Research Training in Biogeochemistry and Environmental Change

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This award supports a new, multidisciplinary research training program focused on aspects of Biogeochemistry important to increased understanding of environmental change. A group of 25 faculty drawn from eight organizational units of Cornell, the Boyce Thmopson Institute and the Institute for Ecosystem studies will collaborate to develop one of the first U.S. graduate programs in Biogeochemistry. Training will include a set of 4 required courses, some newly developed for the RTG, research rotations in faculty laboratories and field research sites, technical workshops and seminars that will bring leading researchers from other institutions. Besides providing students with fundamental knowledge of both biogeochemistry and ecosystem analysis, the program will emphasize training in the use of state-of-the-art techniques in biogeochemistry and environmental microbiology. Areas of research to be emphasized include studies of accelerated nitrogen movement through landscapes into rivers and estuaries, studies of effects of humans on nutrient and water levels in forest ecosystems, and studies of wetland microbiota active in generation of methane. The goal of the program is to produce highly interactive, creative and multidisciplinary-based students who will be able to contribute to understanding global change and other environmental problems. ***