Journey and courses offered in Spanish
As part of CREST, students and faculty will collaborate on research – including field research planned for this November in Costa Rica – to explore important topics such as:
- Water quality
- Sustainable agriculture
- Ecosystem services
- Wildlife biomonitoring
- Protected areas policies
CREST will promote the University as a global leader by encouraging faculty-student research collaborations. Hands-on research experience is needed for students and faculty for both their academic and professional development.
All Faculty Are Welcome to Join CREST
There are 16 faculty members – and counting – who now participate in CREST. Those faculty are from different schools at the University, including:
- The School of Security and Global Studies
- The School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), including the Environmental Science, Space Studies, Earth Sciences, and Natural Sciences departments
We hope to grow the Center by including faculty members from other departments, including Business, Health Sciences, and Philosophy. Several of us at CREST believe that an interdisciplinary approach to research makes for the strongest understanding of complex issues such as climate change and food security.
It’s been widely studied that to solve global, complex, and real-world problems, you need an interdisciplinary approach. We need interdisciplinary involvement in our research involving subject matter experts in science, philosophy, business, health, security, education, art and governance.
CREST is an exciting space to share ideas and developing interdisciplinary opportunities which serve our students and faculty in the development of collaborative research. If you’re interested in participating in CREST activities, including collaborative student-faculty research, please email CREST@apus.edu.
Science and Research Organizations at the University
Another way to get involved in the University’s science and research efforts is to join a student organization:
- Women in STEM (wSTEM)
- Association of Women in Science (AWIS)
- The Research and Scholarship Team (RAST)
- The National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP)
- The Society for Advancement for Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
Students, alumni, staff and faculty can join any of these organizations for free. Some organizations, like SACNAS and AWIS, are affiliate groups that have national memberships, which can be supported by chapter budgets.
About the Authors
Dr. Kristin Drexler is a full-time faculty member in the Space Studies and Earth Sciences Department. She teaches geography, environmental science, earth and planetary sciences, and sustainability for the School of STEM.
Dr. Drexler holds a master’s degree in Latin American studies with an emphasis in natural resources management from Ohio University. She earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership at New Mexico State University with research in socioecological systems, sustainable agroecology, and community education.
Dr. Drexler earned the Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award for the School of STEM (2020) and the Dr. Wallace E. Boston Leadership Award (2021). Dr. Drexler has conducted numerous community surveys in Belize and Guatemala regarding agroforestry, conservation, sustainable agriculture, and COVID-19 impacts and is a co-investigator for the multi-year research study “A Case Study Comparison of Pandemic Experience of Indigenous Groups in the Americas.”
In the late 1990s, Dr. Drexler served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Belize; she co-founded Full Basket Belize, a 501(c)(3) and has served on its Board of Directors since 2005. She produced the award-winning short film Yochi; she also founded “Science Talks with Dr. Drexler and Friends” to assist teachers during the pandemic. She also serves as a faculty advisor for the University’s wSTEM, AWIS and SACNAS chapters.
Dr. Daniel Welsch is a professor of environmental science at the University and has been with the University since 2007. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental analysis and planning from Frostburg State University, a master’s in environmental engineering from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and a Ph.D in environmental science from the University of Virginia. He has also taught at Frostburg State University and West Virginia University and has served as the Director of Research for the Cannan Valley Institute in Davis, West Virginia.
Dr. Welsch has held many positions at the University including Program Director, Associate Dean, and Dean of the School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). In those roles, he led the University’s development and adoption of the Standards of Course Quality, oversaw a wholesale revision of all STEM programs through the STEM Student Success Strategy (S3), and collaborated on a large project to improve student success in general education math courses. Dr. Welsch also developed and launched the natural science program degree program and led the development of the University’s first reduced-credit bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity.
His current research is focused on fluxes of water, carbon, and energy in complex terrain and high-elevation wetlands of the Appalachian Mountains.
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