Our lives have been altered in innumerable ways by COVID-19 pandemic. How have the restrictions and changes to everyday life affected water-related research, and what does it mean for the future? The UPP checked in with Heejun Chang, professor in the PSU Geography department who recently returned from a sabbatical in Japan and South Korea, to get his perspective. Below are excerpts from the conversation.
UPP: Describe a few of the research projects you were actively working on or about to start in March 2020 when the stay-at-home orders were issued. What have you been able to accomplish and what has been put on hold?
Heejun Chang: There are three projects I’ve been working on. The first is my sabbatical research. I’ve been looking at flood resilience in three cities/countries: Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, Korea; and Portland, Oregon. A lot of the work involves conducting in-person interviews, and I finished most of them just before stay at home orders were issued. However, there are still a few to complete and I’m not sure how that will happen, as they are difficult to do over Zoom. Also, flood observations are an important part of the project. Field visits are allowed right now but there are restrictions and I haven’t been able to finish those. Finally, I need to transcribe the interviews I’ve already conducted - this is a great time to do that!
Another project I’ve been working on is funded by NSF [National Science Foundation] and is part of the Urban Sustainability Research Network. The project is about flood vulnerability and how cities respond to extreme events. I’ve been analyzing data from six US cities, and this project includes lots of GIS analysis and Zoom meetings, so I’ve been able to continue this work despite the pandemic restrictions.
Finally, I had planned to start a project collecting microplastic samples in Portland, specifically Johnson Creek and Clackamas Creek. This project includes many other people and partners, such as Elise Granek from PSU’s Environmental Science and Management Department, Clackamas Water Environment Services, and Clackamas River Water Providers, the drinking water providers in Clackamas County. However, we can’t go out to collect samples yet and we can’t use the labs to analyze data, so that project hasn’t started yet. But the literature review can still move forward, and we can gather more experts and partners in the meantime.
I also have a backlog of papers to work on with students - it’s been great to take care of these.
UPP: Have you discovered any silver linings to the current situation? For example, have you seen any benefits to your research, career or personal life since the pandemic started?
Heejun Chang: Yes, I’ve had more opportunities to be out in nature and explore my neighborhood, see more people, and observe what’s happening in urban streams in the Rock Creek area. I’m a scientist, so of course I like to observe what is happening in real time!
I’ve also had more collaborative opportunities since the beginning of the pandemic. People have been contacting me from all over - the east coast of the US and the UK, for example - to talk about collaboration, and I can attend more meetings on Zoom and make more connections. I also was able to attend a thesis defense that I would not have been able to go to if it wasn’t held on Zoom.
Personally, I’ve started gardening for the first time ever. Seedlings are great! They are tiny experiments - there are many variables to their success like container size, water, and soil types. I find gardening very soothing and it’s really fascinating. I’m growing beans, cucumbers, zucchini, hot peppers, sesame seed leaf, which is a popular food in Korea, and kale.
UPP: Do you see any new opportunities presenting themselves to increase the public’s awareness of water issues and water-related science (such as climate, weather, animal habitat, etc)?
Heejun Chang: Yes, people are walking more in their neighborhoods and are more aware of water in their environment and nature. This might make them more responsive to conservation issues. People usually need to connect to the issues first, and then they might take action.
There are also many research opportunities. For example, there is interesting work happening detecting coronavirus in wastewater. Cities could invest in that as an early warning system. Air pollution is improving, but people are using more single-use plastics during this time, which will likely end up in streams. Household water and energy use is another area to study. Residential water and energy use have probably increased because people are spending more time at home. There will be a variety of different environmental impacts to look at, and I would like to investigate some of these.
UPP: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Heejun Chang: This pandemic is a challenge, but we can always turn it into an opportunity, view it with hope and look to the future. We should seize this time to educate students (K-12) and the public about natural resource and conservation issues, based on sound science. This is also an excellent opportunity for citizen science using smartphones. Most people have smartphones and are out in their neighborhoods where it’s easy to collect data. This information could be used in so many different ways, and this kind of engagement completes the loop of cities and citizens.