Future Rivers Graduate Training Program

Much of the world’s population depends on large freshwater ecosystems to provide goods and services that support economies and livelihoods. Despite the important societal and economic benefits of these freshwater systems, the ability to understand the potential impacts of changes to these ecosystems on communities is limited. A better understanding of the physical, biological, and social dynamics that sustain freshwater ecosystem services will allow for better management of these critical resources.

Overview

At its outset, Future Rivers sought to fully train 60 graduate students, with an additional 30 students participating in some aspect of the program. The program’s mission was to develop an innovative and diverse STEM workforce fluent in state-of-the-art approaches for sustaining freshwater ecosystems and who are prepared to effectively tackle some of the biggest climate change and environmental justice challenges of our day via a broad swatch of careers. This was to be accomplished via five primary goals: 

1. To develop new technical and data science skills
2. To foster innovative, interdisciplinary, and international science integration
3. To improve trainee communication skills
4. To increase cultural awareness and inclusivity among faculty, trainees, and participants 
5. To create networks and opportunities for student career development.

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Leadership

Athena Bertolino

Program Manager, UW Future Rivers

David Butman

Director, UW Future Rivers
Associate Professor, UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences

Nicoleta Cristea

Executive Committee Member, UW Future Rivers
Research Scientist, UW Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering