Veronica Del Bianco

Dr. Veronica Del Bianco is an educator, evaluator, and researcher who joined the Environment Program in 2022. Dr. Del Bianco’s research experiences have included minnow spawning in the streams of North Carolina, adjustments in leaf epidermal UV transmittance of plants on the Big Island of Hawaii, and community ecology and trophic cascades in the jungles of Nicaragua. She now focuses on participant and community outcomes of citizen and community science and has considerable experience using participatory and mixed-methods approaches in her research. Dr. Del Bianco is passionate about getting students engaged in nature, science and their communities.

Classes Taught: 

• Foundations in Environmental Science
• Foundations in Environmental Studies 
• Investigating Nature
• Intro to GIS

Areas of Expertise:

• Environmental science
• Citizen and community science
• Science assessment and evaluation

Publications

Publications
Del Bianco, V., Peterman, K., Becker-Klein, R., Davis, C., Grover, A. & Phillips, T.
Cross-Project Analysis of Volunteers' Scientific Observation Skills. Citizen Science:
Theory and Practice (pre-print).

Becker-Klein R., Davis C., Phillips T., Del Bianco V., Grack Nelson A., & Christian
Ronning E. (2023) Using a shared embedded assessment tool to understand participant
skills: Processes and lessons learned. Citizen Science: Theory and Practice 8(1),
p.20.DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.487. 

Davis, C., Del Bianco V., Peterman K., Grover A., Phillips T., & Becker-Klein R. (2022).
Diverse and important ways evaluation can support and advance citizen science.
Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, 7(1), 30. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.482 

Peterman K., Del Bianco V., Grover A., Davis, C., & Rosser H. (2022) Hiding in Plain
Sight: Secondary Analysis of Data Records as a Method for Learning about Citizen
Science Projects and Volunteers’ Skills. Citizen Science: Theory and Practice. DOI:
http://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.476 

Stylinski, C.D., Del Bianco, V., Phillips, T., Peterman, K., Wiggins, A., Becker-Klein, R.
& Linhart, J. ( 2020) Embedded Assessment Pursuits: Identifying Important, Relevant,
Accessible but Hidden Skills of Citizen Scientists. Online-only National Association for
Research in Science Teaching Conference.
https://www.informalscience.org/embedded-assessment-pursuits-identifying-important-
relevant-accessible-hidden-skills-citizen

Del Bianco, V., Cater, M. & Fox, J. 4-H Youth Volunteer Retention in Science Projects.
Journal of Youth Development. 16(4), 134-148.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2021.1004.