Team-TERRA is accepting applications now
For students entering the Team-TERRA program either fall 2023, (existing UConn students) or fall 2024 cohort (students applying for admission to UConn), applications will be reviewed starting on February 1st, 2023, with priority given to those applications that are received prior to February 1st, 2023. Rolling admission will continue until April 1st, 2023. Click application to apply.

Welcome to Team-TERRA - Building Resilient Landscapes for Food, Energy, Water, and Ecosystem Services in America’s Original Megalopolis. Team-TERRA is a newly funded transdisciplinary training program in the Center of Biological Risk at the University of Connecticut. The training program consists of a 2-year sequence of coursework, teamwork, a real-world internship, and associated workshops. We will use the northeastern US megalopolis stretching from Boston to Washington, D.C. as a living laboratory to understand, predict, manage, and communicate risks to food, energy, water, and ecosystems in the face of global change. As part of the training program, trainees will work in diverse teams to predict and solve complex problems of the future in regions that are urbanizing and stretched to both provide the essentials for human wellbeing while maintaining the many benefits of biodiversity and natural ecosystems.
Welcome Team-TERRA Cohort 2022-2023
Peter Billman, Ketki Samel, Katja Kwaku, Michael LaScaleia, Erin Dierickx, Durga Joshi, Madeline Kollegger, Bivek Bhusal, Catalina Vasquez, Makduma Zahan Badhan & Naomi Adler Welcome Team-TERRA Cohort 2023-2024 so far...
Mei-Ling Feng & Lucy Hendrickson
Values Statement
- Open-mindedness
- Give and receive support to create an equitable, empathetic, inclusive environment
- Purpose-driven to improve the world
- Freedom to grow
- Overcome barriers
News
Congratulations to Adam Gallaher for receiving funding for the 2022 Multidisciplinary Research Awards for Graduate Students (MERAGS) for "Walking the walk: An analysis of the drivers, barriers, and directions of the Connecticut EV market, 2012-2021," in collaboration with Dr. Carol Atkinson-Palombo (Geography) and Dr. Lyle Scruggs (Political Science) on this project.
Congratulations to Madeline Kollegger for receiving funding for the 2022 Multidisciplinary Research Awards for Graduate Students (MERAGS) for 'assessing coastal vulnerability of environmental justice communities” in collaboration with Dr. Wang and Dr. Urban that was funded.
Congratulations to Adam Gallaher for his OpEd in the Hartford Courant on heat pumps and the supply rate increases CT and New England are facing this coming January.
Congratulations to Franco Gigliotti and Maddy Meadows-McDonnell for being featured in the New London Day for their research on saltmarsh ecology and restoration: https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220921/salt-marsh-researchers/
Congratulations to Adam Gallaher, winner of Provost's Award for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship for his work with the other Department of Geography Covid-19 mapping members to create a real-time resource for COVID-19 risks in Connecticut.
Congratulations to Raul Flamenco for the excellent interview in UConn Today
Congratulations to Kathy Segerson who was just elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the most prestigious honors in the world. Kathy joins other Team-TERRA members, Gene Likens and Steward Pickett. Here is the UConn At Work story on Kathy's election into the Academy.
Student Team Project Presentations, Tuesday May 3rd, TLS 111, 9:30-11:00. Recording of the event can be found at this link.
Congratulations to Team-TERRA fellow, Sarah Klionsky, whose research was profiled in UConn Today, 'Digging into the Finer Details of Retired Cranberry Bog Restorations.
Congratulations to Team-TERRA fellow Adam Gallaher, who just had an OpEd published in Energy News Network on electricity rate increases and what can be done about it (renewables!)
Congratulations to Team-TERRA fellow Adam Gallaher, who in addition to getting published in UConn Today, has just had an OpEd that he wrote in the Sci Comm class last semester published in the Hartford Courant. Link is here.
