University of Houston awarded $246,000 NSF grant for US-China collaboration on landslides

University of Houston professor Guoquan "Bob" Wang has been awarded a three-year, $245,945 National Science Foundation International Research Experience for Students grant to support U.S.-China collaboration on landslide research. This grant will fully fund summer research opportunities for UH geoscience majors to conduct landslide studies in collaboration with the China University of Geosciences (CUG) in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

During this program, which will run for eight weeks each summer for the next three years, students from the UH Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences will work alongside students and faculty from CUG in the Three Gorges area of China. Field research will consist of using GPS and LiDAR technologies to study and predict landslides, with the expectation that what is observed in the Three Gorges area will apply to other landslide-prone sites around the world.

Opportunities will be available for four undergraduates and two graduate students each year, for a total of 18 students. All expenses, including travel costs, tuition and health insurance, will be covered, along with a stipend of $500 per week.

The first summer program will run from June 6 - July 30, 2016. It will include a one-week preparatory session at UH, a two-week intensive Chinese language and cultural course at the CUG's main campus in Wuhan, a five-week field investigation in the Three Gorges area of China, and a one-week wrap-up at UH.

Provided by University of Houston