Fellowship recruiting undergrads for communicating climate change research

The Grand Challenges Climate Science Communication Fellowship is looking for undergraduate students with creativity and a passion for climate science research and communicating that passion and research to the world. The program is currently seeking 10 to 12 students for the next cohort to begin in the spring.

UNM Economics and Philosophy major and fourth-year senior Kamryn Zachek is the student lead for the Grand Challenges Fellowship, working with assistant program coordinator Sydney Donohue. Assistant Professor of Civil Construction and Environmental Engineering Anjali Mulchandani, who directs the Grand Challenges Climate Science Communication Fellowship. Mulchandani was recently named as one of two 2024 Faculty Mentored Research Awardees, along with Jake Greenberg, a lecturer in the University College's Foundational Math program.

Students receive a $1,000 stipend and work with mentors to create a communication project to educate the public on a climate science related issue. The research used to produce the communication project can either be the student's own or the research of their faculty mentor. Students select their own method of communications venues - including but not limited to, paintings, podcasts, or videos - and work together as a cohort to develop and refine their individual projects. Projects are then presented at the UNM Undergraduate Research Opportunity Conference (UROC) in the spring semester and are posted on UNM websites.

"This program is important for not just UNM students and staff, but also the greater community of Albuquerque because it creates an opportunity for learning and interacting with the research that is working to address an issue that affects all New Mexicans: sustainable water resources and climate change on the whole."

- Kamryn Zachek, student lead, Grand Challenges Climate Science Communication Fellowship

The program had been called the Water Science Communication Fellowship but has expanded this year.

"The program title changed this year because we wanted to make the program more inclusive for staff conducting important climate-related work," Zachek explained. "Water sciences is integral to maintaining our community here in Albuquerque, and for three years the focus of our program was making sure all that work was adequately platformed. Now we want to expand to include all the important climate-related work being done at UNM to include more faculty and students from different departments."

Students who participate in the Grand Challenge Fellowship are given an opportunity to engage with collegiate level research in a low-stakes environment while learning about the current state of climate science research, Zachek said.

"The Grand Challenge Research Team works diligently to ensure our students are supported during their time as a Fellow and are provided adequate resources to ease the transition into collegiate level research communication," Zachek said. "Staff who volunteer to mentor in the program are afforded the opportunity to have their work platformed to a broader audience than would be offered to them within their respective departments. Further, this program is important for not just UNM students and staff, but also the greater community of Albuquerque because it creates an opportunity for learning and interacting with the research that is working to address an issue that affects all New Mexicans: sustainable water resources and climate change on the whole."

No experience is necessary for the Fellowship positions, Zachek emphasized, and any undergraduate student can apply, from any department. There are no prerequisites to student participation.

Through their participation in the Fellowship, students can gain many valuable skills such as professional communication, public speaking, technical writing, and time management, while working closely with mentor who is researching an aspect of climate science that is interesting to them.

Students rank their preferred mentors based on a list of the research topics they are working on. Beyond the practically applicable skills students will gain as they become more familiar with their mentor's research, the Fellowship provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for students to potentially become integrated into a research team at UNM following the conclusion of the Fellowship, which is a common outcome for many past Fellows, said Zachek, noting that they were a Grand Challenge Fellow their freshman year and was offered their current research position because of participation in the Grand Challenges Fellowship.

Student applications are now open and can be found on the Undergraduate Research, Arts, and Design Network (URAD) website. Application deadline is Dec. 1.

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• UROC showcases the best of undergraduate research: Conference allows students to present their work and network with peers, faculty, and public