Collaborative Partner Organizations
We are excited to collaborate with these partner organizations:
- The premier ecosystem research institute, the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY. Together, we will study the risks to the urbanizing landscape of the northeastern U.S
- UConn Institute of the Environment has a mission to advance research, education, and engagement concerning the environment and sustainability at the University of Connecticut.
- UConn Center for Biological Risk seeks to improve the capacity to assess, manage, and communicate biological risks of global change through research, teaching, and community outreach. The Center focuses on risks that affect, originate from, or are mediated by biological systems.
Program Events
- Orientation, first day of class for cohort 2, August 30th, 12:15 pm
- Faculty research talks during class, 9/06, 2:15 pm and 3 pm
- Faculty research talks, during class, 9/07, 11 am -12 pm
- Advisory Board Meeting, 9/08, 10 am-4 pm, virtual
- NSF NRT PI Meeting, 10/17-10/19
- Recruitment Information Session, November 2, 4-5:30
- Check ins, 12/12-12/20
University Events
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Mar
31
Evolving Landscapes of Human Rights: Celebrating 20 Years of Interdisciplinarity & Innovation12:00am
Evolving Landscapes of Human Rights: Celebrating 20 Years of Interdisciplinarity & Innovation
Friday, March 31st, 2023
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Storrs Campus Storrs Campus
March 29-31, 2023 | Storrs, CT
To celebrate our 20th anniversary, the Human Rights Institute is convening an international conference, showcasing the thematic foci of our research and practice clusters. Bringing together more than 40 speakers over the course of three days, this conference continues the Institute's tradition of drawing scholars and practitioners from around the world to renew ongoing conversations and inspire new ones about the latest challenges in the field.
Learn more about the conference and register at https://humanrights.uconn.edu/2022/10/17/evolving-landscapes-of-human-rights/.Contact Information: humanrights@uconn.edu
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Mar
31
Art Students' Exploration - Tree of Life12:00am
Art Students' Exploration - Tree of Life
Friday, March 31st, 2023
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Other Downtown Storrs
Abrahamic Programs support peaceful co-existence and regional academic integration in the MENA region and provide an alternative framework for productive on-campus programing and dialogue at the University of Connecticut. Along with the School of Fine Arts, Humanities Institute, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Human Rights Institute, Asian and Asian American Studies Institute, Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, The William Benton Museum of Art, UConn Hillel, and the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Abrahamic Programs is proud to present The Story of the Tree.
The Story of the Tree is a semester-long exploration of the Tree of Life in Judaism, Christianity and Islam through art exhibitions, walking tours, performances, and lectures. From March 20th through May 6th, check out the Art Students' Exploration - Tree of Life Student Art Exhibit featured in the windows of businesses in Downtown Storrs. For more information, visit: https://abrahamicprograms.uconn.edu/arts-culture/2023-the-abrahamic-story-of-the-tree/Contact Information: global@uconn.edu
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Mar
31
Doctoral Dissertation Oral Defense of Jose Ortiz-Garcia8:00am
Doctoral Dissertation Oral Defense of Jose Ortiz-Garcia
Friday, March 31st, 2023
08:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Other Virtual
Title: Induced Electronic Energy Level Shifts of self assembled Porphyrin Monolayers and Synthesis of 2D Covalent Organic Frameworks
Field of Study:PhD in ChemistryContact Information: Rebecca Quardokus, rebecca.quardokus@uconn.edu
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Mar
31
CPILJ Symposium: Are Parental Rights Always in the Best Interest of Children?8:30am
CPILJ Symposium: Are Parental Rights Always in the Best Interest of Children?
Friday, March 31st, 2023
08:30 AM - 04:00 PM
Law School Reading Room
Are Parental Rights Always in the Best Interest of Children? Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Conflict over Parental Rights.
