    |
|
What is TREX?
TREX (Travelling Research Environmental Xperiences) provides MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering undergraduates the opportunity for hands-on field work and research in a global context. These IAP expeditions to study various environmental issues - scientific, political and economic - have generated enormous enthusiasm for learning about earth systems and determining how they can be managed in a sustainable way.
TREX I (2000) took 13 undergraduates, with four faculty and staff, to the Everglades in Florida. Students researched the role of increasing phosphate concentration in the degradation of the sawgrass ecosystem and learned about the Everglades Forever Act and the planned reclamation of its watershed.
In 2001, TREX II visited the "Big Island" of Hawaii. Field work from boats and the shoreline was carried out to determine the average flow of groundwater into the ocean. Fifteen undergrads treked all over the island - even to within one foot of flowing lava from the Kilauea Volcano.
In 2002, TREX III reached half way around the world to New Zealand and Australia. Thirteen undergrads and six M.Eng. students spent four days in the outback gathering physical, chemical and biological data on the Williams River, the drinking water source for the city of Newcastle.The data was gathered using computerized field notebooks (the product of a student run seminar- ENVIT) and used to develop a model of the Williams River that would aid in watershed management. Blackwater rafting in the glow-worm caves of Waitomo, New Zealand was another highlight of the trip.
The 2003 TREX IV trip to Hawai'i brought us back not only to the "big" island but also to a mountaintop in Kauai. We studied topics as diverse as invasive species, groundwater flow and indigenous cultures.
January 2004 brought TREX V once again to the "big island", where we have forged a strong research relationship with Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. While there we stay in a cabin in the park and work in a field analytical wet chemistry lab that we have set up at park headquarters. Our small lab even has analytical instruments, such as a UV-VIS and Atomic Absorption spectrophotometers. During this IAP trip we completed our thermal imaging work of groundwater flux to the ocean. A research paper on that work has been submitted to Limnology and Oceanography and work was begun on the park's anchialine ponds.
Building on the previous years' data, TREX VI in January 2005 continued the research on the park's anchialine ponds. We are compiling background chemistry and biodiversity data on the park's endangered anchialine ponds. We ran a 25-hour Diel experiment to track the nutrient levels over tidal cycles . Students sampled every two hours throughtout the day and night.
TREX VII sees a visit to Pearl Harbor to discuss the continued oil leaks of the USS Arizona, a return to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, and volunteer work with Hawai'ian high school students.
Students who participate in TREX gain valuable insights into real world ecological issues and obtain practical experience outside the classroom.
"I am sure the students who participated in this expedition gained some valuable insights on the ecology and the nutrient balance of the system. I am very pleased that the Department and the Lab, in particular, has taken a positive step in exposing the talented students to the realities of life. Knowledge about the socio-economic aspects of environmental policies is an essential element of higher education in engineering. Such experiences are invaluable in preparing the students to face the real world issues head on immediately after they leave the ivory tower!"- Tavit Najarian (Ph.D., 1974)
