This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $263,392 awarded on October 1, 2021 will fund the development of a spatial-temporal predictive framework for the drinking water microbiome through June 30, 2023. Under the NSF Engineering Directorate's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), the awardee Georgia Tech Research Corporation will establish a long-term observatory to monitor microbiome dynamics in Boston's water distribution system. They will develop novel econometric and ecological...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $360,222 to Georgia Tech Research Corp to advance novel biological treatment strategies that leverage comammox and anammox bacteria for sustainable nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment. The research objectives include evaluating the synergy between these specialized bacteria, determining the impact of dissolved oxygen on nitrite provision for anammox bacteria, and conducting pilot-scale...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $200,000 to Georgia Tech Research Corp to conduct research on the use of nanofiltration (NF) for removing short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from contaminated water. The overarching goal is to elucidate the performance and mechanisms of (ultra)short-chain PFAS removal by NF through an integrated approach of experimental studies and computational modeling, including...
This $400,000 three-year Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems will fund research at Georgia Tech Research Corporation to investigate electrode materials for locally enhanced electric field treatment (LEEFT) water disinfection systems. The principal investigators will fabricate and characterize new nanowire-functionalized LEEFT electrodes, and systematically study their durability under different...
This $650,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) supports the development of engineered microbial sensors for assessing water quality. The primary objective is to create new low-cost sensing systems that can detect chemicals in water throughout the water cycle, including wastewater treatment, drinking water, industrial use, and stormwater discharges. The project employs a convergence research...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $649,998 Project Grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to The Washington University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The goal of the project is to develop a new passive water quality monitoring tool based on point-of-use water filters to address inequities in drinking water quality monitoring for under-resourced and minority populations. The Washington University will lead the...
This $419,463 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will support research by Georgia Tech Research Corporation to investigate enhanced electrochemical oxidation methods for the destruction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. The project aims to systematically study the influence of electric field strength on PFAS electromigration and oxidative degradation, leveraging locally enhanced electric field treatment (LEEFT) to...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $2,668,807 Project Grant under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to the Georgia Tech Research Corporation (Georgia Tech) to develop "biopebbles" - natural polymer particles that can enhance nitrogen fixation by soil bacteria, thereby reducing dependency on synthetic fertilizers and their harmful environmental effects. The project will utilize principles of materials science and bioengineering to create the biopebbles, which...
This $216,478 National Science Foundation project grant through the Integrative Activities program (CFDA 47.083) will fund research at New Mexico State University in collaboration with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the pathogenicity of bacteria surviving water disinfection processes. The two-year project beginning February 1, 2023 will explore the impact of chlorine water treatment on bacterial pathogens using advanced cellular assays and metatranscriptomics....
This National Science Foundation (NSF) project grant, awarded under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), provides $163,362 from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026 to Duke University to conduct collaborative research. The project aims to determine the relationship between microbial genes and ecosystem processes in order to improve biogeochemical models for nutrient management in water systems like the Chesapeake Bay and wastewater treatment plants. Specifically, the research will...