CREST Phase II: Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment (CAChE)

水生化学和环境中心科学与技术卓越研究中心(CREST)计划通过建立有效整合教育和研究的中心，支持增强少数群体服务机构的研究能力。CREST促进了新知识的发展，提高了个别教师的研究效率，并扩大了在科学、技术、工程和数学学科中历来代表性不足的学生的存在。在国家科学基金会的支持下，佛罗里达国际大学加强了他们的水化学和环境中心。第二阶段中心将检测能力扩展到未知和新出现的污染物，包括自然和人为污染物，以及研究生态系统。中心研究人员开发新技术，以改善包括淡水、沿海和城市环境在内的一系列生态系统中的水质分析和污染物检测，并提供这些污染物对生态系统功能影响的数据。该中心将研究范围扩大到包括城市化梯度沿线的水生系统。通过设计可以探测难以到达城市地区的新型传感器和自动船只，该中心收集关于新出现的污染物的连续和接近实时的数据。第二阶段从关注污染物的检测和传输，转向对这些污染物在生物体、群落和种群水平上的影响的机械性理解。第二阶段采用理解生命规则的概念方法，统一了多个尺度，并整合了化学、生物学、地球系统、计算机科学、工程和建筑等全校范围的课程。该中心实施了一项严格的教育计划，该计划建立在第一阶段的经验教训的基础上。该中心增加了一个本科生研究员计划。正规和非正规教育计划使学生能够交流他们的研究成果，并为未来的STEM劳动力做准备。中心培训包括核心专业技能，以及了解复杂环境问题所需工具的微观证书，包括机器人、下一代传感器开发、大数据分析、虚拟现实和人工智能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Center for Aquatic Chemistry and EnvironmentThe Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) program supports the enhancement of research capabilities of minority-serving institutions through the establishment of centers that effectively integrate education and research. CREST promotes the development of new knowledge, enhancements of the research productivity of individual faculty, and an expanded presence of students historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. With National Science Foundation support, Florida International University strengthens their Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment. The Phase II Center expands detection capabilities to unknown and novel emerging contaminants, both natural and anthropogenic, as well as ecosystems of study. Center researchers develop new technologies for improving water quality analysis and contaminant detection in a range of ecosystems, including freshwater, coastal, and urban environments, as well as provide data on the impacts of these contaminants on ecosystem function. The Center expands the study area to include aquatic systems along an urbanization gradient. By designing novel sensors and autonomous vessels that can explore difficult to reach urban areas, the Center collects continuous and near real-time data on emerging contaminants. Phase II moves from a focus on detection and transport of contaminants, to a mechanistic understanding of the impacts of these contaminants at the organismal, community, and population levels. Using an Understanding the Rules of Life conceptual approach, Phase II unifies across multiple scales, as well as integrates campus-wide programs in Chemistry, Biology, Earth Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, and Architecture. The Center implements a rigorous education program that builds on lessons learned during Phase I. The Center adds an undergraduate research fellows’ program. Formal and informal education programs prepare students to communicate the results of their research and for the future STEM workforce. Center training includes core professional skills, as well as micro-credentials in tools necessary to understand complex environmental problems, including robotics, next generation sensor development, big-data analytics, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.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.