Overview
This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award will train a corps of doctoral students to become the leaders needed to develop innovative adaptive strategies to respond to unprecedented challenges as a result of climate change. Changes in the hydrologic cycle are expected to decrease the supply of safe water, forcing vulnerable populations in poor countries to drink dirty water, leading to increased disease. Food production will become scarcer as unsustainable groundwater withdrawals are affected by increased drought. As contaminants continue to flow into water bodies and hydrodynamic patterns adjust to climate change, the coastal fisheries upon which human populations depend for food will face increased problems of eutrophication and anoxia. Integrated strategies are needed for predicting and adapting to climate driven stressors on water resources and human health. Among these strategies are smart growth land use practices resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions or water infrastructure systems that conserve water and energy.
Program Goals
• Provide a unique multidisciplinary education in water resource management, environmental health, climate change science, and systems integration
• Increase graduate enrollment of underrepresented groups in climate, water, and health science careers
• Expose all IGERT students to real world problems both domestically and internationally, including field work in the Chesapeake and the Amazon or Nile River basins
• Provide career development and leadership experiences in a variety of venues, from instructing K12 students to reaching out to leaders in the field for research and professional advice.
Interdisciplinary Dissertation Research Themes
• The influence of climate on health and on food security
• The transport of, exposure to, and health impact of contaminants and pathogens
• Advanced water treatment
• Infrastructure, environmental systems, and policy analysis
• Estuarine water quality at the watershed level and intersections with climate
Opportunities
• WCH IGERT Fellows will receive an annual $30,000 stipend and full support for tuition, fees, and health insurance for 2 years. Other support opportunities will be available beyond the IGERT for the completion of degrees within participating departments.
• IGERT trainees participate in a colloquium where they will be engaged in discussions of current issues with invited participants who are experts in the particular area of discussion
• Mentorship provided by faculty from different departments in the Schools of Engineering, Arts and Sciences and Public Health
• Expose all IGERT students to real world problems both domestically and internationally, including field work in the Chesapeake and the Amazon or Nile River basins
• Participation in domestic and international field studies
• Participation in outreach activities with local high schools
• Specific training in communication skills
• Funding to attend scientific conferences
• Opportunities for external internships
Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for NSF IGERT financial support.