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College of Arts & Sciences Faculty Research Forum
The Faculty Research Forum celebrates the breadth and depth of scholarship within the College of Arts & Sciences. It highlights the interdisciplinary spirit that is central to our work, bringing together excellence across the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.
As the academic heart of William & Mary, the College is home to faculty whose research and creative practice take many forms: innovative theatre and performance, community-engaged scholarship, award-winning writing, new scientific discoveries and more. Their work shapes our students, strengthens our communities and contributes to knowledge and progress across the country and around the world. The Forum provides a space to share this work, learn from one another and recognize the impact we achieve across disciplinary boundaries.
Algorithms for the Anthropocene: The Promise and Pitfalls of Machine Learning in a Changing Arctic
Joanmarie Del Vecchio, Assistant Professor of Geology
Wednesday, November 11, 12 - 1 p.m. in the Muscarelle Event Hall
The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth, raising the risk that carbon long stored in frozen soils will be released into the atmosphere and further intensify climate warming. The scale and inaccessibility of the Arctic mean remote characterization is the rule, rather than the exception, and recent advancements in satellite imaging, computing infrastructure, and machine learning promise to harness a "big data" approach to mapping permafrost landscape change. But what data and knowledge are needed to move from just seeing change to understanding its causes and consequences? Del Vecchio will present her recent progress in studying changing permafrost landscapes, highlighting the complementary strengths of building and testing conceptual models alongside computational analysis.
Lunch will be included. RSVP by 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026.
Nomination Criteria
We aim for the Forum to be inclusive of our full community, representing a range of disciplines, types of research and stages of faculty careers. In shaping each year’s program, we seek balance across the humanities, social sciences and sciences. We hope to highlight both recent achievements by early career faculty and the ongoing, deeply developed work of colleagues with sustained research portfolios.
Open to tenured and tenure-eligible faculty, the presentations should showcase fresh, fully formed research or creative work that is ready to share with a wider audience. We are not seeking works in progress or retrospective talks that survey an entire career. Our goal is to reflect the breadth, depth and vitality of research across the College.
We invite self-nominations from eligible faculty. If you are interested in presenting and contributing to this year’s program, please complete this brief form.