The US Bureau of Reclamation recently announced that Hannah Safford and Heather Bischel were selected to receive the top prize of $40,000 in the Pathogen Monitoring Stage 1 Challenge.
Fun fact: The prize was announced shortly after Hannah returned from a trip to Burbank to compete on Jeopardy!
The Bureau seeks to optimize the design and operations of advanced water treatment facilities. I sense a future Jeopardy question in the works.
Check out our article on applications of flow cytometry for potable water reuse. The lead author, Nicole Rockey, works with Professor Krista Wigginton at the University of Michigan. Krista led the team in reviewing molecular methods for monitoring direct potable reuse systems, and the section that Nicole and I led on flow cytometry came together as this opinions article.
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Graduate students in ECI289A: Synergies between Environmental Engineering & Policy visit the Budweiser production facilities to learn about energy and water sustainability initiatives.
Last week was an exciting one for students in in the graduate course, “Synergies between Environmental Engineering and Policy” (ECI 289A). Students took a field trip to the Budweiser factory to learn about their sustainability initiatives and efforts to reduce water consumption during beer production. Typical beer production requires 8 barrels of water for every one produced. Through recycling and other innovations in their processes, Budweiser is trying to bring the ratio down to a 2 barrels. The factory also uses methane generated in their biological treatment system to power the plant.
Congressman Garamendi ponders Kahui’s project to recovery nutrients from human urine.
Even more exciting than sustainable beer, Congressman Garamendi visited UC Davis on October 24 to meet with students in Environmental & Water Resources Engineering. He shared stories of water challenges and solutions from throughout the globe. He listened to each student describe their research and studies, and expressed gratitude and hope of the future roles of our students in addressing water and climate of our modern time. Thanks to Congressmen Garamendi for taking the time to engage with engineering students.
ECI 289A is being taught this quarter by PhD student Hannah Safford (Bischel as faculty mentor).
Congressman Garamendi exchanges with students on water policy in California during a visit organized by Hannah Safford (at the head of the table).From left: Jeanne, Claire, Soraya, Hannah, Heather, Victor and host David (UC Davis Alumni).
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Six UC Davis affiliated students, scientists, and professors swam in the 42nd Annual Trans Tahoe Relay on July 21, 2018 to raise awareness of watershed protection and water research. For the second year in a row, the Women for Water Research team swam the 10(+)-mile stretch for the Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) and Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS).
2018 Women for Water Research: Trans Tahoe Relay team (From Left: Kelly, Heather, Kate, Sharon, Ann, Veronica, Geoff, and Roberta)
We were supported by boat driver and TERC director, Geoff Schladow, who piloted the TERC research boat for us while sharing tidbits about Lake Tahoe (and candy gummies) along the way. TERC’s discoveries and methods are used to support policy decisions at Lake Tahoe and to help aid research efforts at other lakes around the world.
Ann Willis of CWS took over as captain this year (and hooked us up with UCD caps!). CWS’ uses interdisciplinary research to find environmentally and economically sustainable solutions from managing rivers, lakes, and estuaries.
