Developing Global Scientists and Engineers Through the Study of Mercury Environmental Issues in South Africa: IRES

该奖项资助了一个面向学生的国际研究体验项目，该项目的重点是南非与汞有关的环境问题。来自人类来源的汞(Hg)在区域和全球范围内的重新分配，以及随后向甲基汞的转化，对世界各地的野生动物种群造成了影响，并导致了对人类健康的担忧。人们对汞和甲基汞在南非境内的分布知之甚少，由于其工业化、严重依赖煤炭进行大规模能源生产以及煤炭在居民中的广泛使用，南非的影响可能很大。因此，该项目旨在研究这些现象，使美国学生能够参与大型研究项目并开发相关的个人项目，从而加深他们的研究和教育经验。四名学生将在每三年访问南非，在大开普敦和工业化的豪腾/马普马兰加地区的研究区工作，测量空气、水、土壤和生物群中的汞浓度和形态。美国的学生和教职员工团队将与科学与工业研究委员会的喜悦·利纳博士、斯泰伦博斯大学的安德鲁·克劳奇博士和夸祖鲁-纳塔尔大学的Roseanne Diab博士合作。这些研究将为年轻科学家提供一个独特的机会，让他们参与全球环境问题，同时加强与这个快速发展的非洲国家的科学家的联系。这项研究将促进知识和专业知识的转移，并加强两国科学家之间的合作，但重点是对美国年轻科学家的教育和指导，特别是女性和少数族裔学生。这项工作将为学生的本科生和研究生研究论文提供支柱，并将发表在同行评议的文献中，并通过网络和其他机制提供。

This award funds an International Research Experience for Students project focused on mercury-related environmental issues in South Africa. The regional and global redistribution of mercury (Hg) from anthropogenically-derived sources, and its subsequent conversion to methylmercury, has impacted wildlife populations worldwide and has resulted in human health concerns. There is little knowledge of Hg and methylmercury distribution within South Africa, where the impacts could be large due to its industrialization, heavy reliance on coal for large-scale energy production, and extensive residential use of coal. This project is therefore designed to examine these phenomena and to enable US students to participate in a large-scale research project and to develop related individual projects, thus furthering their research and education experience. Four students will visit South Africa in each of three years, working in study areas in the greater Cape Town and the industrialized Gauteng/Mapumalanga regions to measure mercury concentration and speciation in air, water, soils, and biota. The US team of students and faculty will collaborate with Drs. Joy Leaner at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr. Andrew Crouch at Stellenbosch Univeristy and Roseanne Diab at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.These studies will provide a unique opportunity for young scientists to be involved in a global environmental problem while fostering links with scientists in a rapidly developing African nation. The study will facilitate the transfer of knowledge and expertise and enhance collaborations between scientists in both countries, but with a strong focus on the education and mentoring of young US scientists, especially women and minority students. The work will provide the backbone of the students' undergraduate and graduate research theses, and will be published in the peer-reviewed literature and made available through the web and other mechanisms.