Subject: USF Engineering student seeking USDA Grant for Aquarium Study- - ERRWeaver

Subject: USF Engineering student seeking USDA Grant for Aquarium Study- - ERRWeaver

This is complete disclosure, as the grant is due July 16^th and I welcome your insight, directions, suggestions, or comments to complete this. Mahmood H. Nachabe is my Major Professor and has agreed to be the PI, as he has previously been funded by this USDA Program.

In 1989, after the Aquarium was built, a Nonpoint Source Management Program grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) funded the Stormwater/Nonpoint Source Management Section of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Water Management District to complete the detailed data collection of stormwater from the parking lot. Data collection continued until 2005.

My dissertation work is compiling this data into the EPA Stormwater Management Model to simulate similar applications leading to support Urban Agriculture (UA). When I contacted the Aquarium about this project, I met with the Horticulture Curator who helped with the original research. She is interested in restoring the original sampling equipment and associated weather station to collect new data from the parking lot to support further research and community education.

To support this, I am preparing an application to the National Institute of Food And Agriculture; U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants: Program Water for Agriculture Challenge Area (attached PDF). This work will include five primary efforts:

1. Establish new SWMM simulations science to define non-point pollution reductions through swale plantings and similar filtration BMP/LID technologies.
2. Install sampling equipment for small UA installation to use stormwater runoff resulting from established filtration technologies for food irrigation.
3. Collect and analyze food produce derived from UA installation to determine suitability for human consumption.
4. Conduct three community engagement workshops to present results and create community support to establish UA guidelines for non-point pollution reductions in Tampa Bay neighborhoods.
5. Prepare graduate course case study data to support a new course, possibly to add to Entrepreneurship MS or Global Sustainability MA degrees.

To support these numbered items above, these corresponding efforts are in process:

1. XP Solutions Inc. has provided a student license for their $14,000 XPSWMM software. The existing data has been compiled and I am completing the first simulations and sensitivity analysis now. A publication will be submitted for journal review this summer. This grant would include a request for license extension, as in-kind support.

2. Locher Environmental Technology provided an estimate for restoring the sampling equipment and weather station: $68,000. = 60-Water new event samples for analysis.

• Dr. Rama Raje Urs supportive partner - project plan and USDA requirements
• Florida Aquarium supportive partners - primary site location

3. Collect and analyze food produce derived from UA installation to determine suitability for human consumption = 60-Water and 54-tomatoes analysis samples

• Jill Roberts supportive partner - produce microbial analysis
• Marie Bourgeois supportive partner - produce toxicity analysis
• Zachary Atlas supportive partner - water toxicity analysis
• George Philippidis supportive partner - water nutrient analysis

4. Conduct three community engagement workshops to present results and create community support to establish UA guidelines for non-point pollution reductions in Tampa Bay neighborhoods.

• Jennifer Marshall supportive partner - workshops, stakeholder analysis
• Others participants include R. Craig Lefebvre

5. Prepare graduate course case study data to support for the The Social Entrepreneur pilot course new course, possibly to add to Entrepreneurship MS or Global Sustainability MA degrees.

• Dean Petersen, Joseph W. Dorsey supportive partners - graduate course development.

As noted above I welcome your guidance and recommendations for completing this process. I believe having the College’s of Engineering, Public Health, and Global Sustainability as collaborators with the Aquarium will be a significant partnership. Further, both Hillsborough County and The City of Tampa use SWMM for stormwater infrastructure analysis.

Thank you in advance for your time considering this. I welcome any suggestions, and will telephone you Tuesday morning to meet and discuss at your convenience.

Regards,

Eric

Eric R.R. Weaver
Civil Engineer Doctorate Candidate
PCGS Research Associate
 

http://eweaver.myweb.usf.edu/

(813) 974-8337

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