FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 6, 2020
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — A team at Tarleton State University’s Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER), in collaboration with the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in Stephenville, has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Texas General Land Office to work on mitigating watershed issues resulting from hurricanes on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Dr. Ali Saleh, Associate Director of TIAER, will manage the two-year project.
“We were very fortunate to get the award because current research funding is so limited for this important issue in Texas and other states affected by devastating storms and hurricanes,” he said. “TIAER’s 25-year history in modeling, monitoring and water quality analysis for such projects has given us the experience and expertise to work on a project like this one.”
Saleh’s research team is charged with developing an integrated, community-based strategy to alleviate persistent environmental and health impacts resulting from catastrophic flooding, such as occurred when Hurricane Harvey decimated the Houston area in 2017.
“Once we find solutions for the watershed issues,” he said, “then we hope to begin the second phase of the project, which is to apply our developed knowledge strategies, technology and the mitigation strategies developed under this phase of study to the whole Gulf region of Texas and Louisiana.”
The Texas General Land Office is the oldest state agency in Texas, established by the constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836. It manages state lands, operates the Alamo, helps Texans recovering from natural disasters, helps fund Texas public education through the Permanent School Fund, provides benefits to Texas veterans, and manages the vast Texas coast.
The Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research was created by the Legislature in 1991. For more information, visit https://www.tarleton.edu/tiaer/index.html.
Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.
Contact: Phil Riddle
817-484-4415
[email protected]
