Environmental Institute

"The Environmental Institute . . . serves as a coordinating center for the stimulation and promotion of interdisciplinary research, graduate education, and public education related to understanding, utilizing, and sustaining the natural environment."

· The promotion of basic and applied research on scientific, engineering, social and behavioral aspects of environmental resources and practices.
· The development of new areas of opportunity in the environmental arena.
· The maintenance and expansion of the comprehensive graduate educational program in environmental sciences.
· To act as a source of information concerning environmental research opportunities, results, and applications.

The Institute acts as an administrative umbrella for activities of the University Center for Water Research (UCWR), the University Center for Energy Research (UCER), the Environmental Sciences Graduate Program, and the Spatial and Environmental Information Clearinghouse (SEIC). Operating under a lean matrix management style, the Institute is able to draw expertise from over 150 faculty members who have established research or research interests in engineering, the natural and applied sciences, and the social sciences.

Research

University Center for Energy Research

Energy exploration, production, and usage has been inextricably tied to the economic health of the United States for the past 75 years. This is even more evident in Oklahoma and surrounding states where enormous fluctuations in prosperity have occurred as the price and availability of energy resources have oscillated. The UCER was established by the State of Oklahoma to provide a multidisciplinary base to address the complex problems in the field of energy research.

The UCER supports energy-related research programs and encourages the organization of interdisciplinary activities. Proposals for funding are submitted to UCER in February of each year. The proposals undergo a peer review process with final project selections made by the Director and an external review panel. A funding objective of the UCER is the support of new faculty and new and/or innovative research. Funding from the UCER is often used to seed the establishment of new research programs. This initiative enables faculty to develop a sound knowledge base in their research areas enabling them to generate additional funding within two or three years. The projects support students, post-doctoral research associates, and the procurement of state-of-the-art equipment.

In fiscal year 1997, the UCER supported three projects involving three university departments. Research topics focused on: critical body residues in assessing mixture toxicity of chemicals in soil; locating the thrust fault controlled permeability barriers for finding new gas reservoirs in Arkomabasin Southeast Oklahoma; and development of tribological coatings for improved energy efficiency.

University Center for Water Research

Water resources and water-related issues are frequent media topics. In local communities, regional and state jurisdictions, and national and international arenas, considerable attention is focused on the availability of good quality water in sufficient quantities to meet the demands of affected populations. And, as with any natural resource, decisions are inextricably linked to public opinion, environmental impact, economic development, and population growth. At Oklahoma State University, the UCWR has been studying water issues and providing solutions to water problems for many years. Clean water of adequate quantity and quality is essential to the physical and economic health of individuals, communities, and nations. The UCWR strives to provide funding and information for researchers and information and management protocols for decision makers.

The UCWR is responsible for the administration of the Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute (OWRRI) and the Water Research Center (WRC) developed as a "center of excellence" by the State of Oklahoma. This combination of responsibilities provides the Center with the opportunity to coordinate the University's research programs with outside agencies. This includes the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, the other 53 water resources research institutes throughout the country, and other state and federal agencies involved in water resources research and management programs. This interaction provides a broad base of knowledge and experience from which new research projects evolve and it allows the UCWR to maximize its available resources.

Research projects funded by the UCWR via five administrative entities in FY 1997 are as follows: use of tritium/helium-3 groundwater dating in north-central Oklahoma well water; nitrate/nitrite analysis in water via chemiluminescence; functional redundancy in two grass species: an ecological assessment of desertification; physiological activity of soil borne fluorescent pseudomonads at different soil water potential; an investigation of ecological characteristics of hyporheic zones in Oklahoma streams; and remediation of soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and salinity using poultry waste products.

