The primary focus of research at our REU site is on multidisciplinary approaches for overcoming water resources and sustainable engineering  challenges in Appalachia. In a region with exceedingly high socioeconomic disparities, the need for more resilient infrastructure to improve drinking water and wastewater treatment systems, restore degraded ecosystems, reduce flooding, and expand local economies is a critical and urgent need for this region. Many of these challenges can only be overcome through the effort of multidisciplinary occupations related to water resources and sustainable engineering along with local partnerships. Therefore, projects are based on ongoing interdisciplinary research funded by federal and state funding agencies, and in many cases, include field sites and/or mesocosm test sites in Appalachian communities. REU students will participate in field and lab sample collection, be trained in processing samples on analytical equipment, and/or modeling  data on various software (e.g., ArcPro, Matlab, SAS), which will be provided by the University.  Further, site-specific REU professional field site and industry tours aimed to address the following questions: 1) What challenges face water resources in Appalachia? 2) How can sustainable engineering solutions influence the economic structure in Appalachian communities, and 3) How is academic research used within the water resources and sustainable engineering profession? will be provided. The students will be carefully and closely mentored by an interdisciplinary team of faculty members from various departments within the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment or Pigman College of Engineering.

Summer 2026 Program

Application Deadline: February 15, 2026

Program Dates: May 25-July 31, 2026

Program Highlights

• $7,000 stipend for 10-week period 

• Support for housing, transportation, meals, and travel to conferences

• Networking and professional development opportunities

• Field trips to fields sites and industry tours 

Eligibility

• GPA of 3.0 or above

• US Citizen or Permanent Resident 

• Taken one college chemistry course 

• At least one quarter or semester remaining to graduate after the program

Visit the application link for information on how to apply and the research projects that the participants will be involved in, research mentors, and important dates.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Tiffany Messer, Associate Professor, Tiffany.Messer@uky.edu, Phone: 859-218-4353 

Dr. Tyler Barzee, Assistant Professor, tjbarzee@uky.edu, Phone: 859-257-3764