Project Summary (2000-2006)

The Pre- and Post-Doctoral Training Core fosters interdisciplinary study in the environmental sciences for students and fellows participating in the biomedical and non-biomedical research projects and core laboratories of the Superfund Basic Research Program at Columbia University. The Core brings the trainees together in a series of educational enrichment activities to learn about other disciplines and other academic and real-world aspects of environmental problem solving. The educational enrichment activities consist of: (1) an interdisciplinary training seminar series; (2) case-study team projects; (3) rotations outside the university; and (4) selected short courses. The training seminar series meets monthly and draws on the program faculty, additional Columbia faculty and outside speakers to cover a wide range of topics relevant to environmental professionals. For the case-study team projects, the trainees work as a multidisciplinary group on specific environmental projects over the course of a semester. This allows them to analyze an environmental problem from various perspectives and to submit a written report with their conclusions and recommendations. Through agencies, corporations, and community and public interest groups, trainees will be expected to select a rotation of up to one month per year where they can gain exposure to environmental problem solving in applied, real-world settings. Additional course work covers ethical conduct of research, GIS, Online Information Resource Management, and Risk Assessment, Communication and Management.