{"id":69768,"date":"2023-12-12T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=69768"},"modified":"2023-12-15T14:26:57","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T19:26:57","slug":"2023-women-in-science-incentive-prize-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/2023-women-in-science-incentive-prize-winners\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Winners of Our 2023 Women In Science Incentive Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"The
The winners of this year’s Women In Science Incentive Prize are working to improve soil health. Clockwise from top: Julia Janson, Claudia Christine Avila, Elizabeth Koziol, Lydia Jennings and S. Perl Egendorf. (Credit: Kate Brennan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Story Exchange<\/a> today announced the winners of its third annual Women In Science Incentive Prize \u2014 a $25,000 grant program that supports innovative female scientists working to combat the devastating impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, the hottest year<\/a> on record, the focus is on women leading efforts to improve soil health<\/a>. “Whether it’s rising sea levels or more frequent wildfires, the very land we walk on is increasingly at risk,” said Victoria Wang, co-founder of The Story Exchange. “These scientists impressed us with their innovative solutions and their commitment to vulnerable communities, as we know soil health is an environmental justice issue as well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extreme conditions impact soil, which has long been overlooked as a habitat for microbes, flora and fauna. Soil resilience is critical to agriculture and food production, but also to public health, as soil can emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while soil importantly filters water, reduces stormwater impacts and serves as a medium for plant growth, it can also store dangerous contaminants such as arsenic and lead. “Much like healthy air and water, access to clean soil is critical for individuals and communities alike,” said Sue Williams, co-founder of The Story Exchange. “World leaders may be too slow to take action, but these women are working with urgency to repair the damage and prevent more from happening.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five winners were selected after a two-pronged application process, and following a rigorous scientific review by judges from several universities and an assessment by The Story Exchange editors. To be eligible, applicants needed to have advanced degrees in engineering, environmental science or closely related fields, and be working in the field of soil as researchers or entrepreneurs. The winners will each receive a $5,000 grant to continue their work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Story Exchange, which aims to elevate women’s voices, began the Women In Science Incentive Prize in 2021 to specifically recognize the work of female scientists, who often face discrimination and feel isolated in their work. That year, grants went to women working in water<\/a>, while last year’s went to women leading efforts to improve air quality<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the recipients of this year\u2019s grants, in alphabetical order.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
1<\/div>\n \n

Claudia Christine Avila, an assistant professor at the University of San Diego, works with farmers in southern California concerned about declining water availability. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n

Claudia Christine Avila<\/h2>\n

In her work, Claudia Christine Avila partners with farmers in southern California to study how drought and fire transform soil. She believes an early interest in gardening, inspired by her Mexican-born mom, led her to a career in environmental sciences. \u201cIt’s really powerful for people to be connected to the land,” she says, “and actually listen to what the soil is telling you.\u201d It’s why she decided to teach students about the “thin veneer upon which life on Earth depends.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n
2<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n
\n

S. Perl Egendorf<\/h2>\n

At Pace University, S. Perl Egendorf studies urban soils \u2013 particularly those in New York City, and their intersections with food and climate justice. Egendorf is raising funds to build a solar-powered truck that can test urban soils and bring soil science to residents \u2013 youths and elders alike. Soil is “the interface between the living and the non-living world,\u201d Egendorf explains.<\/span> \u201c<\/b>It\u2019s really necessary to support justice, especially in cities where so many of us grow up feeling like nature exists somewhere else.”<\/span><\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n
3<\/div>\n \n

Julia Janson and her team are giving farmers a way to monitor what\u2019s going on with their fields in real time.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n

Julia Janson<\/h2>\n

Soil scientist Julia Janson\u2019s research gives new meaning to the term \u201cfield\u201d work. In North Carolina, the PhD candidate spends time with farmers to understand how rising sea levels and higher concentrations of salt in the soil impact <\/span>carbon cycling<\/span><\/a>, microbial diversity and crop productivity. Her state’s valuable agricultural lands are famously flat and fertile, and generations of farming families still harvest there. \u201cBeing able to connect with them and spend so much time there has been really eye-opening,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n
4<\/div>\n \n

Lydia Jennings, who goes by "NativeSoilNerd" on social media, plans to convert a Covid-19 rapid response unit into a mobile soils lab.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n

Lydia Jennings<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

A desert kid, Lydia Jennings grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Pueblo people. There were no rivers or water in sight \u2013 and only the earth to play with. \u201cIt helped me see soil in a very complex way,\u201d Jennings says. While people often think about the air they breathe or the water they drink, they often forget about soil, especially if they have little interaction with it. Now a postdoc at Arizona State and Duke universities, she is leading an effort to improve Native lands traversed by gas pipelines and scarred by mining.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n
5<\/div>\n \n

Elizabeth Koziol, an assistant professor at the University of Kansas, has spent two decades researching fungi in nature. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n

Elizabeth Koziol<\/h2>\n

For Elizabeth Koziol, it was an awe of <\/span>arbuscular <\/span><\/i>mycorrhizal fungi<\/span><\/i> \u2013 a type of fungus that attaches itself to the roots of plants, providing nutrients and water \u2013 that led to her startup, MycoBloom. <\/span>When you view the fungi<\/span> under a microscope, “<\/span>they’re really pretty,” she enthuses. “Lots of yellows and reds and nice colors. And they’re full of fats, so they look like crystal balls.” She’s counting on the<\/span> fungi’s ability to bolster soil resilience to combat the adverse effects of agriculture, land development and climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These soil scientists aim to improve the health of one of the most overlooked resources on Earth \u2013 and we’re awarding $5,000 grants to support them. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":70053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[20278,20291,19479],"class_list":["post-69768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-climate-change","tag-environmental-justice","tag-women-in-science"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Winners of Our 2023 Women In Science Incentive Prize<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"These female scientists are working to improve soil health \u2013 and we're awarding $5,000 grants to support them.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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