Transforming K 12 Education Via The Collaborative Large Scale Engineering Analysis Network For Environmental Research (Cleaner) Project

The Collaborative Large-scale Engineering Analysis Network for Environmental Research (CLEANER) Project Office has been established with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and a coalition of 11 other institutions. The project office is coordinating the creation of a strategic plan consisting of research, cyberinfrastructure, and education plans that set forth a roadmap for the collaborative engineering analysis network for the study of environmental problems. This report will be completed by July 2007 and requires input from K-12 educators, administrators and other stakeholders in K-12 education. This paper describes the CLEANER project, provides an example of the CLEANER Education Committee’s vision for the K-12 area and lists contacts for further information. The intention of this paper is to elicit input from the K-12 engineering education community, including K-12 educators, on how the CLEANER Education Plan could better meet the future needs of K-12 students and educators 1.0. CLEANER Overview As its full name implies, the CLEANER project aims to transform and advance the scientific and engineering knowledge base for addressing the challenges of large-scale, complex, humanstressed environmental systems through collaborative modeling and knowledge networks. This will be accomplished through the creation of WATERS (WATer and Environmental Research Systems) Network, which will allow scientists and other professionals to advance the understanding of human impacts on environmental systems and improve and informed the management of environmental issues. During the years 20052007, the CLEANER Project Office will work with its constituencies to develop a plan for the WATERS Network. The following six committees are currently developing a roadmap for critical components of the project: • Cyberinfrastructure