UCLA associate professor of civil and environmental engineering Shaily Mahendra received the 2017 Paul L. Busch Award  in recognition of her innovative and promising technology to remove harmful pollutants from water using enzymes and a delivery system that has been successful in medical applications in the past. Her work proposes to use this tried and true technology to treat waste water in an environmentally friendly way at a lower cost than typical filter membranes. Technologies like hers will allow L.A. to clean up its local water and increase our usable water supply in the region – allowing us to rely less on imported water sources.

The honor, awarded annually since 2001, is considered the top recognition in the field of water quality for early- to mid-career researchers. It includes a $100,000 grant for her research. Mahendra’s research centers on environmental microbiology, looking to understand and control microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi and how they interact with their surrounding environment and other constituents, especially pollutants.

Read the full story and watch Shaily Mahendra’s research being profiled here.