The Alabama Water Institute is committed to supporting its University of Alabama affiliated faculty members in their needs for equipment, proposals and publications. To assist in their water-related research requirements, the AWI recently awarded $110,341 in multiple grants.
The AWI has provided the following funds to seven researchers through the institute’s Equipment Support Program:
Dr. Natasha Dimova, associate professor in UA’s Department of Geological Sciences, was awarded $34,661 to help repair a damaged Mirion High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) Well Detector that was donated to her lab. The detector can be used to analyze sediment accumulation rates in coastal areas as part of Dimova’s sea level research. The equipment will be used for multidisciplinary research throughout multiple departments at UA.
Dr. Rona Donahoe, professor in UA’s Department of Geological Sciences, has received $25,000 to renovate the Geochemical Analytical Laboratory for the installation of new analytical instruments that will provide inorganic water quality data. The lab needs to be modified before the equipment is installed. AWI has provided half of the required funds with UA’s College of Arts & Sciences and Department of Geological Sciences providing the other $25,000 as cost-share.
Dr. Lina Pu, assistant professor in UA’s Department of Computer Science, was awarded $20,000 toward the purchase of a low-frequency acoustic transducer. The transducer will be employed to develop a passive acoustic communication system, enabling energy-efficient communication solutions for long-term underwater monitoring applications.
Dr. Mark Elliott, associate professor in UA’s Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, has received $15,580 toward the purchase of a membrane casting machine for flat sheet membrane manufacturing. The machine is used to produce flat sheet membranes for various separation and filtration applications at large scale. This machine can provide the opportunity to test membrane fabrication methods at real-time industrial scales that is currently unavailable at UA. By using a membrane casting machine instead of lab-scale casting knives, UA and the AWI can accelerate the development of innovative membrane technologies and enhance the understanding of water treatment processes.
Dr. Steven Weinman, assistant professor in UA’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, has been awarded $7,000 for a Pall Corporation Centramate/Minimate system. The system is designed as a tangential, or cross, flow system for membrane filtration. It is typically used in biological applications where certain biological components in a water matrix need to be purified.
Dr. Keivan Davami, assistant professor in UA’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, has received $5,000 toward the purchase of a 1,400 degrees Celsius controlled atmosphere muffle furnace. This furnace will be used for the heat treatment of aluminum alloys that will be surface engineered to enhance their strength against corrosion in sea water. A furnace with the ability to reach this temperature is currently not available on campus.
Dr. Mesfin Mekonnen, assistant professor in UA’s Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, has been awarded $3,100 for a Dell laptop. The laptop will be used by a student whose research is in the Colorado basin where drought and over allocation of water is a problem. They are working with other partners to find how best to manage the water supply without affecting the farmers productivity and income.
For more information about how to apply for AWI support programs and for deadlines, contact Stefanie O’Neill at soneill2@ua.edu.