USU Welcomes Collaborative Graduate Students

Utah State University Civil and Environmental Engineering Department professor Jagath Kaluarachchi and Byron Burnham, dean of USU’s Graduate School, welcomed a group of 22 doctoral students and representatives from the Inland Northwest Research Alliance to the USU campus in August. The students are fellowship recipients enrolled in the Subsurface Science graduate program organized by INRA.

INRA is a coalition of eight universities, including USU, working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy.

 

The event included a half-day tour of Hill Air Force Base to study groundwater contamination issues in federal facilities; a geologic tour of Cache Valley conducted by USU geology professor Tom Lachmar; and a seminar by civil and environmental engineering professor Ryan Dupont on ground water remediation technologies.

 

The multi-disciplinary subsurface science doctorate program is offered at all INRA-affiliated campuses and at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho. USU has two students enrolled in the program. The program is the first multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, doctoral-level educational program offered by collaborative research universities in five Western states. Utah State joined the coalition in 1999 because of its collaborative research and educational initiative opportunities in the areas of water management, space and national security issues.

 

Other members of the coalition include Boise State University, Idaho State University, Montana State University, University of Idaho, University of Montana and Washington State University.