In an effort to promote research and scholarship conducted by Marquette faculty and staff, the Office of Marketing and Communication and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs have partnered to present a monthly recap of recent grants awarded to faculty and staff.
The report will be featured in Marquette Today each month.
The following grants were awarded to university faculty and staff in January 2021.
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service 2021-25
$250,000 – Joseph and Vera Zilber Family Foundation, Inc.
Ron Smith, editor and project director of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service in the Diederich College of Communication
Abstract: The Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (NNS) has been working to achieve racial equity since its founding in 2011 by accurately capturing the voice of Milwaukee’s minority community and sharing it with the broader region, providing much needed perspective and understanding about the issues shaping society today. Through comprehensive reporting about not only the challenges but also the assets of these communities, NNS changes perceptions throughout the Milwaukee area, within the neighborhoods themselves, and—since its website can be and is accessed from anywhere—potentially the entire nation.
Closing the Phosphorus Loop: Characterizing the potential of green infrastructure for phosphorus removal and recovery
$50,000 – The Lafferty Family Foundation
Dr. Kaushik Venkiteshwaran
Dr. Anthony Parolari
Dr. Brooke Mayer
Dr. Kaushik Venkiteshwaran (PI), research assistant professor; Dr. Anthony Parolari, assistant professor; and Dr. Brooke Mayer, associate professor, all in the Opus College of Engineering
Abstract: With this grant, researchers aim to address the challenge of storm water phosphorus removal in, and recovery from, green infrastructure soils through a series of experiments designed to characterize phosphorus retention under different soil type, pH, and temperature conditions. The results of this research will generate preliminary data that the project team can use to apply for additional external funding to further develop and deploy a novel green infrastructure-based system for phosphorus removal and recovery.
Disinfection of virus-laden surfaces using UV light
$50,000 – The Lafferty Family Foundation
Dr. Brooke Mayer, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, in the Opus College of Engineering
Abstract: The overarching goal of the proposed research is to evaluate the efficacy of UV-LEDs for disinfecting viruses on laminated surfaces (i.e., laminate desktops, countertops, etc.) to which people have a probability of exposure in work and living environments. Given the current pandemic, treatability of enveloped viruses (e.g., SARS-CoV-2) is of particular interest. Many more commonplace viruses such as those responsible for the flu (i.e., Influenza), are also enveloped, making disinfection of virus-laden surfaces important in non-pandemic settings as well.