Recognizing that Michigan’s most complex challenges cannot be solved in isolation, Research Universities for Michigan announced the recipients of the first round of Livable Futures Initiative Water Collaboration Grants.
Driven by the conviction that securing the state’s water future requires working across campuses and disciplines, RU4M has invested $400,000 in seed funding to launch the initiative. The funding is designed to break down institutional silos, bringing together interdisciplinary research teams from Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.
Wayne State faculty who will collaborate on all five funded projects include:
Jeffrey Ram, Ph.D., professor of Physiology at the School of Medicine, will collaborate with U-M and MSU on testing a new tool that provides beach water bacteria results in 15 minutes.
Matthew Seeger, Ph.D., professor of Communications at the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, will collaborate with U-M, MSU and MTU to capture nutrients from human and food waste to prevent lake pollution, recycling them into safe, affordable fertilizer for farmers.
Carol Miller, Ph.D., professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the James and Patricia Anderson College of Engineering, will collaborate with MTU, U-M and MSU to study using water towers as giant batteries where utilities can pump water when electricity is cheap and use gravity during peak times when power is expensive.
Lamine Boumaiza, Ph.D., assistant professor of Environmental Science and Geology at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will collaborate with U-M and MSU to implement rewilding strategies that use nature to manage stormwater, restore local ecology and offer a long-term solution for fighting flooding.
Donna Kashian, Ph.D., professor and director of Environmental Science at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will collaborate with U-M, MSU and MTU to bring together Michigan’s water experts with community leaders to create a unified playbook for water protection through 2050.
For more information on the project, visit here.
