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This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award supports inter-disciplinary graduate training in research that can improve water quantity and quality, thereby reducing exposure to waterborne diseases, increasing potable water supplies, and improving human well-being. Water is an increasingly important factor in determining human well-being in… more »

This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award supports inter-disciplinary graduate training in research that can improve water quantity and quality, thereby reducing exposure to waterborne diseases, increasing potable water supplies, and improving human well-being. Water is an increasingly important factor in determining human well-being in the future, as the world’s population increases from 6.5 billion to 9 billion by 2050. As the developing world’s population urbanizes, the demand for water worldwide will increase significantly. Since water scarcity has a direct link to water contamination, the future outlook for water-related morbidity and mortality is bleak, especially in the absence of major public interventions. Water scarcity also portends worldwide political instability as more people and nations compete for this vital resource.

Intellectual Merit: Multidisciplinary teams will integrate their disciplinary knowledge towards solution of the complex and severe water problems in the California-Mexico border region. Five major research themes have been identified: public education, water policy/management, water-borne contaminant detection/effects, vector/disease control, and water treatment and remediation. Through coursework and collaborative team projects with government agencies, trainees will experience the translation of research outcomes to implemented public policy.

Broader Impacts: The Water SENSE IGERT will produce scholars who can work in leadership positions in government, private, and nonprofit organizations interested in improving community health and child development outcomes via improved water supply, utilization, and management. Students will be trained in all aspects of water and waterborne disease management, including designing, executing and evaluating water-based interventions in close consultation with – and the active participation of – the intended beneficiaries. Other goals are to increase recruitment and retention, and to increase the ethnic diversity, of students in NSF-supported disciplines.

IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to establish new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries, and to engage students in understanding the processes by which research is translated to innovations for societal benefit. « less