The WIGF program supports interdisciplinary teams of six doctoral student Fellows and their faculty advisors as they conduct research in an emerging area of water science. The 2019 WIGF cohort will focus on understanding impacts of ice retreat on high latitude hydrology, expanding the Water Institute’s portfolio of research topics and geographical focus areas into an important area of global concern.

The 2019 WIGF faculty team includes Jon Martin, John Jaeger, Ellen Martin, Elizabeth Screaton (Department of Geological Sciences), Brent Christner (Department of Microbiology and Cell Science), Matt Cohen (School of Forest Resources and Conservation), Jim Jawitz (Soil and Water Sciences Department), Stuart McDaniel (Department of Biology), Arnoldo Valle-Levinson (Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment), Cynthia Barnett (College of Journalism and Communications) and Thomas Frazer (School of Natural Resources and Environment). The cohort will integrate studies in the changing hydrology, hydrogeology, geochemistry, microbial ecology, botany, ecosystem ecology, and coastal hydrodynamics of glaciers, pro-glacial landscapes, and coastal systems in Greenland. The cohort will benefit from integrative activities to enhance interdisciplinary skills, a key component of which is developing expertise in environmental civics (i.e. leadership, public outreach, communications, and civic engagement).

The Water Institute looks forward collaborating with this team and contributing to the understanding of the Arctic’s rapid biophysical changes and their consequences to the broader Earth socio-ecological system.