REU Site: Aquatic Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (ASET) REU at Clarkson University

Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York will host a new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program called Aquatic Science, Engineering, and Technology (ASET). The program will bring ten undergraduates to Clarkson each summer for a ten-week research experience during the summers of 2023-2025. ASET will focus on the Great Lakes-St.

Lawrence River watershed environmental research. REU interns will have opportunities to conduct research in a range of disciplines organized in broad categories of 1) Aquatic Natural Sciences, 2) Aquatic Sustainability Sciences and 3) Aquatic Resource Engineering. The ASET Scholars’ research experiences will address high-need and emerging areas in aquatic natural and sustainability sciences and engineering with an integrative learning community through training, research, seminars, professional development, and social activities.

The program includes a programmatic emphasis on Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River. Student recruitment will develop cohorts that are diverse in perspective, discipline, and demographics.

The program goals are to 1) develop a Scholar’s research experience; 2) develop a diverse, supportive, and inclusive learning community; 3) strengthen Scholars’ skills to create and evaluate communication products; 4) foster Scholars’ evaluation of the ethical and legal aspects in research; 5) validate the Scholars' academic path and facilitate degree completion in a STEM-related field; and 6) encourage Scholars to choose a career in STEM in aquatics.

ASET will expose students to a broad spectrum of aquatic sciences, engineering, and technology topics providing students with exposure to deep disciplinary perspectives in a research environment, while immersing them in an inclusive interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary learning environment. Students will have the opportunity to conduct research with faculty whose work focuses on topics such as bioanalytical chemistry, electrochemistry, biosensing and environmental nanotechnology; mapping landscapes with ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity and seismic reflection; the fate and transport of emerging contaminants in the Great Lakes; ecohydraulics, harmful algae blooms in aquatic systems, as well as other aquatic science related topics.

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.