Current Center Sponsored Research Projects

Assessing the Role of Desalination in Southern California's Future Water Supply

Principal Investigator: Jean-Daniel Saphores, Assoc. Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Co-Investigators: Timothy Bradley, Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Sunny Jiang, Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Jan Scherfig, Research Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering

This project examines the effect of discharging salt residues back into the ocean and explores methods to better understand the economics of desalination.
Proposal   Powerpoint Presentation

Bio-Energy from Waste: Process Modeling and Gene Technology

Principal Investigators: Betty Olson, Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Jan Scherfig, Research Professor, Civil & Environ. Engineering

In collaboration with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, this project researches the optimization of methane production through augmentation of anaerobic digestion of manure; matching traditional engineering process control with molecular biomarkers.

Chemical and Structural Identification of Organic Matter in Membrane Separations and Advanced Oxidation Processes

Principal Investigator: William J. Cooper, Professor, Environmental Engineering   Proposal

Climate Changes and Water Availability for Southern California

Principal Investigators: Soroosh Sorooshian, Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering Bisher Imam, Assoc. Adjunct Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering

This study is envisioned to delineate the possible influences of global warming on Southern California's water supply during the next fifty years.  Proposal

Workshop on Resilience to Extreme Weather Events

Principal Investigator: Raul Lejano, Assoc. Professor, Planning, Policy & Design Co-Investigators: Helen Ingram, Professor, Planning, Policy & Design, and Jan Scherfig, Research Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Profs. Ingram and Lejano will host a roundtable discussion in January, 2008, on research directions and possible collaborations on the theme of the role of social networks in building community resilience to drought and flood. A small group of researchers will be gathered at UCI to jointly develop research agendas, focus questions, and develop consortia that can pursue joint grant-funded projects. Proposal