Spatial and Environmental Information Clearinghouse

The Spatial and Environmental Information Clearinghouse (SEIC) is a research, service, and education unit of the Environmental Institute. SEIC was established in 1995 as a participant in the National Spatial Data Initiative, an initiative of the Clinton Administration for sharing geospatial data. As such, SEIC serves as the Oklahoma node on the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse, a network of local Internet sites providing rapid, worldwide search and access to geospatial data via the Internet. Geospatial data refer to Earth (geo) features that vary with location (spatial); e.g., networks of roads or rivers, patterns of land use, locations of businesses. These data are most often associated with geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), and satellite and aircraft remote sensing.

The past year has been one of significant changes at SEIC. Growth in staff and facilities have promoted expansion and improvements in the research and services. The SEIC computer laboratory is now well equipped with the latest hardware and software for data and information encoding, management and dissemination, giving OSU researchers and others access to the state-of-the-art data search, retrieval, and analysis capabilities. The number of undergraduate and graduate students working on projects at SEIC has increased. They, too, gain unique research, teaching, and production experience in the high-tech lab to augment their formal classroom training.

Research support services have also improved over the past year. SEIC provides research data and information primarily through the SEIC Internet Home Page at http://www.seic.okstate.edu. The on-line services include worldwide search and retrieval of data on the basis of the subject or the spatial coverage of the data. In addition, a number of Oklahoma data sets are on-line for direct use or copying. Many other Internet links are also maintained on the SEIC Home Page to help OSU faculty, students, and others find appropriate data, training, and support services for geospatial research and teaching.

Attracting external funding was made a high priority at SEIC last year increasing the amount of funding for research and sponsored program activities significantly. In this first year, state and federal funds have supported, workshops on unique Oklahoma data, development of interactive systems for interrogation and display of state water quality standards and water right permits, and creation of digital images for modeling toxic waste at a landfill. Some of the new research efforts are collaborations with other OSU faculty and professional staff as well as with public and private organizations outside the university. The past year's funding and successful completion of activities have contributed greatly to the growth at SEIC. External funding is expected to continue to increase and to contribute to research, services, and education at OSU.

Education

Environmental Sciences Graduate Program

The Environmental Institute is also administratively responsible for the Environmental Sciences Graduate Program at OSU. This program provides graduate students with an opportunity to conduct master's (M.S.) or doctoral (Ph.D.) level research that is multidisciplinary in nature. The program capitalizes on the strengths of Environmental Institute; water resources, renewable natural resources, environmental education, environmental policy and conflict management, and energy, and can be designed to fit an individual's needs. Increasingly, employers are recognizing the relationships between long-term economic vitality, resource availability and ecological integrity. Current economic development is being directed toward the concepts of sustainable development and total ecosystem management. This has resulted in a job market that exhibits an enlightened view of the necessity for those with skills in environmental science. The program now has more than 85 students in affiliation with 30 departments here at OSU.

Presidential Fellowships for Water, Energy, and the Environment

The Environmental Institute also funds the Presidential Fellowships for Water, Energy and Environment. This program encourages nationally competitive graduate students to pursue advanced degrees in various disciplines at Oklahoma State University. In 1997, the Fellowship program supported eight students in six different disciplines. The students interests ranged from environmental science, agronomy and biosystems, to chemistry and chemical engineering. Fellowship recipients have made, and continue to make, important contributions to the literature and knowledge base of environmental research.

Information Transfer

The Environmental Institute is involved in a number of other information transfer activities that promote and enhance environmental research efforts. The Institute newsletter, Prism, provides a mechanism for communicating the activities of researchers at OSU, current events in environmental research, and items of interest to those involved with environmental issues. Additionally, the Environmental Institute publishes a listing of Technical Reports and Publications resulting from sponsored research.

The Environmental Institute uses conferences and meetings as another means of coordinating research efforts and transferring information. The Institute is also active in a number of state and national organizations including the InterAmerican Dialogue on Water Management, the Interstate Council on Water Policy, the Oklahoma Interagency Water Quality Committee, and the Governor's Council on Environmental Quality.

The Institute also functions as a contact in Oklahoma for current research information. Through continued communication with state and federal agency administrators, legislators, and scientists in academia and the private sector, the Environmental Institute disseminates information essential to sound environmental management.