April 15, 2009

For more newsletters, visit the H₂OSU index: http://water.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/.

The IWW'S Future. Just to set the record straight, despite what you may have heard and what I may have originally told you - the IWW will live on after 30 June 2009. This is great news! A number of people have been working hard to make this happen. We will keep you posted.

I have resigned effective that date, and will assume a faculty position in the Department of Geosciences in Fall 2009.

The Oregon Water List (TOWL), the WaterWired blog, and WaterWired on Twitter will be unaffected by any of this.

Now We Know: ‘Groundwater’ is One Word. A few weeks ago, Dr. William Alley, the chief of the USGS Office of Groundwater, sent out a missive reporting that as of 1 August 2009, the USGS will spell ‘groundwater’ as a single word. Many of you probably missed this, and now that you know, are greeting this proclamation with a huge yawn. But for many in the groundwater profession, the debate over “one word vs. two” was a big deal. Over the years, the controversy has resulted in acrimonious debates, shouting matches, editorials, letters to the editor, and fisticuffs (or so I’ve heard). My wife, a librarian specializing in electronic searching, sighed, “It’s about time!” and then explained the problem when you search “ground water” vs. “groundwater”.

After I wrote a rather accepting post on WaterWired, one of my colleagues accused me of acquiescing to the further dumbing-down of the English language. I responded by addressing him as “thee” and ”thou”. So I suspect that for some, the debate will continue.

The whole kerfuffle reminds me of something that happened to me over 25 years ago. While proofreading a joint proposal written by a consultant colleague of mine, I dutifully crossed out the word “permeability” and substituted “hydraulic conductivity”. I explained my rationale as he puzzled over my edits. Then he looked up and said, “Oh, I see. Why use one word when two will do?” We left “permeability” in, and the funding agency approved our proposal.

Fifth World Water Forum (5WWF). You might not have known that the world was in the midst of an economic crisis. Why? Well, about 30,000 people gathered in Istanbul 16-22 March for the triennial World Water Forum. The meetings are held under the aegis of the World Water Council and organized by the host country. This one was the fifth since the meetings started in 1997 in Marrakech, Morocco. The Istanbul one was my second; I attended the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto in 2003.

The theme of this year’s forum, Bridging Divides for Water, was appropriate for Istanbul and Turkey, as both span Europe and Asia. Even the two venues for the 5WWF were separated by a small waterway, The Golden Horn, an arm of the Bosphorous.  So we had a 15-minute walk from one meeting hall to the other over a footbridge.  Quite symbolic, if somewhat inconvenient.

But the divides alluded to were far more than geographic, referring to: political, cultural, legal, social, developmental, technical, economic, etc.

Security was tight at the 5WWF. There were supposedly 5,000 police assigned to the Forum. Plainclothes police dressed as attendees were ubiquitous inside the venues. The joke was that no one realized that ‘Polis’ was such a common Turkish surname. Uniformed police with weapons were at the entry points, which resembled airport security facilities. Some thought this overkill, but with twenty or so heads-of-state and even more ministers present the Turks were not leaving anything to chance.

The meeting began on the wrong foot, as Turkish police had to use water cannons to disperse ‘water justice’ demonstrators. I thought to myself that the demonstrators were fortunate that it wasn’t the World Munitions Forum. Later, two women from International Rivers, a German and an American, were taken into custody for unfurling a banner at the official opening ceremony. They were given a choice between a possible prison sentence and immediate deportation. They probably saw Midnight Express since they opted for the latter.
Aside from events for hoi polloi, a number of ministerial-level meetings occurred, culminating in the eagerly-awaited ministerial statement. Many were disappointed that this year’s ministerial statement did not recognize a human right to water. It did recognize that water was a 'basic need.' Pretty profound - a third-grader could have promulgated as much.

Groundwater assumed a more prominent role at the 5WWF. In past fora, efforts to get groundwater on the agenda were largely rebuffed or marginalized. It’s still amazing to me that the world’s largest source of fresh unfrozen water is often given short shrift at these kinds of conferences. Things should change for the better in the sense that groundwater will be integrated into the sessions (the way it should be) and not completely isolated in its own sessions, unless the subject matter warrants.

