Research Expericences for Undergraduates in Water Resources Engineering - Rio Grande Restoration and Related Issues

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

0243710 Coonrod This award funds a three-year Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the University of New Mexico for eight students for research opportunities in water resources engineering. The program is designed as a nine-week summer experience. Students will learn about the historical and cultural value of water, the shifting paradigm of water in the west, river and riparian restoration strategies, sustainability of water resources, and the interdisciplinary nature of water resources engineering while working on specific research projects. The research opportunities for student participants are both timely and pertinent to issues related to changes along the Middle Rio Grande Corridor in New Mexico. Students will be engaged in fieldwork along the Middle Rio Grande Corridor, a site adopted by the university for the city of Albuquerque and used as a research and education tool. Each student will work as part of a research team to study a component of the field site such as bank stabilization or soil evaporation. The research teams will include REU students, graduate students, and faculty. The research teams will serve as a collaborative environment that enables mentoring and interdependent research. Students will be recruited from across the United States with a special aim of increasing the participation of students from groups underrepresented in research fields in engineering.