MONTEREY, Calif. (KGTV) - A California State University, Monterey Bay professor will receive a substantial grant from the Defense Department to find methods to harness fog.
The $266,589 gift will fund research on ways to use mesh-based devices to collect water circulating in fog, according to CSUMB. The DoD is interested in the study to collect usable water for drinking or irrigation, which may be useful for military personnel in remote foggy regions.
"The presence of fog affects visibility and can impact Army operations,” Julia Barzyk, the program manager for Earth Materials and Processes at the Army Research Office told CSUMB. “We are excited that this award will enable the science needed to mitigate those effects as well as provide opportunities to develop the next generation of scientists."
College of Science Professor Dan Fernandez, who has a doctorate in electrical engineering, plans to buy two FM-120 Fog Detectors for his research. There are 106 of the devices in the world, Fernandez reported.
“We live in a region where coastal fog is an important aspect of our place. It makes sense that this effort is taking place here and that it can also involve our students who then get to experience the fog both personally, while attending CSUMB, and by participating in state-of-the-art research involving fog,” Fernandez told CSUMB.