The economy was certainly on people’s minds. There was concern that the world's economic troubles will encourage countries to turn (further) inward and become less accommodating to their neighbors. Perhaps conflict over water could result. A greater likelihood is that developed countries will reduce the aid they provide to developing countries. I heard an African say that to reach the water, sanitation, and hygiene Millennium Development Goals by 2015 requires $34.5B per year. That is not a lot of money - really. Will we step up? Or will 2015 arrive indistinguishable from the present?

But as one wag noted, the world's economic woes could provide the catalyst for rethinking the way we do things. We humans seem to respond better to crises; perhaps some good can come out of all this in terms of the way we manage and use water and address water issues.

The next WWF will be held in either Marseilles or Durban, South Africa. Holding it in the latter city would send an excellent message to the developing world, especially sub-Saharan Africa.  So may the year 2012 bring some real good news, preferably in Durban. I'm optimistic. [Note: In the interests of disclosure, I attended a big dinner bash hosted by the South Africans.]

If you want more information (filtered through me) about the Forum, including downloads of some presentations, visit the WaterWired blog and view the appropriate (ten, I believe) posts between 15 March – 2 April. 

ICIWaRM Update. At 5WWF our USACE Institute for Water Resources (IWR) colleagues - Robert Pietrowsky, Gene Stakhiv, and Will Logan – updated us on the status of the International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM). My Colorado counterpart Reagan Waskom and Evan Vlachos (Colorado State University), Juan Valdes (University of Arizona) and I heard good news with respect to ICIWaRM’s application to UNESCO to gain status as North America’s only UNESCO Category II Centre. The application is in Paris at UNESCO headquarters and should be acted upon in October 2009. The IWR is actively pursuing joint projects on behalf of all the partners and it looks like this partnership will bear much fruit in the near future.

Till next month,

Michael

"He who speaks truth must have one foot in the stirrup." -- Turkish proverb

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To John Selker, professor, Biological and Ecological Engineering. From an 80-applicant pool, the American Geophysical Union has selected BEE professor John Selker to serve a 4-year term as one of five editors for Water Resources Research. WRR is internationally recognized as the leading journal for research in the social and natural sciences of water. (excerpt from Momentum, COE's newsletter)

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Blue Gold: Have the Next Resource Wars Begun? (The Nation, 3/31/09) - What's more than likely is the water crisis will continue to get worse," said Aaron Wolf, a professor of geography at Oregon State University and a specialist in transnational water disputes.

Water Without Borders - (OSU Headline News, 3/25/09) Read about OSU students' experiences as they travel through the Middle East. The group, all of whom are members of the Oregon State Geo Club or Hydrophiles, is blogging about the trip, which includes meeting with stakeholders, as well as with groups like Friends of the Earth Middle East, an organization that makes tremendous progress in water conflict management.

Workshops target low-impact development, protecting watersheds (Oregonian, 3/23/09) - The Oregon Environment Council is staging a series of low-impact development workshops in Oregon's growing communities. The workshops, in partnership with the Oregon State University Extension/Oregon Sea Grant, cover sustainable stormwater management practices to protect watersheds from urban runoff.

Strategic Industry Partnership Will Boost OSU Surveying Initiative (OSU News and Communications Services, 3/18/09) – The School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Oregon State University is forming a partnership with two industry-leading companies to help address the need for more geospatial surveying professionals and embrace the trend toward “geomatics,” as this age-old profession evolves in an era of sophisticated 3-D data flow, remote sensing, and other new technologies. OSU has signed a memorandum of understanding with David Evans and Associates, Inc., and Leica Geosystems, Inc.

Do nations go to war over water? (Nature, 3/19/09) - Researchers, such as Aaron Wolf at Oregon State University, Corvallis, and Nils Petter Gleditsch at the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, point out that predictions of armed conflict come from the media and from popular, non-peer-reviewed work.

