2018 Mini-grant Recipients
In November, 2017, the Rutgers Raritan River Consortium (R3C) awarded a combination of eleven mini-grants and internships to support research by Rutgers faculty, staff and post-doctoral researchers on Raritan River, basin and bay resource issues. The recipients, award amounts and project titles are:
- Kaixuan Bu (Dept. Marine & Coastal Science, School of Enviromental & Biological Science (“SEBS”)) and Jeffra Schaefer, PhD (Dept. Environmental Science, SEBS), “Temporal Heavy Metal Distribution and Bioaccumulation in the Lower Raritan River“
- Matthew Campo (Environ. Analysis & Communications Group, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy (“EJB”)), “Understanding the Benefits and Risks of Coastal Flood Hazard Adaptation Strategies for Water-Dependent Uses in the Raritan Bay “
- Donna E. Fennell, PhD (Dept. Environmental Sciences, SEBS), “Tracking Genes and Bacteria Responsible for Organohalide Reduction in the Raritan River Basin“
- Jie Gong, PhD (Dept. Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering) and Jennifer Whytlaw, GISP (Environ. Analysis & Communications Group, EJB), “Digital Raritan River – A Pilot Study on Creating a Rich Digital Environment to Support Resilience Centered Investigations in the Raritan River Region “
- Jean Marie Hartman, PhD (Dept. Ecology & Evolution, SEBS), “Status of Forests in the Lower Raritan Watershed“
- Olaf P. Jensen, PhD (Dept. Marine & Coastal Sciences, SEBS), “Quantifying Fish Movement and Phenology on the Raritan River”
- Jill Lipoti, PhD and Mary Nucci, PhD (Dept. Human Ecology, SEBS), Beth Ravit, PhD (Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability, SEBS), Kristi MacDonald, PhD (Raritan Headwaters Association), “Plastics in the Raritan River”
- Karl Nordstrom, PhD (Dept. Geography, School of Arts and Sciences (“SAS”)) and Jonathan Miller (Dept. Marine & Coastal Sciences, SEBS), “Assessment of Protection Strategies for Estuarine Beaches: A Case Study of Cliffwood Beach”
- John Reinfelder, PhD, Jeffra Schaefer, PhD, Philip Sontag (Dept. Environmental Sciences, SEBS) and Grace Saba, PhD (Dept. Marine & Coastal Sciences, SEBS), “Influence of Raritan River Spring Discharge on Mercury Bioaccumulation in Raritan Bay”
- David A. Robinson, PhD (Dept. of Geography, SAS), “Raritan Basin Weather and Climate Monitoring and Information Access”
- Douglas Zemeckis, PhD (Dept. Agriculture & Natural Resources, SEBS), “Providing Data on Discards and Fishery Dynamics to Inform Management Policy of the Recreational Summer Flounder Fishery in Raritan Bay”
Rutgers faculty, staff and post-doctoral researchers (with faculty advisor) were eligible to apply. Proposals that included a strong education component or that demonstrated collaboration with external Raritan stakeholders and/or collaboration between Rutgers schools and programs were given preferential consideration. The award related work is to be conducted between December 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018.
The R3C Mini-grant and Internship Pool program encourages collaboration between Rutgers affiliates and stakeholders throughout the Raritan basin to address research, public information, and planning needs and to promote best management practices for a more sustainable Raritan River, basin and bay. This program is made possible with funding from Rutgers Chancellor Deba Dutta, and with the support of Dean Michael Greenberg (EJB), Dean Robert Goodman (SEBS) and the Johnson Family Chair for Water Resources and Watershed Ecology.
This is the second year of the R3C’s program to support work by Rutgers affiliates in the Raritan region. Last year, the R3C awarded five mini-grants and two internships grants that addressed a broad range of work including research in microplastics, fate of personal care products in sediments, and fish migration monitoring, and grants to train students on NJDEP water quality sampling protocols, inventory critical infrastructure in the Raritan basin, and document student work that frames an introduction to the Lower Raritan watershed for incoming students.
For more information about the FY18 recipients and to read descriptions of their original proposals, click here or follow the links above.