WIRLab in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department at San Diego State University trains and mentors undergraduate and graduate students from diverse groups to take on environmental challenges in water scarce environments by conducting research on sustainable water and sanitation technologies and biogeochemical processes in natural and engineered systems. Current projects investigate the transformation and persistence of emerging chemicals in anaerobic and aerobic decentralized water reuse systems, sources of anthropogenic contaminants in urban rivers, water quality response to stream restoration, and rapid fluorescence-based tracking of organic contaminants in source waters, streams, and groundwater.
WIRLab supports a diverse group of students, including students from groups under-represented in engineering and the sciences, with volunteer and paid research opportunities. Undergraduate student leaders are encouraged to pursue higher education opportunities at SDSU and other leading universities. Students gain authentic research experiences in the laboratory and in the field with access to river and storm sampling, analyses of chemicals of emerging concern and bacterial markers of pollution, and design of decentralized and onsite sanitation systems.