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

卓越科学技术研究中心（CREST）计划通过建立有效整合教育和研究的中心，支持提高为少数民族服务的机构的研究能力。CREST促进了新知识的发展，提高了个别教师的研究生产力，扩大了在科学、技术、工程和数学学科中历史上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生化学和环境中心。二期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。中心的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的水质分析和污染物检测，并提供有关这些污染物对生态系统功能影响的数据。该中心扩大了研究区域，包括沿城市化梯度的水生系统。通过设计新颖的传感器和自主船只，该中心可以探索难以到达的城市地区，收集有关新出现污染物的连续和接近实时的数据。第二阶段将重点从污染物的检测和运输转移到对这些污染物在有机体、社区和人口层面上的影响的机制理解。使用理解生命规则的概念方法，第二阶段统一了多个尺度，并整合了化学、生物、地球系统、计算机科学、工程和建筑等校园范围内的课程。中心在第一阶段的基础上实施了严格的教育计划。中心增加了一个本科生研究人员计划。正规和非正规教育项目使学生能够交流他们的研究成果，并为未来的STEM劳动力做好准备。中心的培训包括核心专业技能，以及理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。

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.