Mountain State Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee, on June 8 announced grant funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to West Virginia University (WVU) for two research projects. One project revolves around water quality and is funded by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program that Senator Capito has supported. The other program studies impacts from long-term changes in environmental conditions.

“WVU has been a leader in research projects that help increase our nation’s volume of knowledge, especially in the STEM fields. This funding will only enhance these efforts, especially with one of the programs falling under the EPSCoR program,” Senator Capito said. “These resources will help WVU study how we can increase safe drinking water standards in our distribution systems and learn how life itself has changed and adapted throughout time.”

Individual award amounts and project descriptions are listed below:

• $505,784 to support an EPSCoR research project aimed at advancing the fundamental understanding of the impact of hydrodynamics conditions on the composition, structure, and stability of biofilms that form on the surfaces of drinking water pipes. The successful completion of this project will benefit society though the development of fundamental knowledge to guide the management of drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) with the goal of improving both the quality and safety of drinking water at the points of consumption. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including mentoring of one graduate and two undergraduate students at WVU.
• $286,418 to support a research project designed to understand abiotic change on Earth. This project will train the next generation of museum curators, educators, and researchers, and publish open-access information about echinoderms.