NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AIDS UNM CIVIL ENGINEERING RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN BOSQUE

July 14, 2003

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AIDS UNM CIVIL ENGINEERING RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN BOSQUE
Two-thirds of participating students under-represented in engineering field

The UNM Civil Engineering Department is conducting research along the Rio Grande bosque, which could play a significant role in its reformation process. Ten undergraduate students from across the United States are involved with this summer’s research program, which is underwritten by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.

The research is centered on the historical and cultural value of water, the shifting paradigm of water in the west, river and riparian restoration strategies, sustainability of water resources and the interdisciplinary nature of water resources engineering along the middle Rio Grande.

The NSF REU program fits well into the multi-disciplinary water-related research being conducted by the UNM Civil Engineering Department.

“This opportunity is both timely and pertinent to issues relating to the recent fires and changes along the Middle Rio Grande corridor,” said Julie Coonrod, assistant professor, Civil Engineering. “We intend to continue our adoption of the Atrisco site and explore research opportunities dealing with soil moisture, river bank stability, infiltration and evaporation, water quality, sediment transport and the use of remote sensing. Three project teams are researching specific issues associated with the Middle Rio Grande. One team is working at the Atrisco site.

“At this restoration site, we are currently monitoring bank erosion where 40 feet of Russian Olive trees have been removed from the bank. Information from this project will be useful in determining if exotic species removal should include those trees that are along the river bank The other project teams are conducting research related to measuring soil evaporation at sites that were established by the
UNM Department of Biology. While there has been much recent attention on water depletions by trees, there is little known about how much water moves upward from the shallow ground water table to the soil surface and evaporates. Depending on soil conditions and water table level, a significant amount of water can be lost through the soils regardless of vegetation.”

Each student works as part of a research team that includes other REU students, graduate students and faculty. The research teams form a collaborative environment that enables mentoring and interdependent research. Simultaneously, each student is expected to learn to work independently over the course of the summer as individual contributions to the research is expected. The project encourages development of presentation and writing skills by requiring progress and final reports in the form of oral, visual, and written presentations that are critiqued by the faculty.

The Civil Engineering Department has received NSF-REU site awards since 1990. During the last three years, the research has centered around water-related issues. Many of the research sites along the bosque were initiated with NASA funding to the Department of Biology and the Department of Civil Engineering. The two departments continue to collaborate in trying to better understand Middle Rio Grande water depletions through the bosque.

“The NSF-REU projects have made positive impacts on participants’ perception of research and graduate school,” said Coonrod. “We have consistently received a strong, diverse applicant pool. More than half our students have been women while one third of our students are from racial and ethnic minority groups, resulting in approximately two thirds of our participants being from groups that are under-represented in engineering.”

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