Project Grant 2341872

This $300,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (CFDA 47.075) program supports the University of Southern California's "Collaborative Research: Retooling at the Hydro-Frontier: Devices for Resource Extraction in the 21st Century" project. The research examines how new membrane-based filtration and fermentation technologies are being developed and applied to enable more efficient and equitable water resource extraction in response to anticipated water scarcity challenges. The project will use historical, ethnographic, and arts-informed empirical methods to investigate how scientists, decision-makers, and other stakeholders anticipate repurposing existing technologies to transform approaches to water and resource utilization. This interdisciplinary research aims to generate insights into broader shifts in resource extraction and innovation, while also providing training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. The project period runs from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2027.