Featured Awards – July 2015

Yang Deng, Dibyendu Sarkar, and Pravin Punamiya (Earth & Environmental Studies, CSAM) received a $39,200 subaward from Manhattan College for the University Transportation Research Center-funded “Development of a New, Effective and Low-cost Mulch Adsorption Material for Sustainable Management of Polluted Road Stormwater in Highly Urbanized Areas.” Drs. Deng, Sarkar, and Punamiya will play critically important roles in developing a new, low-cost, and “green” mulch for mitigation of stormwater pollutants on urban roads.

Lisa Hazard and Kirsten Monsen (Biology, CSAM) were awarded $3,500 by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection for “Environmental Correlates of Ranavirus Disease Distribution in New Jersey.” The project will test for correlations between critical environmental factors and presence of Ranavirus (a viral disease affecting fish, amphibians, and reptiles).

‌‌‌Steven Shapiro (Library Services) and Sandra Passchier (Earth & Environmental Studies, CSAM) were awarded $20,000 by the NJ Council for the Humanities for “Rising Tide: What We can Learn From the Dutch and their Relationship with Water.” The program consists of a series of lectures, film screenings and discussions that explore the Dutch and their uneasy relationship with water as well as what New Jersey can learn from the Dutch experience in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. In addition, the program will address related themes such as the Dutch Republic, a former maritime power, and its legacy in New Jersey and New York, and the history of human understanding regarding the sea and natural disasters from a local and global perspective.

Meiyin Wu (Passaic River Institute, CSAM) was awarded $3,500 by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection for “Assessment of the First Herpetofauna Tunnels in New Jersey.” This study will determine the effectiveness of wildlife tunnels in Bedminster, NJ, that were built to reduce the road mortality of migrating reptiles and amphibians.