Major NSF grant awarded to Grand Valley State University
MUSKEGON, Mich. -- The National Science Foundation has awarded a five-year grant of $519,413 to Grand Valley State University for support of a project under the direction of Xuefeng (Michael) Chu at the university's Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute, located in Muskegon.
The institute is a multidisciplinary research organization, within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, committed to the study of freshwater resources. The mission of the institute is to integrate research, education, and outreach to enhance and preserve freshwater resources.
"'Where does water go when it rains?' is a fundamental question that has been asked by numerous hydrologists in many decades," said Chu. "Today, we are still searching for the answer. This study is an effort toward improving our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and processes related to this question by developing new overland flow concepts and modeling methodologies. It also improves hydrology education at all levels by providing state-of-the-art interactive software."
The project is entitled "CAREER: Microtopography-Controlled Puddle-filling to Puddle-merging (P2P) Overland Flow Mechanism: Discontinuity, Variability, and Hierarchy." The abstract and other information regarding this award is available via the NSF Award Abstracts database at http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/.
"This is a very prestigious grant, and I congratulate Xuefeng on his success," said AWRI Director Al Steinman. "It builds on the increasing level of scholarship and external funding being generated by faculty throughout Grand Valley. These types of grant awards also provide unique and exciting research opportunities for our undergraduate and graduate students."
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program of the National Science Foundation offers its most prestigious awards in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization. This is the second NSF grant awarded to AWRI faculty this year.
Chu, a research scientist and assistant professor of water resources, came to Grand Valley in 2002. He earned a Bachelor of Science in water resources engineering from Outer Mongolia Agricultural University in 1994, a Master's of Science in hydrogeology from China University of Geosciences in 1991, and a doctorate in hydrologic sciences from University of California, Davis in 2002.
"Annis Water Resources Institute is a premier educational
institution on the study of issues that impact freshwater and the
Great Lakes," said U.S. Rep.
Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland.
"The National Science Foundation grant will help the AWRI to
advance yet another worthwhile academic endeavor."
The AWRI occupies the Lake Michigan Center on Muskegon Lake. Facilities include classrooms, conference areas, analytical labs, research labs, mesocosms, dockage, and ship support and storage. AWRI also promotes collaborative research and educational programming and offers research space and equipment, as well as ship support facilities to advance such collaborative efforts. AWRI operates two research vessels and offers the Water Resources Outreach Education Program for K-12 schools and community groups. For more information about the institute, visit www.gvsu.edu/awri.
