SPPC Fellowships awarded to support cloud seeding, water-quality studies

Desert Research Institute graduate research assistants studying weather modification technology and water quality of the Carson River system have received Sierra Pacific Power Co. Fellowships for 2003, DRI President Dr. Stephen G. Wells announced. Serena Chew, a master's degree candidate in the University of Nevada, Reno, Atmospheric Sciences Program, and Zachary Latham, pursuing a master's degree in the UNR Hydrologic Sciences Program, will each receive $7,500 to support their graduate research projects.

Chew is working with DRI's cloud seeding scientists in an effort to advance her understanding of the meteorological conditions suitable for seeding clouds, cold fogs or potential hail storms. She hopes to apply her eventual degree toward increasing water supplies, opening fogged-in airports and reducing hail damage to crops and property.

Latham is working with microbial biologists and hydrologists at DRI on a project to develop a water-quality model of the Carson River. His efforts will involve the use of a water-quality monitoring network, collecting water and biological samples, and subsequent laboratory and data analyses for the program.

The fellowships are one-year awards selected on the basis of competitive research proposals from graduate students. SPPC fellows are provided with an office at DRI and use of the institute's computer and laboratory facilities. SPPC established the fellowship program at DRI and the Center for Environmental Science and Engineering at UNR in 1997 to enhance environmental research in Nevada's higher education system.