In a story printed May 9 in the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Update, kudos went out to the University of Idaho team that has advanced to the final stage of a $10 million “competition to find the best way to stop to toxic algae blooms from poisoning drinking water supplies and the environment.”
The full story can be viewed at https://www.uidaho.edu/news/news-articles/news-releases/2018-october/~/link.aspx?_id=D15652FF62874EA395368BEB2CBC2F28&_z=z&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=.
The NIFA release noted that the Everglades Foundation, host of the competition, announced four finalists for the George Barley Water Prize, and the award will go to “the team with the best way to remove phosphorus from public waters. Phosphorus causes algae blooms worldwide.”
Eric Eikenberg, CEO of The Everglades Foundation, said, “These finalists represent our best hope for solving the algae crisis that is choking waterways worldwide.” The U of I team and eight others from around the world “demonstrated their ideas for solving the phosphorus problem from February to May at an agricultural canal in Ontario, Canada. U of I environmental chemist Greg Moller, soil scientist Dan Strawn and mechanical engineer Martin Baker finished in the top four teams, winning the right to move on to the final round.”
“We are extremely gratified to join the Everglades Foundation’s quest to find a practical, financially feasible and environmentally friendly fix for a serious problem facing people around the world,” Moller said. “Entering the competition’s final stage will require us to assemble a coalition of our corporate partners and others to show our technology can resolve a widespread threat.”
NIFA supports this outreach through Hatch Funding projects. Technology Innovation at the Nutrient, Energy, and Water Nexus and the New Approaches for Sustainable Water and Energy Process.
Featured Image: University of Idaho mechanical engineer Martin Baker, left, and environmental chemist Greg Moller ready the U of I Clean Water Machine for testing.
