UA Wins Campus Water Matters Challenge at SEC Academic Conference

The University of Alabama won first place in the Campus Water Matters Challenge at the 2017 SEC Academic Conference, the SEC announced recently.

The winning team was comprised of the following students: Ilham Ali, Samuel Downs, Mariam Khanam, Zoe Miller, James Misfeldt, Dinuke Munasinghe, Zachary Stephens and Julia Zimmerman. The title of the team’s project was Design of a Retention/Infiltration Basin and Bioswales: Alleviating Flooding and Water Quality and Use Issues Near Bryant-Denny Stadium. Sagy Cohen served as their faculty adviser.

The goal of the competition was to engage students at SEC universities in designing sustainable water resource solutions on their respective campuses. The challenge was modeled after the Environmental Protection Agency’s Campus Rain Works Challenge.

“The Campus Water Matters Challenge was a fun competition that encouraged student involvement in the conference,” said Dr. Mary Love Tagert, assistant extension professor at Mississippi State University and local organizing committee member. “The competition promoted interdisciplinary collaboration that should provide numerous benefits when the projects are implemented.”

Auburn University finished second in the competition, followed by the University of Florida.

The competition was part of the two-day SEC Academic Conference hosted by Mississippi State. The event was titled “The Future of Water: Regional Collaboration on Shared Climate, Coastlines, and Watersheds.”

The SEC Academic Conference showcases SEC faculty and student research in an area of significant scholarly interest to a range of academic, legislative and other stakeholders. It is one of the ways the SEC promotes and advances the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of its students, faculty and administrators.