Cracks In The Earth A Danger For Global Warming (Green Prophet, 3/18/09) - Hydrologist Dr. Noam Weisbrod’s research is providing the basic knowledge that can help in solving this crisis by understanding how pollutants reach the subsurface and how they behave underground...Weisbrod found the multidisciplinary challenges in this field exciting. It involved the interface between chemistry, physics, flow behavior and material properties, against the politically charged backdrop of social, commercial and governmental inputs. All these aspects came into play during his postdoctoral studies at the Department of Bioengineering [now Biological and Ecological Engineering] at Oregon State University, where he worked at a government nuclear waste site in Washington state.

Californian groups clash over geothermal water use - Renewable energy plant pulled into row over water supplies and impact on local habitats ( BusinessGreen, 3/13/09) - Michael Campana, director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds at Oregon State University, has lived most of his life in the southwest of the country. He warned of the need for strict governance in any water-based agreements between municipalities and private companies. "There have to be real clear ground rules and expectations about what the private companies can and can't do, and there also needs to be oversight," he warned. "You just can't turn over everything lock stock and barrel to the company and let them walk away, and not keep your eye on it."

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Jennifer in the field.

Jennifer Holderman, is the first OSU water resources graduate student to combine her master's studies with a law degree. Jennifer is jointly enrolled in the OSU Water Resources Science program and the University of Oregon's School of Law -- she will finish with a joint JD/MS degree. Jennifer took on this program to study how the structural constraints of law attempt to resolve disputes over an inherently dynamic substance like water. OSU and its Water Resource Science Program have provided her with opportunities to consider this more thoroughly than a solo law degree would permit. The combined program also fit well with the U of O's emphasis on specialization during a student's second and third years.

Jennifer's thesis work involves looking at the feasibility of a small scale hydropower project on a series of springs outside of Mill City, Oregon. Over the course of this project, Jennifer will be addressing various science, policy and legal questions. How does geology and land use on this site impacts water flowing from these springs? Knowing the flow regime of these springs is an important step in determining their power generation capacity. With a renewed focus on green technologies in the modern economic climate, should small hydropower development be promoted? Feasibility will also rely upon whether current and future incentives may apply to this sort of project. Assuming this approach to power production is sound public policy, potential legal questions may need to be answered. Are states prepared to amend water rights to account for changes in water use? Again feasibility will be determined by whether a current water right can be recertified for a new use.  Jennifer’s research is made possible by a gift from Mrs. Esther Rada to the Water Resource Management Research Fund at OSU.

For more information on Jennifer’s background, research, and publications view a short video about her graduate work on the College of Science's blog, Breakthroughs and Twitter or contact her directly at holdermj@onid.orst.edu.

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Sarah Sheldrick stands in King Harrod's aqueduct under the Old City in Jerusalem. The aqueduct is over 2,000 years old.

O’ for a Muse of Fire! - Recent OSU graduate Sarah Sheldrick reflects on the Hydrophiles and OSU Geo Club tour of the Middle East.

I am thinking of all the ways I can try to describe the recent trip to Israel and Palestine by OSU’s Geosciences and Hydrophiles Clubs. Without wild gesturing and maybe a small theatrical play. It feels impossible. Great poets pray for a muse of fire before trying to squeeze the human experience between the margins of a page. You might be asking: what is an article about a trip to Israel doing with a quote from a British playwright? Well even, Shakespeare realized he could not cram within a wooden O the war torn up-land of the fields of France. Nor can I presume to capture the war torn up-land, the natural phenomena, the unimaginable beauty, the passions of religion that fills every crack of this land we now call Israel.

This trip was no ordinary trip. Yes we learned about water and rocks. Professor Aaron Wolf bellowed “On the bus! …Off the bus!,” repeatedly day after day.  As our bus driver, Meir, would pull to a stop we did not know what new place we were visiting. We eagerly jumped off the bus. We dipped our toes in the Mediterranean, stood at the edge of mine fields, hiked through the Golan heights, stood in abandoned Syrian bunkers… And that was just the first two days. We would groan as we were told to get back on the bus. Each sight we stopped at I wanted to take it in. Give my mind time to wrap around the implications of time, the political impact, the future possibilities. But always… “Back on the bus!” Then miraculously we would be at another location to marvel at more than before.

