REU Site: Interdisciplinary Research Experiences in Urban Watershed Science

This REU Site award to the University of Michigan-Dearborn, located in Dearborn, MI, will support the training of 10 community or junior college students per year in urban watershed science during the summers of 2026–2028. The program will use the Rouge River watershed in Southeastern Michigan as a training site to provide students with hands-on experience in interdisciplinary research, including hypothesis development, experimental design, data interpretation, professional networking, and scientific ethics. Participants will engage in mentor-led research seminars, regular mentor-mentee meetings, team-driven research projects, professional development workshops, and field trips. This structured and supportive environment will help students build essential research skills and prepare for advanced STEM education and entry into the workforce. The program aims to support community college students transitioning into STEM programs at four-year institutions while also benefiting those already enrolled. This REU site will broadly share its findings to enhance undergraduate research visibility, inspire STEM careers, promote scientific literacy, and highlight real-world applications of NSF-funded research. Students can apply via NSF ETAP: https://etap.nsf.gov. The REU Site explores urban watershed science, focusing on how urbanization affects freshwater ecosystems. Urban rivers are valuable elements of urban ecosystems and play a key role in socio-economic development. The functional integrity of urban rivers is affected by land-use and pollution. Consequently, there is an immediate need for applied and basic interdisciplinary research aimed at understanding urban river health. This interdisciplinary program includes faculty from UM-Dearborn’s Natural Sciences (Microbiology, Biochemistry, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Geology, Environmental Science, and Chemistry), Mathematics and Statistics, and Behavioral Sciences Departments. Our students, and exceptionally well-qualified research mentors, will address knowledge gaps and practical solutions to the water resource issues that are of critical importance to the health of urban watersheds and the surrounding human communities. This REU site also seeks to discover underlying processes and new ecological patterns in urban watersheds. Student research outcomes will provide data to aid decision-making at various levels. Policymakers, stakeholders, and researchers can use the data to improve urban watersheds and allocate resources effectively. Assessment of this program will be conducted through pre- and post-program surveys, mentor and student feedback, research outputs and tracking academic and career progress. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.