The Water Advanced Research and Innovation (WARI) Fellowship Program brings Ph.D. students and professors from universities in India to the University of Nebraska to work with faculty mentors on water quality issues. A joint program of the Department of Science and Technology, the government of India, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute and the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, WARI is entering its second year after a successful startup in 2015. The goal of this program is to provide opportunities to the best and brightest Indian students and scientists to gain exposure and access to world class research facilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. WARI promotes research and capacity building in the area of water while encouraging and motivating outstanding students to take up research as a career path.
According to Jesse Starita, Education Outreach Associate with the Water for Food Institute, WARI is beneficial for all parties.
“The researchers from India are given the opportunity to use Nebraska’s state of the art research facilities and equipment, while the faculty mentors gain global perspectives on their research,” said Starita. “We’re also hoping this will build long-term research and development linkages and collaborations.”
WARI fellows, professors from universities in India, stay at the University of Nebraska for up to 12 months, while interns, Ph.D. graduate students, can stay for a maximum of six months. The program is set to run for three years. The leadership at UNL and the University of Nebraska are working to identify funding for UNL students and scientists to have a reciprocal experience in India.
WARI mentors for the Department of Civil Engineering include Drs. Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, Chittaranjan Ray, Xu Li, Yusong Li, and Bruce Dvorak. For more information on WARI students studying with these mentors, please see the Civil Engineering WARI Fellow page.
For more information on the WARI program, please see the WARI profile on the Water for Food webpage: http://waterforfood.nebraska.edu/wari/