East Carolina University opens Water Resources Center

East Carolina University’s Water Resources Center, housed in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Geological Sciences, had its official grand opening Jan. 30 in the newly renovated and designed space of 201 Graham building. The purpose of the center is to provide programs, equipment, personnel, outreach and other resources to support water-related research and education needs at ECU and to eastern North Carolina.

More than 40 university administrators, faculty, staff and students attended the event, which included light refreshments and remarks by Dr. Ron Mitchelson, interim chancellor; Dr. Michael Van Scott, interim vice chancellor of the Division of Research, Economic Development and Engagement; Dr. Allison S. Danell, interim dean of Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Steve Culver, chair of the Department of Geological Sciences; and Dr. Stephen Moysey, director of the center.

The grand opening of ECU’s Water Resources Center was Jan. 30 in Graham building, Room 201. The center provides resources that will benefit ECU and the larger community. (Contributed photo)

“We have in our midst today natural scientists, social scientists, engineers and others, and these issues that we face – grand challenges – whether it’s water, health or poverty, really do glue the disciplines together,” said Mitchelson. “It gives us a rare opportunity to address real-world problems in an appropriate fashion.”

Van Scott’s team has helped set up investments and secure funding over the years that has allowed the center to come to fruition.

“This really is an institutional commitment,” said Van Scott. “Water is a great research topic. You either don’t have enough of it, have too much of it or it’s the wrong composition. There’s always a research composition that someone is interested in, so this makes sense for us.”

ECU student researchers already are benefiting from the center.

“The Water Resources Center provides a lot of great resources. We will have a supercomputer for groundwater modeling, for anyone on campus who wants to come and use the space,” said Shannon Briles, a geological sciences graduate student working with Moysey in the area of surface water.

“We also get to practice presentations each week, so that we are ready to present at conferences or for our thesis defense,” she said.

Danell is enthusiastic about the research impact the center will have for ECU.

“I am excited for this to have such a large campus presence. This is a great example of where we cross college and department boundaries, and all invest in something as important as water,” Danell said.

According to Culver, the establishment of the Water Resources Center is a process that was “12 years in the making.”

He said five major steps made the center possible, the first of which occurred in 2008 when geological sciences proposed the center that was subsequently accepted and supported by higher administration and the UNC System.

Step two occurred in 2010 with the development of lab space in the Flanagan building. Step three occurred in spring 2017, when geological sciences; geography, planning and environment; chemistry; and engineering won a Harriot College competition for a cluster hire that allowed the center to bring in additional faculty researchers and staff, including Moysey.

Moysey was hired in the summer of 2018, although office and conference spaces still were not available. In fact, Moysey worked out of the geological sciences library and the campus Starbucks during his first 18 months on campus.

“The center really is about community, and it’s great having those relationships across campus. Being able to bring people together really is key. That’s what this space is about.”

 

-Dr. Stephen Moysey, director of the center

The fourth step was Culver’s request for funding to build the center, and finally, the fifth step, beginning in 2019, included the renovation and reconstruction of rooms in Graham.

“And now we have this beautiful space. I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity for interdisciplinary research that Stephen is going to lead,” said Culver, who also thanked the architects of MHAworks and Chris Jones from ECU Facility Services, who did a “brilliant job” interacting with the department and making sure everything came together.

Concluding the event, Moysey discussed what he and his colleagues have planned for the future.

The center plans to continue to build community and create opportunity for people to partner and work with one another. They will provide workshops and training programs for faculty and students and are working on building a water core training program for students that give them real-world experience. They want to help build infrastructure and provide resources across campus in a concerted effort to collaborate and do more than one person can do individually.

“The center really is about community, and it’s great having those relationships across campus. Being able to bring people together really is key,” said Moysey. “That’s what this space is about.”

For additional information about the ECU Water Resources Center, visit https://water.ecu.edu/.

-by Lacey L. Gray, University Communications