Development of a Multidisciplinary Research Culture in Environmental Science and Engineering at the University of Vermont

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This project, aiming at establishing infrastructure to reduce existing barriers to multidisciplinary research in environmental science and engineering, originally identified two main areas of research. Ombrotrophic bog hydrology and Environmental change along gradients.Under reduced funding only the first area will be pursued. The team working on the former area, promoting interactions between ecologists, hydrologists/engineers, microbiologists, and toxicologists, will also focus on hydrology, ecotoxicology, microbial ecology, and biodiversity of ombrotrophic bogs of Vermont. The research will include field and laboratory measurements, mathematical modeling, and training of graduate students with a multi-disciplinary course curriculum. The team working on the latter, requiring a smaller investment of seed funding, was expected to develop a collaborative effort involving environmental change along spatial, temporal, and societal gradients in the Winooski (VT) River basin. This project will build a research partnership between selected faculty at UVM School of Natural Resources, and the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geology, and Geography.