Appalachian Lab Monthly Newsletter
UMCES is Turning 100!
From UMCES President, Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm: UMCES’s 100-year journey is a testament to the power of science to drive solutions for a better future. As we celebrate this milestone, we look forward to continuing our mission to advance environmental science and stewardship on a global scale.
I hope you will join me in sharing what makes the UMCES community so special. Participating is easy.
Centennial Launch Parties: The centennial celebration year will kick off in January with a series of parties across our locations. Weather permitting, the events will be outdoors for a “banner drop” and remarks, followed by an indoor reception. We’ll be sharing more details about dates, locations, special guests etc. after the holidays and there will be a dedicated centennial website available soon. We hope to see the entire UMCES community turn out in your centennial t-shirts (arriving soon).
100 Stories: Help us put together 100 stories celebrating the rich history of this organization. These stories can take any format – a photo, video, link to an existing article, something you write yourself – and can touch on anything you feel has significance to the history of our institution – a beloved faculty member, 1972’s Hurricane Agnes, friendships formed, the iconic blue crab, or a landmark scientific discovery. Be creative and tell us why you think the story is important.
Use this form to submit your story and help us celebrate this amazing university
100 for UMCES: Because we’re a community of do-ers, let’s do things in hundreds in 2025! I pledged to run 100 miles but you do you – run/walk/swim, do 100 hours of community service, pick up 100 bags of litter, eat 100 oysters. Do it on your own, plan a group project, have fun with it! Send your idea, with a picture or video of your 100 in action, to CentennialCelebration@umces.edu. We’ll share everyone’s fun activities throughout the year.
Please email CentennialCelebration@umces.edu with any thoughts, questions, or ideas! The hashtag for the celebration is #umces100.
New Faces
Yujing Gao, Assistant Research Scientist
Yujing joined the AL community in mid- December. She is an Assistant Research Scientist working with Xin Zhang. Her research focuses on advancing sustainable agriculture solutions. She will be exploring the potential of green ammonia technology as part of the NICCEE project, aiming to contribute to innovative and eco-friendly agricultural practices. Yujing loves doing yoga in her spare time.
Kyle Rufo, Graduate Research Assistant
Kyle is excited to be a new Ph.D. student working with Dr. Zach Zbinden at AL. Broadly, his research interests have always centered on how animal populations are distributed across a complex landscape and how different environmental conditions influence those distinct populations. At AL, he hopes to work within this framework to understand how the genetic makeup of fish populations and communities differs across spatial gradients and use these findings to inform management decisions within the study area. When not working, Kyle enjoys getting outside and connecting with nature– hiking, birding, kayaking, or just sitting in the sun. From Kyle: “Unfortunately, moving to Frostburg in January is not very conducive to my kind of outdoor recreation. Is it spring yet?! But there is something to be said about the quiet beauty of snow-covered, rolling hills.”
Recent Achievements/Activities/Successes
Congratulations, Mark!
In December, we celebrated the retirement of faculty member, Mark Castro. He is planning to spend much of his newly found free time playing and instructing pickleball. Here are some photos from his sendoff at the holiday party in December:
AGU Meeting
In December, a number of AL’ers attended and presented at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting in Washington, DC.
New Appointment
Eric Davidson has recently joined the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) Centre for Sustainable Nitrogen and Nutrient Management. His research will focus on sustainable nitrogen management in South Asia and the development of green ammonia and hydrogen technologies in India. Click to learn more.
Blackwater River Watershed Field Guide
Claire Nemes recently informed us that Atlee Wise, who was a summer intern with the Animal Migration Research Group in 2022 (he assisted with bird surveys and habitat assessments with the AMJV in Virginia), is a co-author on a new field guide to the Blackwater River area in West Virginia. Atlee is an amazing naturalist and nature photographer and this is a pretty incredible achievement!
Here’s the link to purchase The Blackwater River Watershed Field Guide from Friends of Blackwater.
