SOCKS First Annual All Hands Meeting

Seated left to right: Randall Harp, PhD (UVM), Kathryn Cramer (MS student, UVM Complex Systems & Data Science), and Harlan Morehouse, PhD (UVM)

Vermont EPSCoR held a very productive first annual SOCKS All Hands Meeting on April 2, 2024 at the UVM Alumni House's Jack and Shirley Silver Pavilion with participants from UVM, Champlain College, Norwich University, St. Michael's College, Middlebury, Vermont State University (VTSU), stakeholders, External Evaluator PEER Associates, and Industry Advisory External Advisory Committee members. National Science Foundation EPSCoR Program Officer, Dr. Andrea Johnson, attended remotely.

The day-long meeting, facilitated by Stephanie Lahar of Lahar Associates, provided an opportunity for a very interactive experience for teams to share progress and strategize how best to accomplish upcoming goals moving forward. The format of the meeting allowed networking time and group activities to share strengths and articulate needs.

SOCKS researchers collaborate during the All Hands Meeting — Seated left to right: Darcy Brouillette (Vermont State University), Scott Merrill, PhD (UVM), Protiva Sen, MSc (UVM), and Matthew Price, PhD (UVM); Standing left to right: Pablo Bose, PhD (UVM), Terry Barrett, MS (UVM), and Donna Rizzo, PhD (UVM)

Dr. Bernard “Chip” Cole, PhD, Director of the Vermont Space Grant Consortium/NASA EPSCoR kicked off the day. Stephanie Lahar of Stephanie Lahar Associates LLC served as facilitator for the meeting. Attendees received an update from each of the SOCKS teams, discussed research strategy and computational data needs. The day ended with reflections from the SOCKS Co-PIs and a discussion of next steps.

Robert Gramling, PhD presents at the SOCKS All Hands Meeting — Robert Gramling, MD (UVM)

Year 1 of the SOCKS project officially concludes at the end of May 2024. SOCKS is a five-year project supported by an RII Track-1 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). For more information on SOCKS, visit uvm.edu/socks.