Ekaterina Menkina, a University of Alabama anthropology student, had never touched professional filming equipment before. However, the Alabama Water Institute’s CONSERVE Research Group took a chance on her in 2024, handing over professional-grade camera equipment and trusting her to document ancient pictographs 800 miles from Tuscaloosa. “I saw the words ‘creative’ and ‘art,’ and I…
A process that once required two full days of hands-on work by a researcher and graduate student now takes about an hour. The Alabama Water Institute’s Equipment Support Program recently helped fund a Thermo Scientific KingFisher Apex for its CONSERVE Future Ecologies lab. The state-of-the-art genomics platform automates the extraction of DNA, RNA and proteins from plants,…
CIROH announces $25.5 million in funding for 47 new research projects that will help communities better prepare for floods, droughts and changing water conditions. Supported by NOAA and USGS, this work will improve water forecasting tools, expand the use of AI, strengthen coastal and flood prediction and advance new observing technologies to turn cutting-edge science…
The CONSERVE Research Group highlighted how their nature-based watershed restoration work supports southeastern fish populations during the Southeastern Fishes Council’s annual meeting in Tuscaloosa. Students from across the region showed strong interest in CONSERVE’s rivercane projects and field survey opportunities, underscoring growing momentum for collaborative habitat and conservation research.
AWI’s CONSERVE team is working with tribal partners across 12 states to map rivercane and build a traits database that supports both ecosystem restoration and cultural traditions. Their recent presentation in Florida highlighted how the project strengthens conservation and tribal heritage.
The Alabama Water Institute introduced its new Wheel of Water to 4,000 ninth graders at the Worlds of Work event, helping students explore careers in hydrology and highlighting the critical need for a strong water workforce in Alabama.
The Alabama Water Institute recently welcomed Dr. Erin White as associate director of science and research operations at CIROH, the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology.
A new three-year initiative will track PFAS contamination in coastal waters across Alabama and Mississippi, producing the first published data on these persistent chemicals in Gulf Coast waters for the region.
The first USGS FLOW Academy brought 13 students to The University of Alabama for a summer of hands-on water technology, fieldwork and discovery that redefined how they see water science.
When Dr. Md Shahabul Alam joined the Alabama Water Institute in 2022, he expected a few years of postdoctoral research, the chance to strengthen his publication record and eventually a faculty opportunity. What he did not anticipate was how quickly his path would accelerate thanks to supportive mentorship, a thriving research community and the breadth…
