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Related stories

Banner=20 and Guda: Reforming universities to save the=20 environment =20
Hayes:=20 To be great, universities must also stress=20 service =20
Dolan:=20 Educating and inspiring=20 scholar-artist-citizens =20
Harris,=20 Erickson: Why it's vital we study the science = of=20 addiction =20
Solomon:=20 Lessons a philosopher can teach a = capitalist =20
Galbraith:=20 To be engaged, scholars must share their=20 ideas =20
Flowers:=20 Inside the ivory tower, but touching the=20 world =20
Cherwitz:=20 A quest to get scholars engaged in = community =20

Monday, November 08, = 2004

Water is a critical natural resource around = the=20 world, and in Texas it is a particularly fragile = one.

Texas history is replete with accounts of = water=20 shortages, including those affecting 19th = century=20 settlers, the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the = drought of the=20 1950s, and the Rio Grande failing to flow to the = Gulf of=20 Mexico in 2002. In the mid-19th century, little = more=20 than a billion people populated the planet. = Today, as we=20 surpass 6.4 billion, water issues are even more = severe=20 and widespread.

The United Nations estimates that waterborne = diseases=20 cause 5 million deaths each year, and that by = 2025 two=20 in three people worldwide will face water = shortages. In=20 our own backyard, less visible problems include = a class=20 of contaminants recently detected in water = resources:=20 pharmaceuticals. That's right, the water we use = can=20 contain such compounds as ibuprofen, Prozac, = caffeine,=20 antibiotics, birth control hormones and = Viagra.

These facts underscore growing concerns about = the=20 quality and security of our environment, = particularly=20 the vital resource that is water. How far can=20 technological solutions, such as desalinization = of=20 seawater, take us? How much freshwater flow is = needed to=20 protect wildlife habitats within streams, = aquifers and=20 estuaries? What new challenges will we encounter = in the=20 face of a projected doubling of Texas' = population by=20 2040, and shifts in regional rainfall patterns = driven by=20 global changes in climate? Will there be = sufficient=20 quantities of clean water for drinking, = agricultural and=20 industrial needs?

If answers to these questions are not found, = future=20 Texans will be unable to balance the use and = renewal of=20 water resources, and we will continue on an=20 unsustainable path.

Our ability to answer these questions depends = in part=20 upon our ability to educate tomorrow's students = with an=20 interdisciplinary perspective reaching beyond = narrow=20 specializations. As noted by professor Rick = Cherwitz and=20 other contributors to this series on academic=20 engagement, scientific and learning = breakthroughs often=20 occur at the intersection of different = disciplines. The=20 interconnected nature of environmental problems = is no=20 exception.

We need professionals trained to understand = complex=20 water problems from a variety of angles, = including=20 science, engineering, urban planning, business = and=20 policy. Unfortunately, few graduate programs = exist that=20 educate students beyond a chosen discipline.

Scientists with a deep knowledge in their = field will=20 continue to be essential for advancing = knowledge, but=20 the importance of a broad perspective is rapidly = increasing. Universities must formulate major=20 improvements in how they engage the community = and bring=20 new knowledge from researchers to the public, in = order=20 to reverse the trend of the shrinking numbers of = American students who choose science and = engineering=20 careers.

So how can we meet these challenges? Do we = eliminate=20 existing academic departments and realign = resources into=20 new departments? Or can new cross-cutting = organizations=20 meld traditionally separate disciplines? Answers = vary,=20 but the assortment of environmental programs = recently=20 formed in different U.S. universities indicates = that no=20 blueprint exists.

On a federal level, the National Science = Foundation,=20 a leading agency funding university research, = now=20 requires that such research have an impact = beyond a=20 small circle of specialists. This agency also = supports=20 elite fellowships for students who pursue an=20 interdisciplinary Ph.D. or creatively bring the=20 excitement of university science to K-12 = classrooms.

Locally, the University of Texas' = Environmental=20 Science Institute was established with these = same goals=20 =97 to cultivate a more balanced approach to = complex=20 environmental problems in the areas of research, = education and public outreach.

These are great starts, but to guarantee = success we=20 must go the extra mile, addressing the = underlying=20 barriers that prevent achievement of genuine=20 interdisciplinary education and engagement. It = is time=20 to construct novel degree programs =97 including = a=20 graduate training program in water studies =97 = that are=20 more than add-ons to existing curriculum and = degree=20 requirements.

New programs of this sort cannot be = implemented and=20 have little chance of succeeding without the = support of=20 faculty members who drive university research = and=20 education =97 the best of whom are already = over-committed=20 within and tied to their own disciplines.

Getting them to buy into an interdisciplinary = approach can be fostered through changes in the=20 university's structure and reward system. = Faculty and=20 students need to be enabled and encouraged to = connect=20 with each other across the departmental walls so = typical=20 of a university setting.

Interdisciplinary graduate training and = public=20 outreach require systemic changes capable of = addressing=20 our most challenging problems, including our = water=20 future and our energy future.

What is the cost of addressing these = problems?=20 Perhaps the question should be recast. In = pondering our=20 next glass of water, we might ask: What will be = the cost=20 of waiting?

Banner is a professor of geological sciences = and=20 director of UT Environmental Science Institute; = Guda is=20 an ecologist and an associate director at the=20 institute.

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