Blog Archives

Researcher kneeling on ground holding a device into water to take a sample for analysis

DRI Launches Collaborative New Project Investigating PFAS and Microplastics for Department of Defense

By Elyse DeFranco | Aug 27, 2025 | Featured projects

DRI’s Monica Arienzo, Director of the Microplastics and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, was recently awarded $250,000 by the Department of Defense to investigate laundering and textile degradation as a possible source of PFAS and microplastic pollution. The one-year grant will fund laboratory studies and analysis led by Arienzo, with DRI’s Daniel Saftner and Yeongkwon Son contributing to the work. Matt Reeves of Western Michigan University is partnering with the DRI scientists for the project.

Collage of US Maps showing the annual average temperature from 1900s through 2020s.

An Invisible Natural Disaster

By Elyse DeFranco | Aug 15, 2025 | Featured projects

Earth is hotter than it has been in 125,000 years, and DRI scientists are striving to uncover the impacts of a warmer atmosphere.

Photo of Erik overlooking the canyon at Zion National Park on a snowy day.

Meet Erik Henzl

By Elyse DeFranco | Aug 12, 2025 | Featured researchers

Erik Henzl is a Staff Research Scientist and environmental economist who joined DRI in January 2025. Based at DRI’s Reno campus, he is currently focused on estimating the water and energy required to support Nevada’s rapidly expanding data centers now and into the future. In the following interview, he shares his passion for learning as a vocation and how his research will help Nevada navigate its growing role in the digital world.

Native Waters on Arid Lands project featured in World Drought Atlas

By DRI Communications | Jun 10, 2025 | Featured projects

DRI’s Native Waters on Arid Lands project was recently featured in the 2024 World Drought Atlas, a 175-page hardcover reference book for decision-makers detailing drought impacts and adaptation solutions from around the world.

A conference room with researchers mingling and reviewing graduate student poster presentations.

Graduate Student Winners of the Annual Poster Presentation Session

By Elyse DeFranco | May 23, 2025 | Awards and Honors

On Friday, April 25th, 21 graduate students presented their research at DRI’s Reno campus for the annual poster presentation session. Organized by Kathleen Rodrigues, PhD, Assistant Research Professor of Luminescence, the poster session offers an opportunity for DRI-affiliated graduate students to network with each other and with DRI faculty, hone their presentation skills, and showcase the research they’re working on in pursuit of their degrees.

View from the top of a mountain where a DRI truck is parked and researchers are working on a weather station and surrounded by pine trees.

Long Science in the Nevada Bristlecone Preserve

By Elyse DeFranco | May 12, 2025 | Featured projects

Ancient bristlecone pines have been collecting data for us for millennia. Anne Heggli's research aims to provide a nearly microscopic look at how the climate in the Great Basin is changing, from hour to hour and season to season. With scientific monitoring equipment positioned from the floor of the Great Basin’s Spring Valley up to the peak of Mount Washington, her project examines temperature fluctuations, atmospheric information, and snowpack insights across the region’s ecosystems.

Meet Cayenne Engel

By Elyse DeFranco | May 7, 2025 | Featured researchers

Cayenne Engel, M.Sc., is a Staff Research Scientist in urban climate adaptation who joined DRI in September 2024. Based at DRI’s Las Vegas campus, she is dedicating her time to assessing and expanding the region’s urban tree canopy to bring relief to communities burdened by temperatures that regularly soar above 100° Fahrenheit. In the following interview, Engel shares her passion for public service-oriented research, how Nevada’s unparalleled landscape lured her west, and her love for intricate puzzles.

Sean McKenna speaking on a panel with two others with a microphone in front of him.

DRI Holds Water Panel at Nevada State Legislature

By Elyse DeFranco | Apr 23, 2025 | Featured projects

On March 27, DRI scientists gathered at the State Capitol to illuminate work that supports Nevada’s communities and landscape. With more than 600 scientists, engineers, students, and staff across our Reno and Las Vegas campuses, we conducted more than $52 million in sponsored research focused on improving peoples’ lives in 2024 alone.

A worker in yellow vest wanders the rubble left of a home after the Eaton fire.

What’s in the Burnt Remains of the LA Wildfires?

By Elyse DeFranco | Apr 21, 2025 | Featured projects

DRI scientists deployed to Los Angeles to collect ash, soil, and dust samples from burn zones in the hopes of illuminating the unique risks of wildland-urban fires. These urban fires presented a unique opportunity to understand how materials like plastics, metals, and even lithium batteries from electric cars can transform into environmental contaminants when they burn.

Satellite image from OpenET that displays a map of blue and green circles.

OpenET’s New CEO, Sara Larsen, Discusses the Future of the Revolutionary Water-Monitoring Initiative

By Elyse DeFranco | Apr 8, 2025 | Featured projects

OpenET, a nonprofit initiative focused on improving water management with accessible, satellite-based evapotranspiration (ET) data, has welcomed Sara Larsen as the new CEO. DRI sat down with Sara to discuss what makes the initiative unique, her plans for the organization, and how OpenET can help address the biggest challenges in water management.