ND_Water_Resource_Fellows

The ND Water Resources Research Institute (NDWRRI) has named four NDSU assistant professors as Faculty Fellows. These experts will provide water research leadership and information to NDSU while providing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research-based solutions to water quality and water access problems for the state and the nation.

NDWRRI Director Xinhua Jia and a committee reviewed an application for each individual detailing their unique skills and capabilities. "With a robust and strong pool of fellow applications, the chance to support four applications for this opportunity offers the potential to accelerate inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations around water," said NDSU Vice President for Research and Creative Activity Colleen Fitzgerald.

• Trung Le, NDSU assistant professor civil & environmental engineeringSpecializing in floods, drinking water supply, industrial use, irrigation use, and recreation.
• Shuning Lu, NDSU assistant professor communicationsSpecializing in public communication about water-related research issues and policy.
• Dane Mataic, NDSU assistant professor sociology and anthropologySpecializing in law and society, social movements, and social groups perspectives.
• Travis Seaborn, NDSU assistant professor, applied ecologySpecializing in a range of big data challenges in aquatic systems including the interface of genomics, the environment, landscape, and social-ecological systems.

The Fellows will work collectively with other researchers at NDSU to drive and expand water-related research activities. "Thank you for accepting the water fellowships and for your continued dedication as we work to explore and expand the NDWRRI's research programs and partnerships," said Jia.

"We are glad to welcome these four people to the NDWRRI team," said Fitzgerald. "Their leadership will have an immediate impact on water research activities at NDSU, which is a significant priority area for the state of North Dakota and connects with the institution's key strategic research priorities of food, energy and water security."