The award provides support for a three-year REU Site at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The REU program will provide an interdisciplinary forum of faculty and students to train future professionals on critical elements of water-based approach to sustainable management of water resources. The activities of the REU Site will include: 1) introduce participants to advanced research topics in an interdisciplinary environment; 2) provide students opportunities to acquire advanced laboratory, field measurement, analytical, and computational skills; 3) stimulate scientific curiosity of participants so that they may pursue an advanced degree in watershed sciences and engineering; and 4) facilitate an environment for intellectual and personal interaction of different academic, social and cultural backgrounds to promote diversity.
This program will facilitate life long learning experiences, and nourish analytical skills and creativity of future engineers and scientist in a diverse environment. Also, it is expected to expand the potential pool of future graduate researchers and professionals in watershed sciences and engineering. At least 60% of the target REU participants will be students who are underrepresented in the areas of watershed sciences and engineering due to their race, ethnicity, gender, financial resources, parent's educational level, and those from smaller colleges/universities who have few research opportunities at their home institutions.
