2nd Annual Report Cluster Topic Water and Water Resources Submitted by Akanda, A., Amador, J., Boving, T.*, Craver, V., Guilfoos, T., Johnson, K., Lohmann, R., Opaluch, J. * Contact: Tom Boving (
[email protected]) May 31, 2014 A. Background Life on Earth depends on water and there is simply no substitute for it. Yet, humanity has degraded or depleted many sources of water and is now confronted with a severe water crisis that already affects large parts of the World. Humanity's response to the water crisis requires that scientists, engineers, economist and policy makers to work together and develop effective and sustainable strategies for managing this essential natural resource. For the foreseeable future, it is of vital importance to strive for an understanding of the compleX connections between the various compartments of the environment that influence the availability and quality of water on local and global scales. In an area that is critical to the Rhode Island and the world, and equally important, to student learning and future employment, the study of water enhances the magnitude and impact of learning and discovery at the University of Rhode Island. Consequently, URI decided to invest into a cluster of three new faculty positions that strategically address the most pressing issues of the 21st century: Safe, Sustainable, and Secure Water. The following provides an overview of the activities that completed the hiring process of three new water cluster faculty members. It also provides a perspective on the activities of the water cluster faculty during the Academic Year 2013/14. B. Summary of Activities The “Water Cluster” is a university wide initiative in which four Colleges (CELS, COE, A&S and GSO) and ten departments (BIO, CHE, CHM, CVE, GEO, LAR, NRS, PSC, PLS, and WRT) and several eXtension and outreach programs proposed to hire three new faculty members.