PECASE: Understanding Sunlight-mediated Inactivation of Pathogens in Water - An Integrated Resarch and Education Career Development Plan

提案题目：PECASE：了解阳光介导的水中病原体失活-综合研究与教育职业发展计划本提案中描述的研究旨在测量在实验室和现场条件下，由于这些阳光介导的机制，一系列细菌和病毒水生病原体和指示生物的失活率，并利用这些信息开发地表水中病原体失活模型。提出了一系列受控的实验室实验，其中采用严格的科学方法来识别，表征和量化由三种失活机制引起的个体和组合失活。特别是，研究的一个重点是量化外源性光氧化对生物体的损害，并确定这种机制在水生环境中重要的条件。这项研究的最终目标是提高我们在工业化和发展中国家保护公众健康的能力。定量了解病原体在地表水（如饮用水源和娱乐用水）中的持久性，将有助于重新评估水质标准，优化监测程序和解释微生物水质数据。特别是，将确定抗阳光失活的病原体和适用于一系列水生环境的适当指示生物。研究结果还将允许设计更好的处理工艺，以减少病原体向环境的排放，因为许多工程工艺依赖于病原体灭活的自然机制（例如，废水稳定池、人工湿地）。最后，研究结果将有助于了解水传播疾病的流行病学；特别是，失活率可以用作定量风险分析模型的输入。拟议的研究和教育计划将鼓励和支持青年科学家和工程师参与国际研究和教育，特别是在发展中国家，方法是发展长期的研究和教育机会，与发展中国家的大学合作，与雇用环境工程师到发展中国家工作的公共和私营组织建立联系；并将与发展中国家工程相关的主题纳入现有的本科和研究生课程。该项目最初是作为职业奖资助的，并于2004年9月转换为工程师和科学家的总统早期职业奖（PECASE）奖。

Proposal Title: PECASE: Understanding Sunlight-mediated Inactivation of Pathogens in Water - An Integrated Research and Education Career Development PlanInstitution: University of California-BerkeleyThe research described in this proposal aims to measure the rates of inactivation of a range of bacterial and viral waterborne pathogens and indicator organisms due to each of these sunlight-mediated mechanisms under laboratory and field conditions, and to use the information to develop models of pathogen inactivation in surface waters. A series of controlled laboratory experiments is proposed in which a rigorous scientific approach is applied to identify, characterize, and quantify the individual and combined inactivation caused by the three inactivation mechanisms. In particular, a focus of the research is to quantify damage to organisms by exogenous photo-oxidation, and to define the conditions under which this mechanism is important in aquatic environments. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to improve our ability to protect public health in the industrialized and developing world. A quantitative understanding of the persistence of pathogens in surface waters, such as drinking water sources and recreational waters, will be useful for reevaluating water quality standards, optimizing monitoring programs, and interpreting microbiological water quality data. In particular, pathogens resistant to sunlight inactivation and appropriate indicator organisms for a range of aquatic environments will be identified. The results will also allow the design of better treatment processes to reduce the discharge of pathogens to the environment, as many engineered processes rely on natural mechanisms for pathogen inactivation (e.g., wastewater stabilization ponds, constructed wetlands). Finally, the results will be useful for understanding the epidemiology of waterborne disease; in particular, the inactivation rates can be used as input to quantitative risk analysis models. The proposed research and educational plan will encourage and support the participation of young scientists and engineers in international research and education, especially in developing countries, through developing long-term research and educational opportunities and collaborations with universities in developing countries, networking with public and private organizations that employ environmental engineers to work in developing countries, and incorporating topics relevant to engineering in developing countries into existing undergraduate and graduate courses.This project was originally funded as a CAREER award, and was converted to a Presidential Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists (PECASE) award in September 2004.