The goal of this REU Program is to excite some of the best engineering students in the nation to consider the challenges of graduate study and a career in research. Components of the program include identification of exceptional students through a nationwide recruitment program with emphasis on women and minority participation, matching students interest with faculty and graduate students to an appreciation of graduate study, and provide mini-courses to facilitate effectiveness in the research projects. The research activities span civil engineering in the areas of water resources, bioengineering and pollution control, and structural mechanics. Research projects include: (1) finite element modeling of tidal flow, (2) sequencing batch real reactors to treat municipal and industrial waste, (3) precipitation immobilization of hazardous wastes, (4) laboratory and field techniques for groundwater studies, (5) Monte Carlo simulation of structures, and (6) correlation structure of fatigue crack growth.
