NSF IRES: US-Brazil Collaboration to Expand Perspectives on Water and Sustainability

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About the Project

The National Science Foundation (NSF) International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) project supports international research and research-related activities for U.S. science and engineering students. The IRES program contributes to development of a diverse, globally engaged workforce with world-class skills, focusing on active research participation by undergraduate and graduate students in high quality international research, education and professional development experiences. The overarching, long-term goal of the IRES program is to enhance U.S. leadership in science and engineering research and education and to strengthen economic competitiveness by training the next generation of research leaders.

Our NSF IRES project, with collaboration in Brazil, focuses on expanding perspectives on water and sustainability. Clean water and safely managed sanitation and wastewater treatment are essential engineering services that protect human health and the environment. However, there are major challenges preventing many people from having access to these services. These challenges are just as much social as they are technical. We are integrating social science and intercultural perspectives into engineering research to develop safe and sustainable approaches to address water, sanitation, and wastewater treatment challenges throughout the world.

Click on any of the images below to learn more about the research themes and the projects completed by prior NSF IRES participants from SDSU and Cal Poly Pomona. Participants in the 2023 cohort will most likely work on one of these projects.

Our Team

Our team of mentors includes professors from civil and environmental engineering, microbiology, anthropology, and urban architecture at San Diego State University (SDSU), California Polytechnic University at Pomona (CPP), and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).

Eligibility Requirements

This program is open to any student who will be enrolled in a degree program at San Diego State University (SDSU) or California Polytechnic State University, Pomona (CPP) by Fall semester 2023. In order to be eligible, any student who plans to graduate in Spring 2023 must have applied to a graduate program at SDSU or CPP to start in the Summer or Fall of 2023. All students are encouraged to apply, but preference will be given to students with Portuguese language skills and students from engineering, anthropology, sociology, urban studies, public health, biology, chemistry, and other sustainability-related disciplines with junior, senior or graduate student standing and a strong motivation to complete an independent research project. Exceptional pre-major students (first-year, sophomores) will be considered on a case-by-case basis, especially if they demonstrate a strong interest in research (i.e., plan to do a PhD someday) and/or are fluent in Portuguese. Students from SDSU Imperial Valley campus are strongly encouraged to apply.

NOTE: This year, the applications will also be open to students who participated in the program between 2019 and 2022. If you are applying as a returning student, you must provide an additional answer to a question about why you want to return to Brazil for a second time through this program.

Results from Previous Projects

Virus removal and liquid/solid partitioning in UASB reactors and high rate algal ponds

Research outputs

• Espinosa, M.F., Verbyla, M.E., Vassalle, L., Machado, A.T., Zhao, F., Gaunin, A., Mota, C.R. (2021). Reduction and partitioning of viral and bacterial indicators in a UASB reactor followed by high rate algal ponds treating domestic sewage. Science of the Total Environment, 760, 144309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144309
• Espinosa, M.F., Verbyla, M.E., Vassalle, L., Leal, C., Leroy-Freitas, D., Machado, E., Fernandes, L., Rosa-Machado, A.T., Calábria, J., Chernicharo, C., Mota, C.R. (2022). Reduction and liquid-solid partitioning of SARS-CoV-2 and adenovirus throughout the different stages of a pilot-scale wastewater treatment plant. Water Research, 118069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118069

Performance of wastewater treatment reactors that utilize the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process

Research Outputs

• Rivera, E., Mladenov, N., Astete Vasquez, L., McKenzie, G., Gonzalez, V. (2022). Low maintenance anammox enrichment and nitrogen removal with an anaerobic baffled reactor. Bioresource Technology, 364, 128047, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128047

Desludging intervals and solids removal in UASB reactors

Research outputs

• Bennett, L., Palomo, M., Verbyla, M.E. (2020). Solids analysis of a UASB-HRAP wastewater treatment system in Brazil. Cal Poly Pomona Student RSCA Conference (oral presentation), 7 Mar. 2020, California Polytechnical University, Pomona, CA, USA. **This presentation won first place in the regional competition**
• Bennett, L., Palomo, M., Verbyla, M.E. (2020). Solids analysis of a UASB-HRAP wastewater treatment system in Brazil. California State University (CSU) Student Research Competition (oral presentation), 25 Apr. 2020, CSU East Bay, CA, USA. **This presentation was a runner-up in the statewide competition**

The autoconstruction of water and sanitation systems and environmental services in urban occupations

PReliminary findings

Through this work, we have found that community leaders in low-income urban areas in Belo Horizonte generally have a strong preference to connect to centralized sanitary sewer collection systems that are managed and maintained by the public-private water/wastewater company. While awaiting those connections, the most common onsite sanitation solutions were pour flush pit latrines, with few exceptions in communities where local researchers or organizations had installed alternative onsite technologies such as bioreactors or evapotranspiration systems. Results from our ethnographic research showed that decisions made about the type of sanitation technology used at the household level are related to both basic needs and political strategy, as under-resourced neighborhoods sought greater infrastructural improvements and services from city officials. Community members, social movements, architects, and engineers understood sanitation infrastructure as a tool that was essential to forging a path towards urban formalization and citizenship.

Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in surface waters for communities without sewer connections

Research Outputs

• Rocha, A., Verbyla, M.E., Sant, K., Mladenov, N. (2022). Detection, quantification, and simplified wastewater surveillance model of SARS-CoV-2 in the Tijuana River. ACS ES&T Water (published online ahead of print). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.2c00062

Plastic pollution in fishing waters

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