Overview of the Undergraduate Research
Program (NSF-REU) at Washington University in St. Louis
Environmental scientists and engineers work at the interface between humans and the environment. In addition to studying the effects of human activities on the environment, they design systems to minimize the harmful impacts of those activities, protect public health by providing a reliable supply of safe water, restore contaminated environments to conditions that are protective of human health and sensitive ecosystems, and create opportunities for sustainable development. Because efficient allocation of society’s resources depends on the availability of reliable information on the environmental impacts of human activities and sound analysis of alternative actions, environmental scientists and engineers should participate in the development of public policy on environmental issues. An ability to clearly communicate the results and conclusions of environmental research to policy makers and the general public—including the level and source of the uncertainty associated with these results and conclusions—is critical for effective participation of scientists and engineers in policy debates.
Environmental systems are inherently complex, often involving multimedia transport and transformations by processes that are poorly understood or difficult to fully characterize. As a result, experimentation and modeling are important tools for determining the fate of contaminants of concern in specific environments and for predicting the performance of pollution-control technology on specific waste streams. As such, analysis of experimental data is an important skill for all environmental scientists and engineers, regardless of whether they are involved in research, environmental monitoring and compliance, or design of pollution-control facilities. Therefore, training in procedures for the proper collection and interpretation of data is a critical component of the education of students wishing to pursue careers as environmental professionals. Participation in research is a powerful mechanism for providing this training, particularly in environmental engineering and science, where the problem-solving skills developed in research can be directly applied to many of the issues that are frequently encountered in professional practice.
The Environmental Engineering Science Program at Washington University in St. Louis consists of nine faculty in three departments. Although the research interests of the faculty are diverse, the Program is united by a common focus on data analysis in support of technology development, design, and policy decisions. Data may be derived from well-controlled laboratory experiments, dedicated field monitoring programs, or public databases (e.g., regulatory monitoring networks), but similar issues with respect to data quality, representativeness, and study design must be considered in all cases. Data interpretation is assisted by statistical analysis and mathematical modeling, both of which require a clear understanding of the limitations imposed by the data, the methods used in data collection, and the assumptions on which the mathematical procedures are based.
The proposed Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program will provide students with a structured introduction to experimental design, data collection, and data analysis and provide them with an opportunity to apply these principles to significant research projects in environmental science and engineering. The specific goals of this program are to provide undergraduate students with: (1) a meaningful introduction to environmental engineering research, (2) training in and practical experience with experimental design, data collection, and data analysis and its application in environmental engineering and science, (3) an opportunity to develop their abilities to communicate technical information in a professional manner through written reports and oral presentations, (4) exposure to real-world applications of environmental data collection and analysis through visits to local environmental engineering facilities, including municipal water and wastewater treatment plants, hazardous waste remediation sites, and industries that use significant pollution-control or waste-minimization processes, and (5) encouragement to pursue advanced degrees in science or engineering.
The ten-week
summer program will run from early June to August and will involve three major
activities focused on data collection and analysis: (1) an independent, faculty-supervised research project, (2)
a series of workshops and seminars on data analysis and experimental design, and
(3) visits to environmental engineering facilities that use data collection and
analysis for process control, performance monitoring, or site characterization.
In addition, the students will develop their written and oral technical
communication skills by preparing and presenting biweekly written and oral
reports on their research progress. Feedback
on all of these activities will be solicited from the participating students and
faculty and used as input to the annual project evaluation, which will be
completed by early September. The
results of the evaluation will be used to modify the program or
recruiting/participant selection process for the following year.
Environmental Engineering Science Program