Skip to content Where Legends Are Made
Alabama Water Institute

Research

Water is our focus

Water is the central focus of our research and to the support we offer to faculty members at The University of Alabama. It plays a vital role in sustaining our lives and ecosystems. It is a finite and essential resource, and its availability and quality are increasingly threatened by climate change, population growth, pollution and overuse. AWI’s transdisciplinary research into water resources, management and conservation is necessary to understand complex hydrological systems and to develop sustainable solutions to manage and protect water resources for present and future generations.

Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology Logo
Global Water Security Center Logo
CONSERVE Logo

AWI’s 2023 Impact

  • $53M Total FY23 Extramural Funds

  • $710K Research Support Provided

  • $96M Funding for High-performance Computing

  • 67 New Research Projects

  • 134 Affiliated Papers Published

  • 227 Research Presentations

  • 144 Affiliated Members

  • 15 Students in First NRT Cohort

  • 4 Students in First REU

  • 510K Social Media Impressions

  • 27K Social Media Engagements

AWI Waterworks

AWI hosts a monthly seminar series creating a dialogue around a breadth of water topics.

AWI Podcast

The Alabama Water Institute hosts a podcast where we interview and discuss water research, issues, and policies with leaders in a variety of fields. Come join us on your favorite listening platform and get ready to dive deep into water.

Services

AWI offers several services to affiliated researchers an institutions. AWI’s services included:

  • Funding support (e.g. equipment, travel, research, etc.)
  • Proofreading/editing support
  • Graphic support
  • Promotional support
  • Workshops and events
  • Research to operations opportunities
  • Collaboration support
  • Networking opportunities
  • Web development
  • Video Support
  • And more

REsearch Opportunities

The Alabama Water Institute is committed to support all faculty and researchers in their endeavors. The programs and initiatives listed below serve to further these goals. Just this past year, AWI awarded $110,000 in equipment grants to affiliated faculty.

AWI Interdisciplinary Innovation Program 

The AWI Interdisciplinary Innovation Program (I2 Program) aims to increase the rate of competitive external grant submissions from UA faculty and researchers affiliated with the AWI. The program will support research proposed by interdisciplinary research teams, and which will (a) provide critically necessary empirical pilot data (quantitative and/or qualitative) for a federal grant submission, and (b) include clear timelines and procedures for a federal/foundation research grant submission (separate from the timeline for the pilot project study itself). Submission deadline is October 31 of each year. For further information, please look at guidelines provided below:

AWI Research Funds Support

The Alabama Water Institute is committed to supporting its affiliated faculty in their research activities. Below are the criteria and instructions for requesting funds. Requests are not guaranteed to be funded, therefore do not make purchases related to the request before receiving funding notification. All state and UA purchasing guidelines and policies will have to be followed. Requests can be submitted for equipment support, publication support and travel support.