Education

Degree Programs
The WRRI serves the need of DC’s schoolchildren, university students, water professionals, and concerned citizens by providing opportunities for engagement in water-related activities and advanced degree programs that foster significant learning about our DC’s Water resources and caring for their protection or restoration. Through its nationally recognized research laboratories, the WRRI has contributed to the development and implementation of the new graduate and undergraduate degree programs at UDC. Research projects funded through the WRRI directly benefit two undergraduate and four graduate programs:

Training and Public Engagement
Engaging DC residents and training future water scientists or engineers is part of the mission of the DC WRRI. In collaboration with other land grant centers of UDC/CAUSES and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, we provide students as well as young water professionals a formal or informal training program. Formal training is provided through graduate and undergraduate water quality courses, whereas the informal training program is offered through customized hands-on lab activities for K-12, and customized certificate professional training programs:

Conferences

We organize an annual water conference in collaboration with regional as well as local water organizations.

10th Annual AWRA National Capital Water Symposium: http://awrancrs.org/index.php

In collaboration with the NCR-AWRA, the WRRI organizes an annual water symposium at UDC. The annual conference is the state’s premier conference focusing on water resources research, policy, and management issues in the DC area and beyond. This annual event brings together over 100 people from diverse sectors and geographical locations to share, network, and find solutions to our pressing water challenges.

Past events and related presentations:

 

Students
Training students is the WRRI’s priority. WRRI supported more than 200 graduate and undergraduate students through direct participation in research activities. We also engage K-12 students in hands-on water quality testing activities.

 

The WRRI supports 2-4 students each year in providing 1 – 2 years of research experience in state-of-the-art water and environmental quality testing laboratory. We encourage students to publish papers or engage in the regional and national water conferences. This program helped several students won the best presentation award. The WRRI organizes a summer bridge program for incoming freshmen students or senior high school students.