As much as I hated leaving each place, getting back on the bus was no longer a shuffle and a crawl, but rather a skip and a jump.  At every stop I would think: Thank goodness we got back on the bus or maybe we wouldn’t have had time to get to see the next place! We hiked up to Masada at dawn, sipped tea in a Bedouin tent in the Negev desert, and walked through the Jebusite water-tunnel under the ancient City of David in Jerusalem - an aqueduct over 3,000 years old. Meeting us at every step were geologists, hydrologists, archeologists, and geographers. Each guide shared their passion for their studies pointing out layers and layers of knowledge in each crevice along the way.

What I learned is that scientists are storytellers. Each ruins, each rock has a story to tell. They look through a wadi (canyon formed by seasonal desert floods), dig in the earth, and look at the drops of water that form on a chunk of limestone to discover the story of time. Scientists stop and look at the macro and the micro. Then their job is to report their findings. While the findings of a scientist can have deep impacts for other scientists in a report, those who can take that report and tell a story cause ripples and impacts that reach far beyond their direct experience. We all have stories to share and as I dragged my camera from border to border - to border - to border – to border… I thought about the story. In the end I took 17 hours of footage, which I hope to turn into a 15 min short film. That may be impossible, but I believe it appropriate to the concentration of time and space that makes up this bit of earth.  Back on the bus! On to the next adventure!

Read more about the OSU student's trip to Israel and Palestine on their blog. Sarah's film on the trip was funded by a grant from the IWW-USGS mini-grant program.

Take a Video Tour of the IWW Collaboratory! View an online video tour where Kathy Motter, lab manager, describes some the equipment and services available through the collab. The IWW Collaboratory is a unique offering on the OSU Campus that provides users with instrumentation dedicated to trace level fresh water analysis.  One of its mission is to educate and the collab manager, Kathy Motter, is available to share her extensive knowledge of water analysis techniques.

Geomorphology Brown Bag focuses on aerial photo and image interpretation. This spring, the geomorph brown bag group is focusing on geomorphic analysis of aerial photographs and imagery. They began the quarter by looking at stereo photos, using Geological Survey Professional Paper 373, Aerial Photographs in Geologic Interpretation and Mapping. As the term progresses, participants will bring in their own imagery, or lead virtual Google Earth field trips to areas where they have worked, or even areas that they know nothing about, but find interesting. The goal of the exercise is to gain a holistic view of the past, present and future geomorphology of landscapes. The Geomorph Brown Bag brings together students and faculty from many OSU departments and local research organizations for informal discussions about geomorphology topics. The group meets Fridays from noon to 1 p.m. in ALS 3006 and anyone interested in geomorphology is welcome to join them. Contact Sarah Lewis for more information.

OSU Biological and Ecological Engineering will host the 9th Annual American Ecological & Engineering Society Conference. The meeting will be held June 24-26, 2009 at the CH2MHill Alumni Center, OSU. The meeting theme is "Engineering for Ecosystem Services - Design at the Interface of Human and Natural Systems" and will feature research, assessment and design for a variety of ecosystem services at across multiple scales. The American Ecological Engineering Society (AEES) works to promote the protection and development of sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with the natural environment for the benefit of both. Conference participants will include: environmental and ecological scientists, and engineers; landscape architects; policy makers and planners; federal, tribal, state, and local government agency personnel; and private interests, environmental consultants, environmental interest groups, and students. There will also be additional workshops held on June 23.

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Wednesdays, April 1 - June 3, 3:30 Burt 193. Climate Change Seminars hosted by the OSU student group, Global Environmental Change Organization (GECO). Topics range from Ice Age lessons to influenza. The series is sponsored by OSU’s College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences and the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute.

