By James Laird | Reporter
The Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research is a partnership between the city of Waco and Baylor University that focuses on research and education in aquatic resources. CRASR has helped Baylor and the city of Waco “develop strong water-related expertise and capabilities,” according to the center’s website.
According to Dr. Melissa Mullins, environmental education and outreach coordinator for CRASR, their program provides opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to be involved with research in a variety of different water-related fields, as well as conducting community outreach and leading conservation efforts.
“We’re multidisciplinary. You know, [the professors] come from biology, they come from environmental science, they come from geology,” Mullins said. “So all of those departments are educating undergraduates, obviously, and all of those departments also have graduate students that are working at the masters or the Ph.D. level.”
CRASR was organized in 2003 with the help of Dr. Robert Doyle, professor of biology and associate chair of CRASR, and Brian Brooks, distinguished professor and environmental science and biomedical studies director at Baylor. Doyle also credited Dr. Owen Lind as the person who made it possible for Baylor environmental science to be what it is today.
“CRASR didn’t appear from nowhere,” Doyle said. “Owen Lind was here for 50 years, and he was an outstanding water scientist. And had he not come, none of the rest of us would have come.”
Doyle said CRASR helped build the foundation for Baylor to eventually become a Tier One research institution. The work CRASR has done in water related studies helped build Baylor’s research programs as a whole by bringing scientists, development and funds.
“Even before Baylor ever said the words “Tier One,” there were a few people here doing really outstanding work in science and water science. So Baylor thought that was an area that they should develop,” Doyle said. “So I was asked to help organize and recruit more water scientists.”
While CRASR has helped research at Baylor as a whole, their main focus is water-related study. Mullins said that CRASR helps facilitate that research, whether it is at the Lake Waco Wetlands or through an analytic lab doing water chemistry analysis. The center has also been an asset for the city of Waco for water.
“CRASR is at its basis, a partnership between Baylor and the city of Waco to support water research and water needs,” Doyle said.
The impact CRASR has on the city of Waco is extremely important, not just for science but for the community, according to Mullins. Mullins coordinates community outreach, and just finished one of CRASR’s big community events, “World Water Day.”
“It’s really important to talk to them, not only about what we’re doing, but also about our research, to help them understand how it contributes to our knowledge of water in general and also how that connects to their everyday life,” Mullins said.
CRASR aims to support Baylor and the surrounding community and conduct strong water-related research, a sentiment shared by both Doyle and Mullins. Mullins said she hopes to see CRASR continue to grow in its research and funding, as well as engagement and outreach.
“I would love it if people in this area — if they think about water — that we’re one of the first organizations that come to their mind,” Mullins said.
Mullins and Doyle are proud of what CRASR has accomplished and want the center to continue to grow. Mullins said that CRASR’s work is well respected and that benefits Baylor.
“We get asked to do a lot of things and partner with a lot of organizations,” Mullins said. “So I think anytime that we can make Baylor look good – which I think we do – I think that’s a good thing.”
