Since arriving here two years ago, Professors Jane Compson and Will McGuire have had a keen eye out for ways to apply their scholarly interests to local issues. Both have just submitted proposals to the University of Washington’s Royalty Research Fund, a fund designed to help junior faculty get their research projects off the ground. Prof. Compson is currently part of a team developing a training program to protect nurses in the MultiCare health system from burnout while increasing their well-being.  “Nurses have intensely stressful jobs and are at high-risk for burnout,” Prof. Compson explains. “It is great to have the oppor­tu­nity to serve those who serve us.  If I get this grant my team will use it to cre­ate mobile phone apps to deliver exer­cises for stress.”Meanwhile, Prof. McGuire is working on a project to measure Tacoma city residents’ willingness to pay for improvements to Lake Wapato, part of the Tacoma Metro Parks system.  Remarks Prof. McGuire:  “I am interested in finding the right level of funding to protect our natural environment, as well as identifying the easiest and ‘fairest’ way for us to share that fiscal burden.”