REU Site: Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Environments (GI4SUrE)

REU 网站：可持续城市环境的绿色基础设施 (GI4SURE)

• 批准号: 2050979
• 负责人: Jon Hathaway
• 金额: $ 40.48万
• 依托单位: University of Tennessee Knoxville
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-10-01 至 2024-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2050979&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Green; Infrastructure; Sustainable

In this Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site Program, Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Environments (GI4SUrE), a diverse cohort will participate in research supporting the advancement of Green Infrastructure to improve public and ecological health in urban environments. Green Infrastructure can be described as the interconnected natural spaces in urban environments such as parks, riparian areas, and nature-based storm water control measures that serve to clean storm water runoff, reduce urbanization impacts to local surface waters, and offer protection from flooding. Research will include state of the art field, laboratory, and modeling studies to better understand and optimize these systems. Students that participate in this REU will have the chance to improve their research and critical thinking skills while bolstering their ability to communicate with technical and non-technical audiences through oral and written mediums. Additional experiences include access to new mentors, exposure to the various career pathways made possible by a graduate degree in engineering, and training on how to collaborate with, learn from, communicate with, and consider the perspectives of colleagues outside their discipline. This program will serve to improve the diversity of the engineering profession and student participation in graduate school by extending opportunities to traditionally underrepresented groups in science and engineering. Through a 10-week, summer undergraduate research experience, the GI4SUrE REU Site aims to: (1) propel scientific knowledge regarding Green Infrastructure (GI) contributions to sustainable urban water, and (2) provide a high quality professional and social atmosphere where attendees are educated on fundamental research methodologies and critical thinking. Under the guidance of faculty mentors, students will perform field, laboratory, and/or modeling studies to explore how GI functions to mitigate the effects of urban runoff on surface water quality and hydrology. Green Infrastructure has been deemed as a way to build better infrastructure as part of the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenge to restore and improve urban infrastructure, making it a vital topic for investigation. REU students will be exposed to state of the art techniques and convergent research by the inclusion of non-engineering co-mentors in a subset of the projects to address complex questions that consider social, hydrologic, ecologic, and/or economic outcomes. Through a targeted recruiting strategy, this REU site will bolster the participation of traditionally underrepresented groups in undergraduate engineering research. Students will gain skills in research methodology, communication, convergent approaches, and working in team environments which will be invaluable in their professional endeavors. Further, exposure to the various career pathways that are open to individuals with advanced degrees will aid them in determining their desired career path, whether it be academia, industry, government, or non-government organizations. REU contributions to GI knowledge will be invaluable. As billions of dollars are being spent nationwide to reduce the effects of urbanization through the use of GI, there is a critical need to better understand and optimize its performance to make these efforts more scientifically informed. Overall, the REU intends to establish direct, lasting mentoring relationships between participants and faculty, and long-term relationships among those in the cohort.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.

在这个本科生研究经验（REU）项目“可持续城市环境绿色基础设施”（GI4SURE）中，多元化的群体将参与支持绿色基础设施进步的研究，以改善城市环境中的公共和生态健康。 绿色基础设施可以被描述为城市环境中相互关联的自然空间，例如公园、河岸地区和基于自然的雨水控制措施，这些措施有助于清洁雨水径流，减少城市化对当地地表水的影响，并提供防洪保护。研究将包括最先进的领域、实验室和建模研究，以更好地理解和优化这些系统。参加 REU 的学生将有机会提高他们的研究和批判性思维技能，同时增强他们通过口头和书面媒介与技术和非技术受众沟通的能力。其他经验包括接触新导师、接触工程学研究生学位所带来的各种职业道路，以及如何与本学科之外的同事合作、学习、沟通和考虑其观点的培训。该计划将通过向传统上在科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体提供机会来提高工程专业的多样性和学生在研究生院的参与度。 通过为期 10 周的暑期本科生研究体验，GI4SurE REU 网站旨在：(1) 推动有关绿色基础设施 (GI) 对可持续城市水的贡献的科学知识，以及 (2) 提供高质量的专业和社会氛围，让与会者接受基础研究方法和批判性思维的教育。在教师导师的指导下，学生将进行实地、实验室和/或建模研究，以探索 GI 如何发挥作用，减轻城市径流对地表水质量和水文的影响。绿色基础设施被认为是建设更好基础设施的一种方式，是美国国家工程院恢复和改善城市基础设施重大挑战的一部分，使其成为重要的研究课题。 REU 学生将接触最先进的技术和融合研究，通过在项目子集中纳入非工程合作导师来解决考虑社会、水文、生态和/或经济成果的复杂问题。通过有针对性的招聘策略，该 REU 网站将促进传统上代表性不足的群体参与本科工程研究。学生将获得研究方法、沟通、融合方法以及团队环境中工作的技能，这对他们的职业生涯来说是无价的。此外，接触对拥有高级学位的个人开放的各种职业道路将有助于他们确定自己想要的职业道路，无论是学术界、工业界、政府还是非政府组织。 REU 对地理标志知识的贡献将是无价的。由于全国范围内正在花费数十亿美元通过使用地理标志来减少城市化的影响，因此迫切需要更好地了解和优化其性能，以使这些努力更加科学。总体而言，REU 旨在在参与者和教师之间建立直接、持久的指导关系，以及在队列中的人员之间建立长期关系。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。