CREST - RESSACA

An NSF sponsored Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology has been established at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) under the CREST program for establishment of the Center for Environmental Sustainability of Semi-Arid Coastal Areas. Center research and research/education integration activities have been organizationally integrated into the South Texas Environmental Institute in the College of Engineering. This has promoted the capacity of the Center to benefit from the sharing of knowledge, research resources, and capacity building partnerships with institutions throughout South Texas and the border region. Dr. Kuruvilla John, Chair, Department of Environmental Engineering, is serving as the Project Director (PI). Dr. Kim Jones, Dr. Venkatesh Uddameri, Dr. Jianhong-Jennifer Ren and Dr. David Ramirez are Co-PIs for the Center. Dr. Lee W. Clapp and Dr. Al Martinez are the Senior Investigators for the project

The Center fosters fundamental research and development for promoting the concepts of sustainability of ecological and environmental systems in the semi-arid coastal areas of South Texas and the border region. It  promotes basic and applied research, technology development and transfer, research/education integration, and environmental education in both formal and informal domains.

The Center has developed integrative research partnerships with institutions along the U.S./Mexico border from Texas to California and seek binational partnerships with counterpart researchers in Mexico. The Center structure  promotes a synthesis of interdisciplinary research and knowledge transfer among researchers, public policy and planning agencies, and the public to address the critical issues of environmental sustainability of semi-arid coastal areas along the border, a critical zone of binational trade driven by NAFTA and one undergoing dramatic economic growth that places enormous, and often competing demands, on infrastructures and the environment.

The Center is structured around three major research capabilities: Environmental  Modeling and Informatics (ESI), Sustainable Technologies for the Environment (STE), and Environmental Assessment and Monitoring (EMA).