By Kacey Fitzpatrick
Happy Friday! Like most people, I love Fridays—and not just because that’s when Research Recap is posted. This Friday is especially happy because it’s a long weekend which means an extra day to relax and recharge. Did you know that mental breaks actually increase productivity and encourage creativity?
Before you head out for the long weekend and give your mind a much needed break, check out this quick recap of the latest news in Agency research.
- Usability Testing, the Report on the Environment, and My Time at EPA
Taylor Katz spent his summer interning at EPA contributing to the Agency’s Report on the Environment. The Report is a compilation of information on the best available indicators of national conditions and trends in air, water, land, human heath, ecological systems, and sustainability. Read more. - Happy Cities, Happy People
The 2014 EcoDistricts Summit took place in Washington DC. The three-day conference consisted of a variety of themes like collaboration, health, innovation, technology, sharing, green building and digital tools. Diane Simunek, a Student Contractor with EPA, was able to attend and share her experience. Read more. - EPA Awards $4 Million Grant for Research of Drinking Water Purification
In early September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted $4 million to the University of Colorado, Boulder to establish a national center to improve drinking water treatment facilities for small towns and rural communities. Known as DeRISK, or Design of Risk Reducing, Innovative Implementable Small System Knowledge Center, this new center will develop sustainable methods to reduce water contaminants. Read more. - Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) Wiki
The Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) Wiki has been released is now open to the public. It is important to understand and map AOPs in order to incorporate toxicological data into chemical risk assessments and regulatory decision-making. The goal was to create an easy-to-use tool that will stimulate, capture, and use crowd-sourced knowledge from the scientific community. Read more.
If you have any comments or questions about what I share or about the week’s events, please submit them below in the comments section!
About the Author: Student contractor and writer Kacey Fitzpatrick is a frequent contributor to “It All Starts with Science.”