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）站点项目中，绿色基础设施促进可持续城市环境（GI4SUrE），一个多元化的队列将参与支持绿色基础设施发展的研究，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连接的自然空间，如公园、河岸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。参加此REU的学生将有机会提高他们的研究和批判性思维技能，同时通过口头和书面媒介加强他们与技术和非技术受众沟通的能力。额外的经验包括接触新的导师，接触到工程研究生学位可能带来的各种职业道路，以及如何与学科以外的同事合作、学习、沟通和考虑他们的观点的培训。该项目将通过向传统上未被充分代表的科学和工程群体提供机会，改善工程专业的多样性和学生在研究生院的参与。通过为期10周的本科生暑期研究经历，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；(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功能如何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的基础设施的一种方式，是美国国家工程院修复和改善城市基础设施的大挑战的一部分，使其成为一个重要的研究课题。REU的学生将接触到最先进的技术和融合研究，在项目的一个子集中包括非工程共同导师，以解决考虑社会，水文，生态和/或经济结果的复杂问题。通过有针对性的招聘策略，这个REU网站将支持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、趋同方法和团队工作方面的技能，这些对他们的专业努力将是非常宝贵的。此外，接触各种向高学历个人开放的职业道路将帮助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。由于在全国范围内花费了数十亿美元，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打算在参与者和教师之间建立直接、持久的指导关系，并在队列中建立长期关系。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。