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Jennifer L Bruce

Jen Bruce is a physical scientist and communications specialist for the Integrated Information Dissemination Division of the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.

Jen spent much of her early life trying to choose between her scientific and artistic interests, and is very happy to have found a career where she can embrace both. She has degrees in graphic design, physical geography, and environmental management, and has worked for many sectors including business communications, telecom, and environmental advocacy. She is proud to contribute her diverse experience and skills to help make USGS science and information more usable and accessible.

Jen first joined the USGS in 2003 as a publications specialist with the Wisconsin Water Science Center, and served as their outreach coordinator, web lead, cartographer, graphics and interface designer, and plain-language writer/editor. She was also the Science in the Great Lakes Mapper lead until 2019. She currently works in the Web Communications Branch of the Integrated Information Dissemination Division (IIDD) of the USGS Water Resources Mission Area (WMA). She led the WMA's Web Communications, Outreach, and Education (WebCOE) function until 2021, which included overseeing the WMA's static external web presence and developing communication campaigns and products. She continues to serve as a communications strategist and is expanding her expertise into the hazards space by leading the Stakeholder Engagement for Water Hazard Science and Response Project (SERP) for the WMA Water Hazards Program. She also co-leads the USGS Water External Communicators Community of Practice (WEC), and is an administrator and storymap specialist for the USGS ArcGIS Online (AGOL) community.

 

 

Education and Certifications

  • Master of Environmental Management (MEM), Coastal Environmental Management: Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment, 2008-2010. Certificate of Geospatial Analysis

  • Bachelor of Science (BS), Physical Geography: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2002-2005

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Graphic Design: Washington University in St. Louis, 1994-1998

Honors and Awards

  • 2019 Shoemaker Award for Communications Product Excellence (small print category): The HayWired Earthquake Scenario—We Can Outsmart Disaster, USGS Fact Sheet 2018-3016

  • 2017 Shoemaker Award for Communications Product Excellence (large print category): Identifying and Preserving High-Water Mark Data, USGS Techniques and Methods 3-A24

Science and Products

Communicating hazards—A social science review to meet U.S. Geological Survey needs

This report is for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)—and any other—hazard scientists who want to improve the understanding and use of their scientific information, particularly by non-experts. In order for people to use science, they need to understand it. The highly technical, specialized nature of scientific information makes that difficult, particularly when few scientists are trained to communicat
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Natural Hazards

Laboratory for Infectious Disease and the Environment (LIDE)

The Laboratory for Infectious Disease and the Environment (LIDE) studies the occurrence, fate and transport, and health effects of human and agricultural zoonotic pathogens in the environment. The LIDE is an interagency collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service that conducts research to inform decision makers and ad
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Laboratory for Infectious Disease and the Environment

The HayWired earthquake scenario—We can outsmart disaster

The HayWired earthquake scenario, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), anticipates the impacts of a hypothetical magnitude-7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault. The fault is along the east side of California’s San Francisco Bay and is among the most active and dangerous in the United States, because it runs through a densely urbanized and interconnected region. One way to learn about a large e
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Earthquake Science Center

FishVis, A regional decision support tool for identifying vulnerabilities of riverine habitat and fishes to climate change in the Great Lakes Region

Climate change is expected to alter the distributions and community composition of stream fishes in the Great Lakes region in the 21st century, in part as a result of altered hydrological systems (stream temperature, streamflow, and habitat). Resource managers need information and tools to understand where fish species and stream habitats are expected to change under future conditions. Fish sample
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Water Resources, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS), Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Identifying and preserving high-water mark data

High-water marks provide valuable data for understanding recent and historical flood events. The proper collection and recording of high-water mark data from perishable and preserved evidence informs flood assessments, research, and water resource management. Given the high cost of flooding in developed areas, experienced hydrographers, using the best available techniques, can contribute high-qual
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Water Resources, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Colorado Water Science Center

Organic waste compounds as contaminants in Milwaukee-area streams

Organic waste compounds (OWCs) are ingredients and by-products of common agricultural, industrial, and household substances that can contaminate our streams through sources like urban runoff, sewage overflows, and leaking septic systems. To better understand how OWCs are affecting Milwaukee-area streams, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District,
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Water Resources, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Tools for discovering and accessing Great Lakes scientific data

