EPA Launches a Collaborative Web Site for Integrated Environmental Modeling

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is launching a new on-line tool for scientific collaboration and knowledge sharing that was built by Purdue University with support from the agency. The Integrated Environmental Modeling Hub (iemHUB) allows environmental researchers to analyze environmental problems and combine environmental models so that a better understanding of the environment can be developed – everything from keeping beaches clean to predicting climate effects.

”This new on-line collaborative tool will help us increase our understanding of the complex nature of environmental problems. It will advance our ability to predict the impacts of our actions on the environment,” said Paul T. Anastas, Ph.D., EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Research and Development. “We’ve all seen the power of social networking in helping people stay connected, with the launch of this new site, that potential is now available on a professional level to environmental researchers and modelers.”

EPA uses integrated modeling assessments to inform decision making in support of its broad mission of protecting human health and safeguarding the environment. With the website, the agency is providing a state-of-the-art resource to the environmental modeling community. The iemHUB supports the development of integrated models and their use in conducting research and informing the decision making process.

The iemHUB is being released by the EPA-supported Community of Practice for Integrated Environmental Modeling (CIEM). The Community of Practice is an informal collaborative organization that was set-up by EPA and other scientists to advance the state of the science and technology related to integrated modeling.

More information on iemHUB: http://www.iemhub.org