Virginia Water Resources Research Center

Competitive Grants Program

Under the Competitive Grants Program, the Water Center considers proposals for funding up to $20,000/year and project durations up to two years. Graduate student tuition match is required.

Call for proposals are issued in late January with a deadline of March 30. Successful proposals are announced by late May. Starting date for funded projects is July 1, with ending date of June 30 of the following year.

Proposals are considered in all areas of the water environment and water resources management. Submitted proposals are reviewed and ranked by the Water Center’s Technical Advisory Panel. Review criteria include technical merit of the proposed project and research opportunities provided for graduate and undergraduate students.

A list of the recent recipients of the Water Center's competitive grants is available here.

  • For more information please e-mail Dr. Tamim Younos at tyounos@vt.edu or call (540) 231-8039.

Proposal guidelines

Please make sure you include the following information in your proposal:

  • Project title
  • Project investigator(s) and affiliation
    Include name(s), title, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone and FAX numbers.
  • Project abstract
    150-200 words
  • Keywords
    3-5 keywords describing general area and focus (e.g., NPS, bacterial contamination)
  • Project type
    Identify the project as research or technology transfer
  • The proposal contents
    The proposal length excluding budget, references, and resumes should not exceed 8 single spaced pages (font 12). The proposal should include the following sections:
    • Statement of justification
      Provide a justification statement for undertaking the project, discuss its originality, relevance to water resource problems in Virginia and the region, and how and where research results could be used.
    • Objectives
      Describe the major goal and specific objectives of the project.
    • Procedures
      Describe procedures that will be used to achieve the specific objectives outlined above.
    • Expected results
      Discuss expected results and the application and benefits of the project.
    • Student support
      Give number of graduate and undergraduate students to be involved and their majors.
    • Cooperating agencies
      Describe potential cooperating federal, state and local agencies, any private-public partnership and the nature of cooperation.
    • Budget
      Provide a detailed itemized budget with clear justification for each expenditure category. The total may not exceed $20,000 per year. No indirect costs are paid. Graduate student tuition match is required.
    • Qualification of investigator(s)
      Attach a 1-2 page resume for each investigator. Include only relevant publications and a list of on-going or completed projects relevant to the proposed research.

Recent Competitive Grants recipients

2008

  • David T. Gauthier, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary: "Ecology of Mycobacterial Striped Bass Pathogens in Water and Sediments of the Rappahannock River, VA"
  • Zhiyou Wen, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech: "Molecular Assessment of the Fate of Pathogenic Organisms in Dairy Manure"

2007

  • Paul Bukaveckas, Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University: "Nutrient Retention in Tributary Streams of the James River"
  • Madeline Schreiber, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech: "The Role of Epikarst in Controlling Recharge, Water Quality and Biodiversity in Karst Aquifer Systems in Virginia"

2006

  • Brooks Crozier, Roanoke College: "DNA-Sequence Based Micorbial Source Tracking (MST) of Enterococcus spp"
  • Howard Kator, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary: "Detection of Norovirus in Sewage Effluent and Its Persistence in Estuarine Water Using Real-Time PCR"
  • Nancy Love, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech: "Evaluating the Extent of Pollution-Induced Antibiotic Resistance in Environmental Bacterial Strains"

2005

    • Marc Edwards, Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech: "Effect of Chloramines on Lead Leaching, Bacterial Growth and Non-Uniform Copper Corrosion"
    • Katharine Knowlton, Department of Diary Science, Virginia Tech: "Fate of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Dairy Manure During Storage and Treatment"
    • Madeline Schreiber, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech: "Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Recharge in Karst Agricultural Watersheds"
    • Peter van Veld, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary: "Biomarker Responses in Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) During Life-Cycle Exposure to Biosolids"

    2004

    • Howard Kator, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary: "Role of Sediment as a Source and Reservoir of Fecal Coliforms with Regard to Shellfish TMDL in Virginia"
    • William Knocke, Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech: "Development of Soluble Manganese Sorptive Contractors for Enhancing Potable Water Treatment Practices"
    • Michal Kowalewski, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech: "Industrial Mercury Pollution of the North Fork Holston River (Virginia): New Non-Invasive Strategies for Assessing Anthropogenic Deterioration of Freshwater Ecosystems"

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