More and more, academic institutions are being asked to form and nurture transdisciplinary teams of researchers to address society’s greatest challenges. Michigan State University after creating the Center for Water Sciences six years ago has continued it’s investment by establishing the MSU Water Science Network (WSN), a collaboration focused on the continued advancement of ground-breaking science to address the most important water problems facing our world today.
“The Water Science Network brings together MSU’s diverse expertise in water to tackle the challenge of providing people around the world with access to clean, safe water while maintaining healthy, sustainable aquatic ecosystems,” said Joan Rose, WSN member and Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research, MSU. “The innovative and translational water research has made a real impact on people’s lives from the local to the global scale.”
With more than 100 faculty in 57 countries around the world, MSU water researchers cover topics from agriculture to zoology. Between 2000 and 2014, MSU water researchers generated $186 million in external grants, money that is going towards projects such as antibiotics in water and microbial resistance as well as fish community and population dynamics.
“Our goal is to build working relationships among faculty, facilitate joint research grants, and promote MSU as a center of excellence in water,” said Steve Pueppke, co-leader of the Water Faculty Advisory Committee and associate vice president, MSU Research and Graduate Studies. “By joining forces to tackle big challenges, such as access to water, we will make a greater impact.”
In addition to Pueppke, the MSU Water Faculty Advisory Committee is led by Jinhua Zhao, director, Environmental Science and Policy Program, MSU. Programs and initiatives directed by the committee will be led by Erin Dreelin, associate director, MSU Center for Water Sciences.
For more information about the WSN, please visit water.msu.edu.