The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on November 12th approved the Institute for Water Resources Science and Technology, a new water institute for research and education in Texas.
Located at Texas A&M University in San Antonio, the new water institute will seek to bring together scientists, planning and management experts, and policy analysts to forge workable solutions to water resource issues of San Antonio and South Texas. Research will focus on advances in technology on water treatment, storage, and distribution, and on developing integrated water-energy-land use models for sustainable development. Water institute personnel will seek grants and sponsored research funding from local, state, and federal agencies, foundations, and private clients interested in solutions to questions related to the supply and treatment of water.
The new water institute will also support student education and training opportunities. To do this the water institute will support two new academic programs that lead to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Water Resources Science. The objective is to provide instruction relevant to students who wish to work in Texas’ water industries. The water institute will also provide support and outreach to Texans on reducing, reusing, and recycling water.
The new Institute for Water Resources Science and Technology will be headed by a start-up director, Dr. Rudolph Rosen. In developing the new water institute, A&M San Antonio leaders collaborated closely with faculty at H2O partner the Meadows Institute for Water and the Environment. A recent training session for educators using the Texas Aquatic Science curriculum was held on the A&M San Antonio campus. And, just one week after the new water institute was approved, a follow-up to the Texas Water Technology Roadmap Forum was held by the institute. The roadmap was supported by H2O partners. The initial work was detailed in Texas-Water.org here. The report from the Roadmap Form can be found at TexasWaterTech.org .