REU Site: Interdisciplinary Geospatial Approaches to Watershed Science

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As students in environmental fields enter the workforce they will confront, at some scale, many of the "grand challenges" that face humankind (e.g., access to clean water, production of sufficient food, adaptation to change climate). Solutions to such problems require a willingness to embrace alternative and innovative approaches rooted in multiple disciplines, as well as an appreciation for diverse perspectives. Students participating in this REU will engage in research focused on the sustainable provision of clean water and food in a Midwest agricultural watershed. The watershed has been the focus of intense investigation over the past two decades that examines carbon, nutrient, and sediment transport, crop productivity, agricultural economics, governance and social priorities. Students will use team-based approaches to build on this ongoing research to examine issues critical to societies across the nation. Their research will be interdisciplinary, team-based and innovative. We anticipate students participating in this REU will better appreciate team-based approaches to science and analytical methods relevant to their future careers.The primary objective of this REU site program is to prepare students for complex problem-solving and interdisciplinary research. Students from all fields, and particularly environmental fields, will face real-world problems that are complex, ill-defined, multifaceted and ever changing. Solutions to such problems require a willingness to embrace alternative and innovative approaches rooted in multiple disciplines, as well as an appreciation for diverse perspectives (National Academy of Engineering 2016). Students participating in this REU will engage in research focused on the sustainable provision of clean water and food in a Midwest agricultural watershed. This watershed has been the focus of intense investigation over the past two decades. The watershed, available infrastructure, and ongoing research provide an exemplary case study through which students will engage in team-based approaches to solving complex questions about natural and human systems that are coupled, complex and adaptive. Interdisciplinary team based approaches to science will be developed from hypothesis generation, through data collection, and onto data analysis and interpretation. Throughout this process students will be exposed to cutting edge geospatial technologies and analytical techniques to better prepare them to apply analytical methods to a variety of topics and STEM related careers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.