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Twelve receive seed grants from ESI

Published: June 5, 2003

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

Twelve faculty members have received awards through the Spring 2003 funding cycles of the Environmental Management Alternatives Program (EMAP) and the Environmental Science Interdisciplinary Research Program (ESIRP), both offered through the Environment & Society Institute (ESI).

The EMAP provides seed funding for research projects that pair interdisciplinary academic working groups with community stakeholder groups to analyze and develop solutions for local environmental problems.

Receiving EMAP grants were:

  • Joseph A. Gardella, Jr., professor in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, and John E. Vena, professor in the Department of Social & Preventive Medicine in the School of Public Health & Health Professions, "Comparative Autoimmune and Respiratory Prevalence Study in Bellevue: Collaboration between New York State Department of Health, Cheektowaga Citizens Coalition & UB ESI"

  • Alan J. Rabideau, associate professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Matthew Becker, assistant professor in the Department of Geology in the College of Arts and Sciences, "Impact of Agricultural Waste Disposal on Groundwater Quality"

  • Samina Raja, assistant professor, and G. William Page, professor, both in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the School of Architecture and Planning, "Impacts of Infrastructure Projects on Growth Management: A Case Study of Genesee County, N.Y."

The ESIRP provides seed funding for interdisciplinary research and analysis in environmental science relevant to the regional, national and global environmental research and education priorities. Environmental science focuses on the components of the environment—air, water, soil and food. Research in the natural and social sciences that has relevance to, and overlaps with, environmental science also is eligible for funding, including work in the fields of ecology, environmental chemistry, engineering, psychology, anthropology, environmental toxicology and environmental health.

Receiving ESIRP awards were:

  • Diana Aga, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Christina Wan S. Tsai, assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, "Quantitative Assessment of the Sources and Transport of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Niagara River"

  • Christian Renschler, assistant professor in the Department of Geography in the College of Arts and Sciences; Joseph F. Atkinson, a professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and director of the Great Lakes Program, and Mohamed I. Sultan, professor in the Department of Geology, "Environmental Modeling of Burn Scars for Erosion Risk Assessment"

  • John E. VanBenschoten, an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, and Joseph A. Gardella, Jr., professor in the Department of Chemistry, "Application of Analytical Surface Science Methods for Assessment of Fouling in Membrane Filtration of Drinking Water"