DEI Update
From: Brian Tsuru and Joely DeSimone
New Publications
Sara E. Futch, Lincoln R. Larson , Caren B. Cooper, Bethany B. Cutts, Bradley Allf , Maria V. Sharova, Darlene Cavalier, and Cathlyn Davis. 2024. Exploring Project Connections Across the Citizen Science Landscape: A Social Network Analysis of Shared Volunteers. Sage Open.
Hostetler JA, Cohen EB, Bossu CM, Scarpignato AL, Ruegg K, Contina A, Rushing CS, Hallworth MT. 2025. Challenges and opportunities for data integration to improve estimation of migratory connectivity. Methods in Ecology and Evolution.
Fareed, N., I. Numata, M.A. Cochrane, S. Nova, K. Tenneson, A.W.F. de Melo, S.S. da Silva, M.V.N. d’ Oliveira, A. Nicolau and B. Zutta. 2025. Aboveground biomass modeling using simulated Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) waveform LiDAR and forest inventories in Amazonian rainforests. Forest Ecology and Management.
Kennedy, R.E., S.P. Serbin, M.C. Dietze, H.E. Andersen, C. Babcock, D.F. Baker, M. Brown, K.J. Davis, L. Duncanson, S. Feng, A.T. Hudak, J. Liu, P.L. Patterson, B. Raczka, M.A. Cochrane, E.A.S. Carlo and R. Vargas. 2024. Characterizing and communicating uncertainty: lessons from NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System. Environmental Research Letters.
Smith, A.M.S., R. Partelli-Feltrin, A.M. Sparks, G.L. Harley, J.G. Moberly, H.D. Adams, D.W. Schwilk, W.T. Tinkham, J.R. Kok, M. Knoblauch, R.A. Thompson, D.D. Hardman, A.T. Hudak, D.R. Wilson, C.M. Hoffman, J.A. Lutz, A.S. Blanco, M.A. Cochrane. 2025. Methods to assess fire-induced tree mortality: Review of fire behavior proxy and real fire experiments. International Journal of Wildland Fire.
Spotlight on Safety
Winter has arrived in full force in Frostburg. Avoid personal injuries during inclement weather by taking extra care in the snow and ice:
Admin Update - Workday Mobile App
Did you know that there’s a mobile app for Workday? It will easily allow you to access your Workday account to complete routine tasks like:
- View your leave balances and request time off
- View and update your personal information
- Access your Workday Inbox
- Review and approve most business processes on-the go
- Receive and view Workday notifications from your phone
Take the following steps to get started:
Download Workday Mobile from the Android or iTunes store:
Launch the app and click the login button when the “Welcome to Your Workday” screen loads:
The first time you open the app, Workday will ask for your Organization ID. For UMCES, it is: umd. Type in umd in all lowercase letters to connect:
Next, you’ll be prompted for your UMD login credentials. Enter your username and password and complete the usual authentication process. Now you’re ready to go and your screen should look like this:
Resource Review - Poster Printing
AL provides a complimentary printing service for students, faculty, and staff who need to print a poster or other wide format print job for professional events, meetings, or other activities. Katie Kline can help you with printing a poster, but please keep in mind that it’s best to make her aware of your plans well in advance of your meeting.
To submit a print request, please complete this form to add your job to the calendar. The perfect time to do this would be immediately after receiving notification from the meeting organizers that your poster has been accepted. This allows staff to plan accordingly and make arrangements for any planned absences.
Learn more about available print sizes and file formats, along with external options here.
Mark Your Calendars
- January 17th at 11:00 am – Jeremy Testa, CBL Promotion Seminar
- January 24th – Clara Fuchsman, HPL Promotion Seminar
- January 31st – Jian Zhao, HPL Promotion Seminar
- January 30th at 1:00 PM – UMCES Centennial Launch at AL
- February 6th at 2:00 PM – AL DEI Meeting
- February 7th at 11:00 AM – Town Hall Meeting
Quick Links
Do you have something you’d like to share with the AL community? Please submit any announcements and updates to Katie Kline or Heather Johnson.
