BETHLEHEM, Pa. — An assistant professor at Moravian University has been awarded more than a half million dollars for research on the impact of storm events, it was announced Tuesday.
Natasha Woods, an assistant professor of Biology, was awarded a$503,000 grant by the National Science Foundation.
- Natasha Woods was awarded a $503,000 grant for her Diverse Undergraduate Research Students in Ecology program
- The grant will fund research examining the impact on storm events on important coastal grasses and shrubs
- Woods says she hopes to make ecology a more diverse field with her students
The grant will go toward Woods' Diverse Undergraduate Research Students in Ecology, or DURSiE, program, which will support field research by students and faculty examining the impact of storm events on important grasses and shrubs at the Virginia Coast Reserve.
The investigation may provide information to better support barrier islands, which provide a buffer from coastal storms.
The program will allow for hands-on research experiences for Moravian students in courses taught by Woods.
“I am really excited to work with the students on this project, it really is a testament that the field of ecology is for everyone."Natasha Woods, assistant professor of biology at Moravian University
“I am really excited to work with the students on this project, it really is a testament that the field of ecology is for everyone,” Woods said in the announcement.
“Many students say that they do not go into ecology because they don’t see themselves represented in this field. I’m hoping that we can change this narrative with a cohort of students coming from different ethnicities, genders, and experiences.”
According to Moravian University, research students involved in the program also will serve as role models while engaging local middle school students in Pennsylvania in learning about the impacts of climate change.
The "Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology" grant by the National Science Foundation is meant to support pre-tenue faculty in the biological sciences that traditionally do not receive significant funding from the organization including minority-serving or predominantly undergraduate institutions.