Wednesdays, April 1 - May 27, 4:30 Owen 102. Hydrophiles Spring Seminar Series Impending Water Crises and Solutions. The seminar on April 15 is titled, Fecal Counts Closing Our Beaches: Where Is All That S@$# Coming From? Speaker: Lee Ritzman, P.E., City of Newport City Engineer. Seminars will be held weekly until May 27, download the complete seminar series schedule. There is also a companion journal club that meets from 11-noon in Gilmore Annex on the day of the seminar, contact Mary Santelmann for more information about the journal club.

Wednesday, April 15, OSU Memorial Union. 10th Symposium of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. The theme is LTER6: Using Innovative Approaches and Long Term Research to Address Complex Socio-Ecological Questions. Oral Presentations will be from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Poster presentations will be from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event, hosted by the Andrews Forest LTER and is free and open to the public.

Friday, April 17, 6:30-10:00 p.m., La Sells Stewart Center, OSU, Corvallis. Under One Sky, Along One Stream. The event includes music, previews of documentaries featuring local watersheds, and a presentation by Peace Corps volunteers and more. Suggested $5-10 donation.

Monday, April 20 - Thursday, April 23, Shelton, Wa. New Science for Managing Uncertainty in Fisheries (Washington/British Columbia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society). Sessions on topics such as: Fish Tracking/Tagging, Biological uncertainties associated with hydropower, Remote Sensing and Fisheries, Impact of Toxics on Fish Health, Climate Change, Salmonids, and Habitat.

Friday, May 1. Deadline to submit an abstract for the first International Water Technologies for Emerging Regions Conference. The conference will be held October 26-27 in Norman, Oklahoma. It will bring together participants from multiple groups responding to the UN Millenium Development Goals focused on bringing water and sanitation to remote villages in developing countries. Water and sanitation experts from academia, industry, NGOs, government, and foundations are invited to participate. Participants from developing countries are especially encouraged to attend; a limited number of travel assistance scholarships will be available for international participants.

Monday, May 11 - Thursday, May 14, Portland, Oregon. Fifth National Conference for Nonpoint Source and Stormwater Outreach. Sponsored by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service National Water Program. The theme of the conference is "Achieving Results with Tight Budgets."

Monday, June 8 - Tuesday, June 9, LaSells Stewart Center, OSU. 2009 Isotope Hydrology and Bio-Geochemistry Workshop. This short course will focus on the teaching the fundamentals of isotope hydrology and biogeochemistry, providing case studies from local researchers, instrument demonstrations, and an optional hands-on computer modeling opportunity. The workshop is jointly sponsored by the USGS, Oregon State University Water Resources Graduate Program, and the CUAHSI-Hydrologic Measurement Facility.

Read about more upcoming events on the IWW's calendar.

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Summer 2009 Subsurface Biosphere Initiative Paid Undergraduate Interships - Interns work with an OSU research team and faculty mentor on a project related to microrganisms living in soils, groundwater and subsurface sediments. The program provides up to $4,000 for each summer intern. It focuses on, but is not limited to, under-represented minority and women students. Applicants are encouraged to seek out a faculty mentor and to discuss possible research topics before applying to the program. The SBI website has information about faculty research areas, contact information and examples of past internship projects. Applications for internships are now being accepted and will be reviewed on receipt.

U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) Inderdisciplinary Post-Doctoral Research Program. ORD is accepting applications through April 24, 2009 for several Federal, four-year, Post-Doctoral positions.  Candidates will engage in cross-cutting research in one of the following identified areas: Adaptation to the Effects of Global Climate Change on Water and Aquatic Systems, Assessment of the Ecological Effects of Biofuels, Biostatistical Analysis of Multi-Pollutant Exposure and Relationship to Effects, Decision Analysis Improving Environmental Solutions, Development of Methods to Assess Health Risks Due to Waterborne Pathogens, Linking Exposure and Effects Models: An Integrated Toxicology Approach, Predictive Modeling of Developmental Toxicity, Regional Impacts of Climate Change on Water Availability and Ecosystem Services. Mentors will be assigned from appropriate ORD Labs and Centers based upon the nature of the cross-ORD interdisciplinary research. Salary range of $56,411 - $87,893 for a full four year appointment. Applications due April 24, 2009. General inquiries can be directed to: Dorothy Carr at ordpostdocapps@epa.gov or 1-800-433-9633.

Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Student Intern Program - Environmental Services has openings for summer intern positions and year-round internships. Applicants for BES intern positions must be enrolled in a trade school training program, or college or university undergraduate or graduate program, preferably in a field related to the mission and scope of the Bureau's work. The trade school, college or university must be located in Oregon or Washington, or the applicant must be a resident of the Portland Metropolitan Area. College student intern positions with Environmental Services are paid positions. Postions can be in Engineering Design and Construction, Watershed Services, Modeling and GIS, Industrial Source Control, Coordinated Site Assessment and Brownfields Program, and Wastewater. Deadline to apply for summer internships is April 24, 2009.

NSF Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowships (EAR-PF).The Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) awards Postdoctoral Fellowships to highly qualified investigators within 3 years of obtaining their PhD to carry out an integrated program of independent research and education. The research and education plans of each fellowship must address scientific questions within the scope of EAR disciplines. The program supports researchers for a period of up to 2 years with fellowships that can be taken to the institution or national facility of their choice. The program is intended to recognize beginning investigators of significant potential, and provide them with experience in research and education that will establish them in leadership positions in the Earth Sciences community. Because the fellowships are offered only to postdoctoral scientists early in their career, doctoral advisors are encouraged to discuss the availability of EAR fellowships with their graduate students early in their doctoral programs. Fellowships are awards to individuals, not institutions, and are administered by the Fellows. Proposals due July 1, 2009.

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(listed by due date)

Preproposal due: 28 April 2009. NASA ROSES Terrestrial Ecology Solicitation: NNH09ZDA001N-TE (Full Proposal due: 12 June 2009).

Description: NASA Terrestrial Ecology research addresses changes in Earth’s carbon cycle and ecosystems using space-based observations. The goals of NASA’s Terrestrial Ecology research are to improve understanding of the structure and function of global terrestrial ecosystems, their interactions with the atmosphere and hydrosphere, and their role in the cycling of the major biogeochemical elements and water. This program of research addresses variability in terrestrial ecosystems, how terrestrial ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles respond to and affect global environmental change, and future changes in carbon cycle dynamics and terrestrial ecosystems. The research approach combines (i) use of remote sensing to observe terrestrial ecosystems and their responses; (ii) field campaigns and related process studies to elucidate ecosystem function; and (iii) ecosystem and biogeochemical cycle modeling to analyze and predict responses.

 

30 April 2009. NSF Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation 2009.

Description: The Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation has established the Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) to serve a critical role in focusing on important emerging areas in a timely manner. The EFRI Office is launching a new funding opportunity for interdisciplinary teams of researchers to embark on rapidly advancing frontiers of fundamental engineering research. For this solicitation, we will consider proposals that aim to investigate emerging frontiers in the following two specific research areas: (1) BioSensing & BioActuation: Interface of Living and Engineered Systems (BSBA), and (2) Hydrocarbons from Biomass (HyBi). EFRI seeks proposals with transformative ideas that represent an opportunity for a significant shift in fundamental engineering knowledge with a strong potential for long term impact on national needs or a grand challenge. The proposals must also meet the detailed requirements delineated in this solicitation.

14 May 2009. EPA Small Business Innovative Research.

Description: SBIR seeks to stimulate technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal R&D needs. Topic areas of interest include: Green Building Materials and Systems; Innovation in Manufacturing; Nanotechnology; Greenhouse Gases; Drinking Water and Water Monitoring; Water Infrastructure; Air Pollution; Biofuels and Vehicle Emissions Reduction; Waste Management; and Homeland Security. For more info, contact Stacey Passwaters at passwaters.stacey@epa.gov. Refer to Sol# PR-NC-09-10319. (FBO 2/28/09) This solicitation received funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Funding Details: 25 contract awards anticipated.

Preproposal due: 15 May 2009. NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERC) (Full Proposal due: 15 July 2009).

