UH Researchers Join National Effort to Study Recent Storms

Steven Pennings, professor of biology and biochemistry in the UH College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, will look at how well mangroves protect the coast, compared with salt marshes. Hanadi Rifai, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the environmental engineering graduate program at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, will characterize the chemical and microbiological contamination in Houston waterways after Harvey.

The work is part of a $5.3 million effort by the NSF to rapidly fund 59 projects, most of them related to hurricanes Harvey and Irma. NSF also plans to support work related to Hurricane Maria.