NRT-HDR: WaterCube: Big Data Water Science for Sustainability and Equity

Large and complex real-world water resource problems are affecting human well-being across the globe. These problems are exacerbated by climate change, aging infrastructure, emerging contaminants, and poor decision-making. Recent examples in the United States include: the Flint water crisis; the years-long unsafe drinking water in Jackson, Mississippi; the Colorado River crisis; wide-spread contamination of water with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); and prolonged drought followed by a extreme flooding in California.

Advances in sensors, robotics, genomics, and computational modeling are resulting in the big data necessary to confront these challenges available at all scales. What is needed is a workforce capable of translating these big data and complex research outputs into meaningful restorative actions through partnerships with diverse stakeholders, interest groups, and policymakers.

This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to Michigan State University (MSU) will develop a collaborative graduate-training paradigm for advancing data revolution-enabled water sustainability through an equity lens. Building on synergistic, interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty from thirteen departments across seven colleges, the project anticipates training 58 Ph.D. students, including 33 NRT-funded trainees, from engineering, computer science, biology, ecology, public health, and social science.

This NRT program will produce a highly competent workforce with the broad technological, scientific, and cultural skills needed to address current and future water challenges. Through focused effort on broadening participation in this critical area, students from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds will be trained to become successful research and policy leaders.

This NRT program will immerse students in a holistic approach to training and convergent research where engineers, computer scientists, biologists, ecologists, and social scientists work together to solve water problems of paramount significance. Such a convergent research paradigm promises progress in addressing critical challenges in water sustainability and equity, examples of which include understanding and mitigating harmful algal blooms, advancing wastewater surveillance to monitor outbreaks of infectious diseases, and engaging disadvantaged communities in data-enabled water research to support equitable outcomes.

A graduate certificate program on Data-enabled Water Sustainability and Equity will provide training that integrates data science, water science, and environmental equity. Through dialogue-based team science workshops, cohorts will reflect on disciplinary differences and similarities and learn to communicate and collaborate in cross-disciplinary partnerships.

This NRT program will develop robust, structured mechanisms for providing experiential learning for trainees, such as internships and international research experiences. Outreach and other professional development activities will allow the trainees to gain skills in effective mentoring, leadership, and communication.

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.  

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.