Developing Global Scientists and Engineers Through the Study of Mercury Environmental Issues in South Africa: IRES

该奖项资助了一个国际学生研究经验项目，重点关注南非与汞有关的环境问题。来自人为来源的汞在区域和全球的再分配及其随后转化为甲基汞，已经影响到世界各地的野生动物种群，并导致人类健康问题。人们对南非境内汞和甲基汞的分布情况知之甚少，由于南非的工业化、大规模能源生产严重依赖煤炭以及居民广泛使用煤炭，其影响可能很大。因此，该项目旨在研究这些现象，并使美国学生能够参与大型研究项目并开发相关的个人项目，从而进一步提高他们的研究和教育经验。四名学生将每三年访问一次南非，在大开普敦和工业化豪登省/马普马兰加地区的研究区域工作，测量空气、水、土壤和生物区的汞浓度和物种形成。美国的学生和教师团队将与博士合作。科学和工业研究委员会的乔伊·利纳，斯泰伦博斯大学的安德鲁·克劳奇博士和夸祖鲁-纳塔尔大学的罗珊·迪亚布博士。这些研究将为年轻科学家提供一个独特的机会，让他们参与全球环境问题，同时促进与一个快速发展的非洲国家的科学家的联系。这项研究将促进知识和专业技能的转移，并加强两国科学家之间的合作，但将重点放在对年轻的美国科学家，特别是女性和少数族裔学生的教育和指导上。这项工作将成为学生的本科和研究生研究论文的基础，并将在同行评审的文献中发表，并通过网络和其他机制提供。

This award funds an International Research Experience for Students project focused on mercury-related environmental issues in South Africa. The regional and global redistribution of mercury (Hg) from anthropogenically-derived sources, and its subsequent conversion to methylmercury, has impacted wildlife populations worldwide and has resulted in human health concerns. There is little knowledge of Hg and methylmercury distribution within South Africa, where the impacts could be large due to its industrialization, heavy reliance on coal for large-scale energy production, and extensive residential use of coal. This project is therefore designed to examine these phenomena and to enable US students to participate in a large-scale research project and to develop related individual projects, thus furthering their research and education experience. Four students will visit South Africa in each of three years, working in study areas in the greater Cape Town and the industrialized Gauteng/Mapumalanga regions to measure mercury concentration and speciation in air, water, soils, and biota. The US team of students and faculty will collaborate with Drs. Joy Leaner at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr. Andrew Crouch at Stellenbosch Univeristy and Roseanne Diab at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.These studies will provide a unique opportunity for young scientists to be involved in a global environmental problem while fostering links with scientists in a rapidly developing African nation. The study will facilitate the transfer of knowledge and expertise and enhance collaborations between scientists in both countries, but with a strong focus on the education and mentoring of young US scientists, especially women and minority students. The work will provide the backbone of the students' undergraduate and graduate research theses, and will be published in the peer-reviewed literature and made available through the web and other mechanisms.