FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA, Aug. 16, 2007 -- The National Water Research Institute (NWRI) is pleased to announce that it has awarded 11 new graduate students with NWRI Fellowships. For the upcoming academic year, a total of 19 students are currently receiving NWRI fellowship funding, representing 15 U.S. universities.
Every summer, NWRI awards over $100,000 in new fellowships to support master's or doctoral graduate research related to water resources. The research pertains to NWRI's mission, which is to create new sources of water through research and technology and to protect human health and the environment.
The inaugural Ronald B. Linsky Fellowship for Outstanding Water Research -- consisting of $20,000 a year for 2 years -- was awarded to Douglas Call, an M.S./Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University; his advisor is Dr. Bruce Logan. Call's research is on accelerating the use of microbial fuel cells, a breakthrough technology for generating electricity and treating biodegradable organic matter in wastewater. Not only would this research provide the water community with an efficient approach to treating wastewater, but it can also make it possible for wastewater treatment plants to produce their own electricity.
"Doug Call is an outstanding choice for the Ronald B. Linsky Fellowship, based on his multi-disciplinary background and on his research addressing both water quality and the need to develop a clean and renewable energy source," said Jeff Mosher, NWRI's Executive Director.
The Ronald B. Linsky Fellowship was named in honor of NWRI's late Executive Director, who worked as a biology teacher, oceanographer, Sea Grant director, and private consultant for the United Nations and others before becoming NWRI's founding director in 1991. Funding for this fellowship is provided by Mrs. Patricia Linsky, Dr. and Mrs. David Hsu, and Dr. Stephen Lyon, as well as by the Joan Irvine Smith/Athalie R. Clarke Foundation.
For a complete list of award recipients, click here.
The National Water Research Institute (NWRI) was founded in 1991 by a group of Southern California water agencies in partnership with the Joan Irvine Smith and Athalie R. Clarke Foundation to promote the protection, maintenance, and restoration of water supplies and to protect the freshwater and marine environments through the development of cooperative research work. NWRI's member agencies include Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Irvine Ranch Water District, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Orange County Sanitation District, Orange County Water District, and West Basin Municipal Water District.
###
