Forty percent of the world’s 7.6 billion people now live within 100 kilometers of a coast. In the U.S., coastal counties have the highest population densities and also house 39 percent of the U.S. population. Furthermore, nitrogen pollution and rising sea levels from changes in climate are widely observed in coastal areas. These and other adverse environmental impacts are linked to human activities and unfortunately result in decreased economic and social well-being of coastal residents and visitors.
Training the next generation of problem solvers and developing solutions for these adverse outcomes of human activity in coastal areas is the focus of educators and researchers from the ±«Óătv and the University of the Virgin Islands. They will use a $2.5 million National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to develop ways of ensuring the sustainability of coastal communities and essential resources such as food, energy and water.
The project is expected to train over 100 graduate students from ±«Óătv and UVI, representing diverse fields of study such as environmental and civil engineering, anthropology and marine sciences. The multidisciplinary nature of the project is intended to develop workforce STEM capabilities that pro