CREST Center for Water and the Environment, Phase II

科学和技术卓越研究中心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。在美国国家科学基金会（National Science Foundation）的支持下，新墨西哥大学将在水与环境第一阶段中心取得的成就的基础上，扩大和调整与水有关的研究，提出新的研究问题，建立新的合作机构，并强调招收和留住美洲原住民学生。第二阶段水与环境中心的目标是：(1)对水与环境问题的技术解决方案进行创新研究，(2)增加科学和工程专业中代表性不足的群体的参与，以及(3)在新墨西哥大学建立与水有关的研究机构能力。第二阶段中心将产生关于干旱环境中水的可用性、管理和处理的知识。该中心有三个相互关联的子项目，侧重于流域的水文过程、水质和处理以及耦合的水-能相互作用。连接这些子项目的统一研究主题是下游和农村社区水质的保护和恢复。流域和野火子项目调查了野火后流经流域的水的数量和质量的时空变化。处理技术子项目研究了利用生物膜和膜去除天然水体和废水中的营养物和新出现的污染物，以及小型社区如何克服再利用的障碍。水和能源子项目调查能源生产和消费对环境的影响，包括采矿遗产对美洲原住民社区的影响，水力压裂可能导致地下水污染的机制，以及能源开发，自然资源保护和社区发展之间的复杂动态。在继续关注拉美裔美国人的同时，水与环境中心将通过与几个以美洲原住民为重点的组织合作开展外展活动，增加美洲原住民在科学和工程专业领域的参与。该中心将解决水和环境问题，这是影响公众健康和经济发展的广泛社会问题，特别是在干旱的美国西南部。中心的研究将通过开发干旱地区水资源管理的技术和战略，使全球各地的社区受益。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。

The Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology program supports the enhancement of research capabilities of minority-serving institutions through the establishment of centers that effectively integrate education and research. With National Science Foundation support, the University of New Mexico will build on the accomplishments of their Phase I Center for Water and the Environment by expanding and redirecting water-related research with new research questions, new partnership institutions, and an emphasis on recruiting and retaining Native American students. Objectives of the Phase II Center for Water and the Environment are to (1) conduct innovative research on technological solutions to problems with water and the environment, (2) increase the participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering professions, and (3) build institutional capacity for water-related research at the University of New Mexico. The Phase II Center will generate knowledge about the availability, management, and treatment of water in arid environments. The Center has three interrelated subprojects that focus on hydrologic processes in watersheds, water quality and treatment, and coupled water-energy interactions. The unifying research theme that connects these subprojects is the protection and restoration of water quality for downstream and rural communities. The Watersheds and Wildfires subproject investigates the temporal and spatial variability in the quantity and quality of water as it moves through the watershed following a wildfire. The Treatment Technologies subproject investigates the removal of contaminants such as nutrients and emerging contaminants from natural waters and wastewaters using biofilms and membranes as well as how small communities can overcome barriers to reuse. The Water and Energy subproject investigates the environmental impacts of energy generation and consumption, including the effects of mining legacy on Native American communities, the mechanisms by which hydraulic fracturing can contribute to groundwater contamination, and the complex dynamics between energy development, natural resource protection, and community development.While retaining attention on Hispanic Americans, the Center for Water and the Environment will increase Native American participation in science and engineering professions by partnering with several Native American-focused organizations to conduct outreach. The Center will address problems with water and the environment, which are broad societal concerns that affect public health and economic development, particularly in the arid southwestern US. Center research will benefit communities across the globe by developing technologies and strategies for managing water in arid regions.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.