Congratulations to the 2024 Water Institute Research Award Recipients

The Water Institute is excited to announce K.O. Osimiri and Judyson de Matos Oliveira as the recipients of the 2024 Water Institute Research Awards. This award provides financial support to enhance their research by adding additional components not originally included in their dissertation proposal.

K.O. Osimiri is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Science. Her research focuses on microbial communities in karst aquifers, specifically examining their diversity and the role of biofilms and microbe-mineral interactions in the biogeochemistry of groundwater in North Florida. The Water Institute Research Award will support her efforts to better understand how these microbial communities are affected by anthropogenic nitrogen contamination. The study will clarify threats to water quality, the UFA’s role in nitrogenous gas emissions, and impacts on the geological environment, including its caves and conduits. This project will provide a comprehensive view of the UFA as a terrestrial ecosystem under the pressures of a changing climate.

Judyson de Matos Oliveira is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Horticultural Sciences. His research focuses on modeling soil physical-hydrological processes to enhance irrigation recommendations for vegetable production systems. The Water Institute Research Award will support his development of a soil water retention method using a fast and cost-effective laser diffraction particle size analyzer, tailored to site-specific conditions in Florida. The award will enable him to expand sampling and collect additional data to validate his irrigation tools. This research will contribute to the creation of a statewide subirrigation recommendation tool for growers and UF-Extension.

The Water Institute looks forward to seeing the results of K.O.’s and Judyson’s research and will be recognizing their achievements at the 2024 Water Institute Awards Ceremony.

September 18, 2024