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NSF grant supports summer research experience at WKU

Date: Monday, June 25th, 2012

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WKU’s Department of Chemistry and Department of Geography and Geology are hosting a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.

The REU grant provides a fully supported, intensive 10-week research experience for those students selected for the research program. The unifying environmental theme of this site is focused on land use and land cover and its impacts on water in a karst hydrogeologic, geomorphic and atmospheric context.

The primary field site is the Upper Green River Watershed and Mammoth Cave National Park, a World Heritage Site. This REU site, currently in its sixth year, was one of the first NSF REU sites that focused on multidisciplinary research. Additionally, this is the first NSF REU Site that has positions dedicated to students from an Academy such as the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at WKU.

All of the proposed research projects have national and global applications. The research components are all directly related to water quality, contaminant transport, and near-surface atmospheric water cycling. Understanding caves and karst hydrology is critically important because 10 percent of the Earth’s surface is occupied by karst landscape and as much as a quarter of the world’s population depends upon water supplied from karst areas.

Participants in the program include the following:

Contact: Dr. Cathleen Webb, (270) 745-3457.