International: Sustainable Water Management Research Experience in Bolivia: Influence of a Dynamic World on Technological and Societal Solutions

水资源管理是人类社会的基础，需要科学家和工程师能够将水资源的文化，机构和国际层面与先进的技术和解决方案相结合。 这个国际学生研究经验（IRES）项目让美国学生在玻利维亚的科恰班巴从事水资源管理研究。 本科和博士具有工程学和人类学背景的学生将收集现场数据，以：1）评估卫生技术的处理性能和碳中和，2）开发数学模型，以估计在人口增长，城市化，发展，农业土地使用和气候变化的情况下，天然泉水和雨水供水的可持续性。 学生将与来自社区非政府组织水解决方案的工程师合作，并将与来自玻利维亚理工大学的学生和教师合作，在教师圣地亚哥莫拉莱斯博士的指导下。研究生将把他们的研究与参加新的16学分的水，健康和可持续发展研究生证书相结合。本科生将返回校园，通过USF荣誉学院或其他本科研究计划继续研究。 本科生还将参加第二年的6学分国际顶点设计课程。 三个课程学分将通过与科恰班巴（瓦莱私立大学）的土木工程建立伙伴关系在玻利维亚进行。 该项目由国际科学与工程办公室（OISE）和化学、生物工程、环境和运输系统司（CBET）共同资助。

Water management is fundamental to human societies, and requires scientists and engineers who can integrate cultural, institutional, and international dimensions of water resources with sophisticated technologies and solutions. This International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) project engages U.S. students in water management research in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Undergraduate and Ph.D. students with engineering and anthropology backgrounds will collect field data to: 1) assess the treatment performance and carbon neutrality of sanitation technology and 2) develop mathematical models to estimate the sustainability of water supplies from natural springs and rainwater under scenarios of population growth, urbanization, development, agricultural land use, and climate change. Students will partner with an engineer from the community-based nongovernmental organization Aqueous Solutions, and will also work with students and faculty from the Universidad Tecnológica Boliviana, under the mentorship of faculty member Dr. Santiago Morales.Graduate students will integrate their research with participation in a new 16-credit Graduate Certificate in Water, Health, and Sustainability. Undergraduates will return to campus to continue research via the USF Honors College or other undergraduate research initiatives. Undergraduates will also participate the following year in a 6-credit International Capstone Design course. Three of the course credits will take place in Bolivia through an established partnership with the civil engineering at the Universidad Privada del Valle (Cochabamba). This project is co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) and the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET).