USGS Graduate Research Program
The Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) administers an annual competitive request for proposals to support graduate student research at universities throughout Texas. This program is funded through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with resources directed to the TWRI through the National Institutes for Water Research. Since 2001 TWRI has awarded more than 80 $5,000 grants.
Grant proposals, as well as reports and posters created as a result of these projects, can be accessed on the TWRI Web site. Most projects are featured in TWRI newsletters.
Recent Awards
Graduate students from any university in Texas are eligible to apply and students at the following universities have been funded:
- Baylor University
- Rice University
- Texas State University
- Texas A&M University
- Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
- Texas A&M University-Galveston
- Texas Tech University
- University of Houston
- University of North Texas
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Texas at El Paso
- University of Texas Marine Sciences Institute
- West Texas A&M University
Funded Projects
The types of research funded by the TWRI-USGS Competitive Grants Program cover a range of water-related topics. Some examples are:
- Studying environmental flows in Texas
- Evaluating the ecology and economic impacts of giant reed, an aquatic weed in the Rio Grande Basin
- Developing markers for conducting bacterial source tracking of deer and cattle
- Enhancing the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to better estimate contaminants and conduct urban planning
- Detecting microbial impairments in drinking water
- Reducing water demand of agricultural crops to remain productive in minimal water conditions
Collaborators
- Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas A&M AgriLife
- U.S. Geological Survey
