CSUN University News Clippings

UCLA and Pierce College awarded federal grants

(October 12, 2009)

Published: 10/9/09

UCLA and Pierce College are among four California schools awarded thousands of dollars in federal grant funds for projects focused on benefiting the environment through technological advances, it was announced Thursday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s fifth annual “People, Prosperity and the Planet” competition encourages students to find innovative ways to address sustainability issues across the globe.

The EPA awarded UCLA $10,000 to help develop a “rapid microbial detection technology” that will reduce waterborne illnesses in a region of Tanzania.

Pierce College in Woodland Hills was also awarded $10,000, for the development of a “family-scale biogas generator” capable of generating enough biogas to cook a meal per day for a family of six.

Other California schools that won grants were:

– UC Riverside, where students are working on a “Concentrated Solar Distillation” project, with the goal of making brackish water drinkable using a magnifying glass.

– Another $10,000 grant was awarded to a UCR team trying to perfect a method whereby waste wood is converted into cellulosic ethanol, providing fuel for machinery while cleaning up the environment, according to the EPA.

– Humboldt State University, where students are working on “Micro- hydroelectric Minigrids.”

Publication: Daily News