Jun 26 2013
Laboratory instrumentation manufacturer Fluid Imaging Technologies, Yarmouth, Maine has awarded its FlowCAM® Water Quality Laboratory Student Internship Grant to New Jersey American Water, Voorhees, N.J. and to the City of Springfield, Mo.
Developed to offer support for public and private water utilities and laboratories interested in strengthening their water quality analysis programs, each grant provides up to $7,500.00 to fund an undergraduate or graduate student intern position plus free training on the automated FlowCAM particle imaging and analysis system at the company’s Yarmouth laboratory, among other benefits. At the New Jersey American Water certified drinking water laboratory in Short Hills, N.J., Water Quality Supervisor Scott Brezinski plans to study nuisance algae including using the FlowCAM’s real-time data to monitor source water and prevent and/or proactively treat algal blooms that cause taste and odor events.
At City Utilities of Springfield, Mo., Water Quality Laboratory Manager Dr. Todd Brewer plans to implement an algae monitoring plan defining variations in cyanobacteria numbers in multiple source water locations to characterize water quality fluctuations and prevent taste and odor events.
Thorough characterization of the source waters including algal cell enumeration and identification has been challenging due to the labor-intensive nature of manual microscopy and the FlowCAM grant is to make this characterization possible, according to Brewer. The FlowCAM instrumentation automatically detects, images, measures and analyzes thousands of waterborne microorganisms and particles in seconds such as algae and invasive mussel veligers.
The grant also includes opportunities to present a peer-reviewed paper based on the water quality research to help the intern with professional development. To apply for the grant, call Harry Nelson at 207.846.6100 or [email protected].