Travel Grants to Support Multisite or Multidisciplinary Water Science Research — Graduate training in water science often focuses on a single field site, analytical or modeling approach. To assist graduate students in enhancing their research program by moving beyond this "one site, one view" approach, CUAHSI will provide travel support for graduate students to make an extended visit (ca. 1 - 3 months) to broaden their research. Travel may be to an additional field site to conduct comparative research, to collaborate with a research group using alternate approaches or modeling methods, or to work with researchers on adding an interdisciplinary dimension to a water science research project. CUAHSI will fund up to five graduate students, with a $5000 maximum award for each recipient, to cover travel costs. CUAHSI encourages applicants from across the broad range of water science. The deadline for submission of all application materials is October 7, 2011.

Additional application information is available at www.cuahsi.org/pathfinder.html. Inquiries and applications should be emailed to pathfinder@cuahsi.org.

CUAHSI is pleased to announce its first corporate member—Aquatic Informatics^™ Inc. Aquatic Informatics^™ provides unique productivity software solutions for the rapidly growing water and environmental monitoring industry. Aquatic Informatics is primarily focused on providing solutions to federal, state/provincial or local government departments, as well as academic groups and consultants, who collect and analyze large volumes of water quality or quantity data.

If you are interested in learning more about the requirements for and benefits of corporate membership, please visit our Corporate Affiliate Membership page.

CUAHSI is planning a series of webinars this Fall on various topics related to using the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS). These webinars are designed to demonstrate how to use some of the features and functions of the HIS system. Topics planned for the Fall 2011 semester include:

• Introduction to using HydroDesktop
• Analyzing Data using the "HydroR" plug-in
• How to use the "HydroModeler" plug-in
• Using the "Metadata Fetcher" plug-in to search for local data not registered in HIS Central

The webinar schedule will be announced soon on the CUAHSI website and via listserv.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) released a Water Information Concept Development Study of the application of OGC Web Services standards in the domain of water information. This OGC Water Information Concept Development Study was requested and sponsored by CUAHSI and builds on the most current best practices within OGC, as well as experimental research by CUAHSI and other OGC members of the Hydrology Domain Working Group.

David Maidment, Director, Center for Research in Water Resources, University of Texas at Austin and leader of the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) project said, "The Concept Development Study was very useful to the CUAHSI team to set our work on water web services development on a sound framework of established OGC standards. We are confident that this framework will provide a solid foundation for the further development of water web services in the future. The study advances the progress of transferring results from research into the best practices for government and industry to use to meet the nation's needs for hydrologic information."

The OGC Public Engineering Report is available for download at portal.opengeospatial.org/files/?artifact_id=44834.

CUAHSI has launched a directory of graduate programs in water science to help students discover the variety of programs offered. With the CUAHSI home page now receiving over 30,000 hits per month, it is becoming an important resource for the water science community. See cuahsi.org/grad-water-programs.html to browse through the list as it currently stands. Universities are welcome to list multiple programs if different programs are offered in different departments or colleges (e.g., engineering, earth sciences, natural resources, etc.). Interdisciplinary programs are often of particular interest to students.

To list your program, please send Conrad Matiuk (cmatiuk@cuahsi.org) the following information: 1). The logo you would like displayed (generally your university logo), 2). a brief description of the program, and 3). a URL the student can follow to obtain additional information. We hope this new service will be beneficial to you. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

The USGS and NSF Division of Earth Sciences have concluded a agreement for a pilot effort to host synthesis projects at the Powell Center in Fort Collins, Colorado. CUAHSI has long advocated for increased opportunities to conduct synthesis research as an important means to accelerate advancement in Earth System Science. We gratefully acknowledge the work of Bob Detrick (Division Director of EAR), Terry Davies (USGS-NSF Liaison), Jill Baron (USGS) and Marty Goldhaber (USGS) to develop this opportunity.

John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis (USGS)—The Powell Center serves as a catalyst for innovative thinking in earth system science research by providing scientists from different backgrounds a place and time to focus on multi-faceted issues. Working together in concentrated work sessions promotes absorption of new ideas and fosters debate among colleagues with different perspectives.

• Joint USGS/NSF Powell Center Synthesis and Analysis Agreement - July 27,2011

  The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) agree to collaboratively support synthesis activities at the USGS John Wesley Powell Center (Powell Center) for Earth Systems Science Analysis and Synthesis. The Powell Center provides opportunities for sustained, intense interactions among individuals, ready access to raw data and metadata, and sophisticated analytical tools. Centers that foster opportunities such as this are extraordinarily effective for advancing synthesis projects (Carpenter et al. 2009). The Powell Center, located in Fort Collins, Colorado, has served as a catalyst for synthesis activities since 2009. Through a pilot phase beginning in Fall 2011, NSF and the USGS Powell Center will issue a joint call for proposals for Working Group activities. [read more]

• Powell Center Fact Sheet 2011

Stay tuned for project solicitations.

Earlier in August, NSF released two major solicitations under its Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) initiative. The first is a solicitation for large research projects:

Sustainability Research Networks Competition (SRN)
Available Formats:

These are large (up to $12M over 4 to 5 years) cooperative agreements, on the same scale as Science and Technology Centers for advancing interdisciplinary sustainability science. These must be led by an academic, degree-granting university. CUAHSI is available to assist with community engagement, data services, and outreach activities.

Pre-proposal deadline is December 1.

The second is targeted to post-doctoral fellow NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellows - NSF SEES Fellows
Available Formats:

From the program solicitation:

A sustainable world is one in which human needs are met equitably without harm to the environment, and without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Meeting this formidable challenge requires a substantial increase in our understanding of the integrated system of society, the natural world, and the alterations humans bring to Earth. NSF's Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) activities aim to address this need through support for interdisciplinary research and education. SEES postdoctoral fellows will receive up to 3 years of funding to conduct research, establish partnerships, and advance their professional development.

The Proposal deadline is December 5, 2011.

CUAHSI does not conduct research and so is not appropriate as a host institution, but we could be a "partner" in these grants to connect the fellow with a large network of universities.