IRES: U.S.-Czech Student Research Experience on Understanding Water and Chemical Transport in the Earth's Vadose Zone

IRES：美国-捷克学生了解地球包气带水和化学物质传输的研究经验

• 批准号: 1460129
• 负责人: Chittaranjan Ray
• 金额: $ 25万
• 依托单位: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-01 至 2021-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1460129&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IRES; U.S.; Czech; Student; Research

This U.S.-Czech international research experience for students (IRES) project supports a partnership between scientists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and the Czech Technical University-Prague (CTU) that is designed to prepare U.S. students for STEM graduate-level study through an early career cooperative research experience focused on the earth's vadose zone, known as the geologic "skin of the earth." For each of the three years of this IRES project, cohorts of four U.S. science and engineering students will expand their global competence through a well-integrated, eight-week international research and educational experience in the Czech Republic. Principal Investigator Chittaranjan Ray (UNL), along with lead counterparts Michal Snìhota and Martin Sanda (CTU), will serve as mentors. In their collaboration with CTU scientists and students, U.S. participants will jointly conduct hypothesis-driven laboratory experiments and field investigations designed to characterize water and chemical movement in unsaturated soils with macro pores (large pores due to wormholes, cracks etc.) at site-to-watershed scale in the Czech Republic. The U.S. students will learn about creative, original, and potentially transformative methods the Czechs are using to study the fate and transport of water and contaminants through the unsaturated zone, particularly in terms of preferential flow. New research results and knowledge of novel technologies being used in Europe will be shared in the U.S. through this project, thereby contributing to the development of a more globally engaged science workforce as well as to the sustainability of valuable water resources which affect economic competitiveness both domestically and internationally.U.S. IRES participants will collaborate with the Czech researchers to evaluate the utility and accuracy of these new methods, which promise to significantly expand scientific understanding of vadose zone processes. These are considered critical to protecting and preserving ground water resources. As the "skin" of the earth, the vadose zone, or the unsaturated zone, regulates various functions like water percolation and contaminant attenuation, among others. Over the course of their IRES research abroad, U.S. students will learn about and use new technologies and methods developed in Europe. Understanding flow and transport processes in the vadose zone is a key to identifying ground water pollution potential and to developing mitigation strategies. IRES participants also will work with Czech partners to evaluate the utility and accuracy of innovative Czech technologies used to study water flow at different scales. Their findings are expected to materially contribute data about the correlation of small-scale measurements of soil properties to watershed processes. Overall, the IRES experience is intended to encourage a diverse group of undergraduate participants to pursue graduate education in STEM fields. The U.S. students will be encouraged to publish and to share their experiences via the UNL-maintained IRES website and through presentations at appropriate professional meetings, such as meetings of the American Society of Engineering Education.

这个美国-捷克学生国际研究经验（IRES）项目支持内布拉斯加州大学林肯分校（UNL）和捷克技术大学布拉格分校（CTU）的科学家之间的伙伴关系，旨在通过早期职业合作研究经验，为美国学生准备STEM研究生水平的学习，重点是地球的真空带，被称为地质“地球的皮肤”。在这个IRES项目的三年里，每一年，四名美国理工科学生将在捷克共和国进行为期八周的综合国际研究和教育，以扩大他们的全球能力。首席研究员Chittaranjan Ray （UNL）和首席研究员michael Snìhota和Martin Sanda （CTU）将担任导师。在与CTU科学家和学生的合作中，美国参与者将共同进行假设驱动的实验室实验和实地调查，旨在表征捷克共和国场地到流域尺度上具有宏观孔隙（由于虫洞、裂缝等造成的大孔隙）的非饱和土壤中的水和化学运动。美国学生将学习捷克人正在使用的创造性、原创性和潜在的变革性方法，以研究水和污染物通过不饱和带的命运和运输，特别是在优先流动方面。在欧洲使用的新研究成果和新技术知识将通过该项目在美国分享，从而有助于发展一支更加全球化的科学劳动力队伍，以及影响国内和国际经济竞争力的宝贵水资源的可持续性。IRES参与者将与捷克研究人员合作，评估这些新方法的实用性和准确性，这些新方法有望显著扩展对气相带过程的科学理解。这些被认为是保护和保存地下水资源的关键。作为地球的“皮肤”，渗透带或不饱和带调节着各种功能，如水渗透和污染物衰减等。在他们的海外IRES研究过程中，美国学生将学习和使用欧洲开发的新技术和方法。了解渗透带的流动和输送过程是确定地下水污染潜力和制定缓解战略的关键。IRES参与者还将与捷克伙伴合作，评估用于研究不同尺度水流的捷克创新技术的效用和准确性。他们的发现有望对土壤性质的小规模测量与流域过程的相关性提供实质性的数据。总体而言，IRES的经验旨在鼓励不同群体的本科生在STEM领域攻读研究生教育。美国学生将被鼓励通过联合国大学维护的IRES网站发表和分享他们的经验，并在适当的专业会议上发表演讲，例如美国工程教育学会的会议。