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,…
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.
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.
The Alabama Water Institute continues to support its affiliated faculty members and their research across The University of Alabama with new tools that expand capabilities in labs and in the field.
Op-Ed by Dr. Travis Loof Setting the Scene A few minutes before 8 a.m., the room was a quiet mix of coffee cups, maps and county binders. Then the briefing began. A Helene-like hurricane had tracked inland and pushed up the I-65 corridor. The scenario was blunt. Statewide power impacts. Road washouts. Compounding hazards. My…
AWI’s Water-R2O NSF Research Traineeship program celebrated the graduation of its 2024-2025 cohort, capping a year of hands-on water science training that spanned the Southeastern U.S. and four European countries.
Dr. Jonathan Frame has secured a National Science Foundation grant to investigate how expanding AI infrastructure will impact water resources—a critical issue he believes will define the next decade of water management.
CONSERVE partnered with tribal nations and local officials in Oklahoma for a tabletop exercise aimed at improving flood preparedness and response. The event highlighted the value of local knowledge, cross-jurisdictional collaboration and new NOAA visualization tools in tackling complex flood risks.
Ian Brunetz has received the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship for his research in freshwater ecology. His interdisciplinary work on freshwater mussels highlights his dedication to advancing aquatic science and science communication.