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is a multidisciplinary and interagency effort focused on the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes (GL) using the best available science and applying lessons learned from previous studies. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) contributes to the GLRI effort by providing resource managers with information and tools needed to meet restoration goals.
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Ecosystems, Water Resources, Environments Program, Center for Ingrated Data Analysis, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Water-quality characteristics for selected sites within the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District planning area, Wisconsin, February 2004-September 2005

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) Corridor Study is a three-phase project designed to improve the understanding of water resources in the MMSD planning area to assist managers and policy makers in their decisions. Phase I of the Study involved the compilation of existing data from multiple agencies into a single database. These data were analyzed to identify spatial, temporal, an
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Mercury Research Laboratory

Water-resources investigations in Wisconsin, 2004

The statewide average precipitation for the 2003 water year was 27.42 inches, which was 5.22 inches less than the normal annual precipitation of 32.64 inches for water years 1971–2000. Average precipitation values affecting streamflow conditions ranged from 67 percent in southeast Wisconsin to 99 percent in northeast Wisconsin with a statewide average of 84 percent (summary tables provided by Ed H
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Water Resources, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Bruce, J.L., 2010, Are CAMA Land-Use Plans Protecting Coastal Resources? An Evaluation of North Carolina’s Coastal Planning Requirement: Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences Master's Project, 141 p.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

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USGS science for a changing world logo

Geographic Searches for USGS Publications (Bureau-wide Application)

The purpose of this project is to improve the USGS Publications Warehouse (Pubs Warehouse) so that a person can search for USGS publications by geographic region in addition to existing search criteria; for example, one could search using map zooms or congressional districts. The addition of geographic searches allows users to narrow their search results to specific areas of interest, which reduce
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Community for Data Integration (CDI)
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Geographic Searches for USGS Publications (Bureau-wide Application)

The purpose of this project is to improve the USGS Publications Warehouse (Pubs Warehouse) so that a person can search for USGS publications by geographic region in addition to existing search criteria; for example, one could search using map zooms or congressional districts. The addition of geographic searches allows users to narrow their search results to specific areas of interest, which reduce
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What to Expect in a Big Urban Earthquake

How do we get ready for big earthquakes in populated areas? An important first step is to learn what a big earthquake could be like. These pages summarize the main patterns — the earthquake effects that show up again and again. Here, urban is shorthand for “cities, towns, and suburbs”.

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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Science Application for Risk Reduction

The HayWired Scenario: An Urban Earthquake in a Connected World - A Geonarrative

What might it be like the next time the Hayward Fault has a large earthquake? A geonarrative and related imagery examines a hypothetical earthquake, the magnitude 7.0 HayWired earthquake scenario.

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Natural Hazards, Science Application for Risk Reduction

Measuring the July 2016 flood in northern Wisconsin and the Bad River Reservation

On July 11-12, 2016, severe thunderstorms hit northern Wisconsin, resulting in widespread flooding. Immediately following the flood, the USGS and the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians began collecting evidence of peak flood levels. USGS scientists used these high-water marks, along with streamflow and lake level, to reconstruct the extent and depth of flood inundation.

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Upper Midwest Water Science Center

FishVis Mapper

The FishVis Mapper is the product of an Upper Midwest and Great Lakes LCC project, “A Regional Decision Support Tool for Identifying Vulnerabilities of Riverine Habitat and Fishes to Climate Change” that developed an approach for predicting fish species occurrence under current climate conditions and project how fish species occurrence may change under future climate conditions.

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Upper Midwest Water Science Center

GLRI Edge-of-Field Monitoring (geonarrative)

The GLRI Edge-of-Field Monitoring project focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which can threaten the health of the Great Lakes. This geonarrative details the basics of edge-of-field monitoring (EOF), explores EOF applications, shows USGS is working collaboratively with our partners, and discusses how EOF can improve conservation efforts.

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Upper Midwest Water Science Center
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Using Story Maps to communicate USGS science

Gary Latzke and Jamie Velkoverh (WiM) presented an invited plenary talk at the 2016 ESRI Federal GIS conference in Washington, DC, on Feb, 24, 2016...

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Science and Products