$2.5 M for environmental research

A proposal by Prof. Menachem Elimelech, ChE and EnvE, 
and four Pennsylvania State University researchers was 
selected by the National Science Foundation to receive 
one of the six Collaborative Research Activities in Environmental 
Molecular Science (CRAEMS) Awards. The five investigators 
will share the $2,550,000 award over five years. Their winning 
proposal, "Molecular Level Analysis of Macromolecule-Surface 
Interactions in Bacterial Adhesion," was for investigation of 
the experimental and theoretical aspects of bacterial cell 
motion and adhesion near solid interfaces in aquatic systems. 
This research has implications for restoration of contaminated 
groundwater, water treatment, and wastewater reclamation, 
all a matter of growing global importance as the scarcity of 
fresh water becomes a major environmental and human 
health concern.