REU Site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates - Program in Water Research at Colorado State University

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators

Abstract

The REU Program in Water Research at CSU recruits up to 15 outstanding undergraduate students from water-related programs at CSU, from other four-year institutions in Colorado and across the nation, and up to 3 high school teachers to carry out multidisciplinary research in water at CSU. The characteristics of the institutions targeted are: 1) they have programs that prepare students for waterrelated careers, 2) they have limited opportunities for student research, and 3) they have high percentages of students from under-represented groups. Each participant will undertake an individual research project under the supervision of a faculty member, typically as a member of a group that includes one or more graduate students. Students will participate in a series of seminars and discussions by invited speakers addressing water issues, including issues of ethics in water resources and other topics of interest. Several field excursions will introduce students to some of Colorado's and the U.S.'s most pressing water problems. Students will complete their research during the 8-week summer program, preparing a written report and presenting their results orally to their peers in an end-of-summer REU symposium/celebration. Selected students will participate in the Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium, an annual university wide celebration of undergraduate research at CSU. Finally, all students will be invited, expenses paid, to attend CSU's annual AGU Hydrology Days, a professional forum held in mid-March each year. Students will a) develop a greater interest in water resource issues and in pursuing graduate studies or a career in this area; b) learn all aspects of the process of scientific research; c) understand the interdisciplinary nature of water resource issues, and gain some knowledge of related issues outside their area of specialization; d) understand ethics issues in the pursuit of scientific and engineering research and in the development of public policy; and e) develop a greater appreciation of the impacts of gender, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors on the conduct of research and resolution of water resource issues. The site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.