A new graduate program in subsurface science is training UI Ph.D. students to conduct complex, interdisciplinary research focused on the region below the soil surface, including the cleanup of soil and groundwater contaminants and the long-term underground storage of nuclear waste.

Seven universities in Idaho,Montana, and Utah, plus the University of Alaska Fairbanks, collaborate in the doctoral program under the umbrella of the Inland Northwest Research Alliance. INRA fosters collaboration in research and teaching among the eight universities and between the universities and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL).

“What makes this program unique is the decision to bring together the eight universities and make available the best capabilities at each institution to all the students,”said Bob Smith, UI distinguished professor of subsurface science at Idaho Falls.

Students meet on field trips

Faculty at all eight schools collaborated in developing a two-semester core class and delivering it this past year to the first students in the program, either in person or via live video.Dan Strawn, a UI soil chemist,developed the section on subsurface geochemistry.Other sections cover subsurface architecture, biogeochemical processes, flow and transport, and other disciplines,providing students with technical breadth and a common vocabulary.The students will gather face-to-face at symposia and on field trips.

One goal of the program is to address the shortage of scientists trained in subsurfaces. When Smith managed the geosciences research department at INEEL before joining UI, good hires were hard to find.“We chronically had difficulty finding appropriately qualified people,” he said.“In a lot of technical areas related to the subsurface this is the case.”

UI students tackle tough topics

One of the UI’s first students in the program, Enhao Du, is improving the design of clay liners for isolating hazardous wastes buried underground. His study makes use of INEEL’s new 13-foot diameter geotechnical centrifuge, the only such facility in the region.

Another student, Chris Ball, is attempting to sequence the genome of a subsurface bacterium that, although widespread in nature, has never been sequenced because it won’t grow in laboratory culture. Understanding these inscrutable organisms could reveal their potential for such important tasks as degrading underground hazardous waste.