Description: The Gen-3 ERCs will: 1. Advance discovery and build bridges from science-based discovery to technological innovation to realize transforming engineered systems. 2. Partner with foreign universities and provide unique opportunities for research and learning collaboration that will prepare U.S. engineering graduates for leadership in innovation in a global economy. 3. Form teams of faculty and students who are diverse and talented individuals who will prepare diverse and talented domestic and international graduates who can function in a global world where research, design and production efforts cross national borders. 4. Function with transforming engineering education programs that rest on partnerships with pre-college institutions to attract students to engineering and strategically impart in engineering graduates the capacity to create and exploit knowledge for technological innovation. 5. Function with partnerships with industry and other users, organizations devoted to stimulating entrepreneurship and innovation at the local level, and small firms engaged in the ERC's research program to speed translation of research results to innovation.

19 May 2009. Western and Territorial Water Marketing and Efficiency Grants - ARRA.

Description: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office, announces its intent to request proposals for Challenge Grants: Water Marketing and Efficiency Grants for the American Recovery Reinvestment Act of 2009. This initiative will support projects that bank water, market water, conserve water, or generally make more efficient use of existing water supplies. Projects must take place in AZ, CA, CO, ID, KS, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY, AS, GU, CNMI, or the VI. As of 3/14/09, the anticipated RFP release date or funding amounts had not been posted. Proposals due 5/19/09. For more info, contact Stephanie Bartlett at sbartlett@usbr.gov. Refer to Sol# 09SF811499.

Preproposal due: 19 May 2009. NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (Full Proposal due: 29 June 2009).

Description: This program provides funding for graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to bring their leading research practice and findings into K-12 learning settings. Funding can be used for graduate student fellowships, K-12 teacher professional development and program development at the university to enhance graduate education.
Funding Details: Up to $600k for five years.

21 May 2009. NSF Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI).

Description: This program seeks to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for all undergraduate students. The program supports efforts to create new learning materials and teaching strategies, develop faculty expertise, implement educational innovations, assess learning and evaluate innovations, and conduct research on STEM teaching and learning. The program supports three types of projects representing three different phases of development, ranging from small, exploratory investigations to large, comprehensive projects.

26 May 2009. Enhancing Ecosystem Services From Agricultural Lands: Management, Quantification, And Developing Decision Support Tools.

Description: The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as part of its Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Competitive Grants Program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, are seeking applications proposing research on the ecosystem services provided by agricultural lands. Ecosystem services are the goods and services derived from natural and managed ecosystems upon which human welfare depends. Because of the global intensification of land use, these services are in decline, especially in agricultural ecosystems. Ecosystem services are essential in maintaining both human welfare as well as ecological integrity, yet these services can be affected by natural changes and management actions. In addition, agricultural lands are experiencing significant land use changes as demonstrated by the rapid conversion of these lands from traditional farming use, to alternate farming practices, to urban development, and to non-agricultural use.
Funding Details: Proposed project budget requests must not exceed $500,000 (including direct and indirect costs) with a maximum duration of 4 years for USDA and EPA grants.

1 June 2009. NSF Hydrologic Science.

Description: Hydrologic Sciences focuses on the flow of water and transport processes within streams, soils, and aquifers. Particular attention is given to spatial and temporal heterogeneity of fluxes and storages of water and chemicals over a wide range of scales, to geolimnology and to interfaces with the landscape, microbial communities, and coastal areas. Studies may also deal with processes in aqueous geochemistry and with the physical, chemical, and biological processes within water bodies. Study of these processes requires expertise from many basic sciences and mathematics, and proposals often require joint review with related programs.

 

A list of additional water-related external funding opportunities is available on the IWW Web site.

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H₂OSU is a periodic e-mail news briefing provided by the Institute for Water and Watersheds. It is distributed primarily through the OSU Hydro Email lists and The Oregon Water List and the Web. Questions, comments and ideas for news briefs may be sent to the IWW at iww@oregonstate.edu. Past newsletters can be viewed at: http://water.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/index.htm.