UC Riverside was awarded more than $40,000 in federal funds for a project to develop a filtration system to improve water recycling, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday.
The agency disbursed the $42,240 grant under its People, Prosperity and the Planet — P3 — program. A total of $557,000 in grants were awarded to eight student teams throughout the country, including the one at the UCR Center for Environmental Research & Technology.
“These students are applying what they have learned in the classroom to create innovative solutions to environmental challenges,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said. “These awards support the next generation of scientists and engineers in their commitment to environmental protection, while helping states, tribes and local communities find solutions to their environmental issues.”
The UCR team is working on an air scrubbing and filtration system intended to both enhance water reuse and make it more cost-effective.
“Research opportunities like this one are the cornerstone on which students construct lifelong careers in scientific research, environmental stewardship and public service,” said Kelley Barsanti, a chemical engineering professor supervising the team. “I have no doubt our talented and motivated students will make huge strides toward accomplishing their goals, thanks to the fruitful partnership between UC Riverside and the EPA.”
Mike Stoker, who heads the agency’s Pacific Southwest Office, anticipated that the UCR team’s “innovative research will help us better protect human health.”
No research timeline or milestone dates were listed.
More information about the EPA grant program is available at www.epa.gov/P3 .