USGS Graduate Research Program
The Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) administers an annual competitive request for proposals to support graduate student research at universities throughout Texas. This program is funded through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with resources directed to the TWRI through the National Institutes for Water Research. Since 2001, TWRI has awarded $498,397 in USGS grants to support 104 students in water resources-related fields. Grant proposals, as well as reports and posters created as a result of the projects, are on the TWRI Web site, and most projects are also featured in TWRI newsletters.
Recent Awards
Students at the following universities have been funded:
- Baylor University
- Rice University
- Texas A&M University
- Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
- Texas A&M University-Galveston
- Texas State University
- Texas Tech University
- University of Houston
- University of North Texas
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Texas at El Paso
- University of Texas Marine Sciences Institute
- West Texas A&M University
Funded Projects
Research funded by this program covers a range of water-related topics, such as:
- Studying environmental flows in Texas
- Evaluating the ecology and economic impacts of giant reed, an aquatic weed in the Rio Grande Basin
- Developing markers for conducting bacterial source tracking of deer and cattle
- Enhancing the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to better estimate contaminants and conduct urban planning
- Detecting microbial impairments in drinking water
Collaborators
- Texas Water Resources Institute
- U.S. Geological Survey