This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports the development of an interdisciplinary graduate training program in water science. There is a critical need for scientists who can manage water resources responsibly because water management decisions generate conflicts between humans, ecosystem needs, and political jurisdictions. Uncertainty of water availability causes managers to store and redistribute water to control risk, while climate variability exacerbates uncertainty. Three important questions must be answered: 1) how can limited fresh water be distributed equitably in a socially acceptable and sustainable framework; 2) what are the relative hydro-climatic, ecological, and societal benefits and drawbacks of management actions; and 3) how can science provide answers for wise water management decisions?
This program will address these challenges by training Ph.D. students to conduct complex, interdisciplinary research at the interfaces between hydrologic, atmospheric, ecologic, and management disciplines. Issues of variability and uncertainty, vulnerability of human use and ecosystems, and sustainability will be probed in the framework of the following research themes: 1) Hydrologic, atmospheric, and ecologic systems; 2) Hydrologic, ecologic, and socio-economic systems; 3) Hydrologic, atmospheric, and socio-economic systems; and 4) Research integration and synthesis. The program involves 11 science and engineering departments at Colorado State University (CSU), and includes opportunities for trainees to participate in internships at federal and state agencies. To recruit and retain a diverse group of trainees, CSU will partner with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and with Hispanic Serving Institutions, and coordinate with undergraduate research programs.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