This symposium will explore the complex issues surrounding the role of parental rights in advancing progressive goals while at the same time examine how parental rights are being used to undermine racial, gender, and LGBTQ equality. These conflicts have come to a head recently in the areas of education, gender-affirming care, and family regulation. The discussion will also include how children’s interests can and should be represented, and whether that is best accomplished through their parents. A keynote address will be given following lunch by Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at NYU School of Law.
The symposium will feature three panels:
1. Panel #1: Parental Rights and Debates over School Curriculum
* LaToya Baldwin Clark, Assistant Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law
* Derek Black, Professor of Law & Ernest F. Hollings Chair in Constitutional Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law
* Michael Gregory, Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
* Cailin Millat, Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School
2. Panel #2: Parental Rights and the Policing of Gender-Affirming Care
* Alexander Chen, Lecturer of Law and Founding Director of the LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic
* at Harvard Law School
* Patience "Polly" Crozier, Senior Staff Attorney at GLAD
* Greta LaFleur, Associate Professor of American Studies and Director of Graduate Studies American Studies at Yale University
3. Panel #3: Race, Family Regulation and Parental Rights
* Jessica Dixon Weaver, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Law at SMU Dedman School of Law
* Clare Huntington, Joseph M. McLaughlin Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law
* Catherine Smith, Professor and Chauncey G. Wilson Memorial Research Chair at Sturm College of Law
* Shanta Trivedi, Assistant Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts at the University of Baltimore School of Law
The event schedule is as follows:
* Registration and breakfast 8:30-9:00
* Opening Remarks & Dean’s Welcome: 9:00-9:30
* Panel 1: 9:30-11:00
* Panel 2: 11:15-12:45
* Lunch and Keynote 12:45-2:15
* Panel 3: 2:15-3:45
* Closing Remarks: 3:45-4:00
Registration is free for students, faculty, staff and the general public. There is a $30 registration fee for attorneys seeking CLE credit.
RSVP by March 24 at http://law.uconn.edu/parentalrights
If you require a reasonable accommodation for a disability, please contact the Law School at 860-570-5079 or via email at law.access@uconn.edu at least two weeks in advance.Contact Information: emily.leen@uconn.edu; danielle.erickson@uconn.edu
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Mar
31
Doctoral Dissertation Oral Defense: Jiaqi Zhu8:30am
Doctoral Dissertation Oral Defense: Jiaqi Zhu
Friday, March 31st, 2023
08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Storrs Campus Webex
Identification of Small Molecules Interfering with the PRRSVContact Information: jiaqi.zhu@uconn.edu
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Mar
31
ANSC PhD Defense - Jiaqi Zhu8:30am
ANSC PhD Defense - Jiaqi Zhu
Friday, March 31st, 2023
08:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Other Virtual via Webex
ANSC PhD Defense - Jiaqi Zhu
Webex Link: https://s.uconn.edu/zhu-defense
"Identification of Small Molecules Interfering with the PRRSV"
Committee -
PI: Dr. Young Tang
Associate Advisors: Dr. Cindy Tian, Dr. Antonio Garmendia, Dr. Abhinav Upadhyay and Dr. James ColeContact Information: Dr. Young Tang, yong.tang@uconn.edu
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Curriculum
1st year
Fall:
- EEB 5482 Science Communication II: Writing for Public Audiences, Tuesday/Thursday, 9:30-10:45 am, Austin Building Room 247 (3 credits)
- EEB 5895 Section (018) Environmental Risk Communication, Tuesday, 11:00-12:00 pm, Gant W Room 416 (1 credit)
- EEB 5872 Environmental Risk Assessment, Tuesday, 12:15 pm-3:15 pm, Bamford Room, Room 171B in Torrey Life Science (3 credits)
- EEB 5882 Environmental Risk Practicum 1, Wednesday, 10 am-12 pm, Bamford Room, Room 171B in Torrey Life Science (3 credits)
Spring:
- EEB 5882 Environmental Risk Practicum 2 (3 credits)
- GIS course elective (3 credits)
2nd year
- Workshops
- Internship
- Mentorship