Lee Blaney, a researcher at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), recently received two separate pieces of very good news from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The first was that his proposal for a CAREER Award on Environmental forensics–Emerging water quality tools to detect leaking sewers in urban streams was selected for funding. This project will allow him to focus on issues involved with contaminants of emerging concern in the Gwynns Falls watershed.

Lee Blaney, UMBC

CAREER Awards are large, prestigious grants, with this one totaling $500,000 over five years. The goal of his first project is to address leaky sewers that contaminate urban streams with pharmaceuticals and hormones. He’ll locate the leaky sewers and quantify the extent of the pollution, using field and lab techniques. He will then quantify how these contaminants impact local ecosystems.

Secondly, his proposal for an INFEWS award was also selected for funding. Under this funding, Dr. Blaney will oversee a project to develop an innovative nutrient recovery processes that can be applied to municipal or agricultural waste.

Dr. Blaney will test nutrient extraction and recovery devices (NERDs) that recover excess fertilizers from urban and agricultural waste. The recovered samples will be tested for heavy metals and contaminants like antibiotics and hormones. Both of these NSF funded projects have direct relevance to the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its associated ecosystems. Congratulations to him and UMBC!