Kahler Research Group

Hi everyone! Below I have included two links. One directs you to a short YouTube video of me briefly explaining my research project (~3 minutes), and the other takes you to a poster I created for the graduate research symposium. If you're bored, have free time, or just want to learn a bit more about the relationship between COVID-19 and air pollution, feel free to check them out! The poster and accompanying video will also be available on the graduate research symposium page once it goes live on March 8th.  Carissa Poster link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cBHbKY0DE6_9qRA67sC2zUGWlhBi_sRM/view?usp=sharing YouTube link https://youtu.be/Y-LMl67Wqqk

Please note the following webpages from funding agencies: USAID:  https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/resources-for-partners/covid-19-guidance-implementing-partners NSF:  https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/coronavirus/ Notes from WHO:  https://www.who.int/publications-detail/water-sanitation-hygiene-and-waste-management-for-covid-19

Lake Fundudzi, Limpopo, South Africa Duquesne University press release The  U.S. Agency for International Development  has awarded Duquesne University faculty,  David M. Kahler , and co-investigators  Joshua N. Edokpayi , University of Venda, and  Kevin C. Rose   Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a $1 million grant to conduct research on water resources and engage with stakeholders in the Limpopo River Basin. The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.

Mackenzie here! Well, it's good to be back. Dr. Kahler took the time to show Garrett how we use the acoustic doppler velocimeter in the river to get a measurement of flow for this transect site - so I watched for a while and caught some rays. 😎 Sitting on the bank of the beautiful Mutale River in Limpopo, I can't help but contemplate how lucky I feel to be here. It's absolutely stunning, this little corner of Africa. It's the most beautiful valley you'll ever see. In fact, beautiful views are readily available here; we're extremely close to Kruger, a national park that works very hard on animal conservation and biodiversity protection, and I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to visit there twice. But seeing all this beauty and all of the value of this place throws into sharp relief that what is not so readily available in this area: consistent access to clean water from the municipality. The struggle for access to water includes affordability, a...

This is a two-dimensional axisymmetric model of water flowing down an idealized (cylindrical) channel and encountering an idealized dead-end pore (rapid expansion).  The dark blue shows the significantly slower movement in the dead-end pore; although, there is some motion in the form of a recirculation eddy.  This is to better model different dynamics built on previous work reported in Water Resources Research .

Two new papers: Kahler, D. M., & Kabala, Z. J. (2019). Acceleration of Groundwater Remediation by Rapidly Pulsed Pumping: Laboratory Column Tests.  Journal of Environmental Engineering ,  145 (1), 06018009. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001479 This appeared in the Jan 2019 ASCE newsletter. Kahler, D. M., & Kabala, Z. J. (2018). Rapidly Pulsed Pumping Accelerates Remediation in A Vertical Circulation Well Model.  Water ,  10 (10), 1423. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101423 https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/10/1423/htm

Newly published in Water , a paper on the current drinking water resources in rural communities in Limpopo, South Africa.  The full article (open access) is available:  http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/2/159 .

A vorticity contour plot of a flow past an obstruction (Re = 120) that displays the phenomenon referred to as the von Karman vortex street (St = 0.16).

This is a combination of corn starch and water. The combination is a non-Newtonian fluid, which means that the viscosity can change under shear stress changes. This material, sometimes called Oobeck after a Dr. Seuss book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck , is an equal volume of dry, powdered corn starch and water (tap water is fine).

Researchers in front of the weather station. Data are critical in water resources management.  Researchers from  Duquesne University  and the  University of Venda  conducted river discharge measurements and installed a weather station at a local school.  The weather station will provide, among other parameters, precipitation data, which will be used to model the watershed.    The river discharge measurements will be used to measure the amount of surface water that flows through the valley.  Students from Duquesne and Univen are also planning to deliver modules at the local primary school on weather and climate.  The river discharge measurements will be used to model the watershed and hopefully construct a method to determine surface water quantity from satellite  images.  Satellites allow researchers and resource managers to quantify the river water in the past where river gage measurements do not exist. Using a c...

Search for research projects specifically designed for undergraduates funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF provides grants for research projects where undergraduate students participate supervised by faculty or a graduate student. Undergraduates can apply for programs at different schools; the researchers for each of the programs choose who will join. Students must be U.S. Citizens, Nationals, or permanent residents. Search for a program here: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp