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Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor DeeAnn Sanders is developing reliable methods to predict the rate of intrinsic bioremediation at hazardous waste sites. |
University Center for Energy Research
Energy exploration, production, and usage has been integral to
the economic health of the United States for the past 75 years.
This is even more evident in Oklahoma and surrounding states where
enormous fluctuations in prosperity have occurred as the price
and availability of energy resources have oscillated. The UCER
was established by the State of Oklahoma to provide a multi-disciplinary
base to address the complex problems in the field of energy research.
The UCER supports energy-related research programs and encourages
the organization of inter-disciplinary activities. Proposals for
funding are submitted to UCER in February of each year. The proposals
undergo a peer review process with final project selections made
by the Director and an external review panel. A funding objective
of the UCER is the support of new faculty and new and/or innovative
research. Funding from the UCER is often used to seed the establishment
of new research programs. This initiative enables faculty to develop
a sound knowledge base in their research areas, enabling them
to generate additional funding within two or three years. The
projects support students, post-doctoral research associates,
and the procurement of state-of-the-art equipment.
In fiscal year 1998, the UCER supported a project based in the
Chemical Engineering Department which investigated inferred ASTM
product property calculations for control and optimization.
University Center for Water Research
Water resources and water-related
issues commonly capture the media's attention. In local communities,
regional and state jurisdictions, and national and international
arenas, considerable attention is focused on the availability
of good quality water in sufficient quantities to meet the demands
of affected populations. And, as with any natural resource, decisions
are inextricably linked to public opinion, environmental impact,
economic development, and population growth. At Oklahoma State
University, the UCWR has been studying water issues and providing
solutions to water problems for many years. With the philosophy
that clean water of adequate quantity and quality is essential
to the physical and economic health of individuals, communities,
and nations, the UCWR strives to provide funding and information
for researchers and information and management protocols for decision
makers.
The UCWR is responsible for the administration of the Oklahoma
Water Resources Research Institute (OWRRI) and the Water Research
Center (WRC), developed as a "center of excellence"
by the State of Oklahoma. This combination of responsibilities
provides the Center with the opportunity to coordinate the University's
research programs with outside agencies such as the Oklahoma Water
Resources Board, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Oklahoma Department
of Environmental Quality, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission,
the other 53 water resources research institutes throughout the
country, and other state and federal agencies involved in water
resources research and management programs. This interaction provides
a broad base of knowledge and experience from which new research
projects evolve and it allows the UCWR to maximize its available
resources.
Research projects funded by the UCWR via five administrative entities
in FY 1998 are as follows: robust control for contaminated groundwater
remediation; surface modification of titanium dioxide nanoparticles
by metal complexes for the photocatalytic degredation of water
pollutants; sources and sinks for nitrogen and phosphorous in
a tallgrass prairie watershed; an ecological assessment of desertification
and the functional redundancy of two grass species; use of naturally
occurring electro acceptors in intrinsic bioremediation of petroleum
contamination; groundwater and atmospheric pollution potential
from model facultative swine lagoons; a multidisciplinary chemical
and toxicological approach of evaluating chemical immobilization
of heavy metals in contaminated soil; and soil phosphorus testing
for surface water quality protection.
Spatial and Environmental Information
Clearinghouse
The Spatial and Environmental
Information Clearinghouse (SEIC) is a research, service, and education
unit of the Environmental Institute. SEIC was established in 1995
as a participant in the National Spatial Data Initiative, an initiative
of the Clinton administration for sharing geospatial data. As
such, SEIC serves as the Oklahoma node of the National Geopsatial
Data Clearinghouse, a network of local Internet sites providing
rapid, world-wide search and access to geospatial data via the
Internet. Geospatial data refer to Earth (geo) features that vary
with location (spatial); e.g., networks of roads or rivers, patterns
of land use, or locations of businesses. These data are most often
associated with geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning
systems (GPS), and satellite and aircraft remote sensing.
The past year has been one of significant changes at SEIC. Growth
in staff and facilities have promoted expansion and improvements
in the research and services. The SEIC computer laboratory is
now well equipped with the latest hardware and software for data
and information encoding, management, and dissemination, giving
OSU researchers and others access to the state-of-the-art date
search, retrieval, and analysis capabilities. The number of undergraduate
and graduate students working on projects at SEIC has increased.
They too gain unique research, teaching, and production experience
in the high-tech lab to augment their formal classroom training.
Research support services have also improved over the past year.
SEIC provides research data and information primarily through
the SEIC Internet Home Page at http://www.seic.okstate.edu. The
on-line services include worldwide search and retrieval of data
on the basis of the subject or the spatial coverage of the data.
In addition, a number of Oklahoma data sets are on-line for direct
use or copying. Many other Internet links are also maintained
on the SEIC Home Page to help OSU faculty, students, and others
find appropriate data, training, and support services for geospatial
research and teaching.
Attracting external funding was made a high priority at SEIC last
year, increasing the amount of funding for research and sponsored
program activities significantly. In this first year, State and
Federal funds have supported workshops on unique Oklahoma data,
development of interactive systems for interrogation and display
of State water quality standards and water right permits, and
creating of digital images for modeling toxic waste at a landfill.
Some of the new research efforts are collaborations with other
OSU faculty and professional staff as well as with public and
private organizations outside the university. The past year's
funding and successful completion of activities have contributed
greatly to the growth at SEIC. External funding is expected to
continue to increase and to contribute to research, services,
and education at OSU.