Skip to main content
Denison University Home
  • About Denison +
  • Academics +
  • Admission & Aid +
  • Campus Life +
  • News & Events +
  • Arts
  • Athletics & Recreation
  • Alumni
  • Parents
  • Title IX / Non-Discrimination
Prefer browsing? Check out the A-Z directory

Popular

  • Commencement
  • Shop Denison / Bookstore
  • Denison Forward
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Academic Calendar
  • Majors
  • Career Exploration
  • Eisner Center
  • Employment
  • MyDenison

Your Most Viewed

    Prefer browsing? Check out the A-Z Directory

    Popular

    • Commencement
    • Shop Denison / Bookstore
    • Denison Forward
    • COVID-19 Coronavirus
    • Academic Calendar
    • Majors
    • Career Exploration
    • Eisner Center
    • Employment
    • MyDenison

    Your Most Viewed

      No Results

      About Denison

      • Fast Facts
      • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Antiracism
      • Our Administration
      • Our History
      • Ranking & Reviews
      • Sustainability

      Academics

      Denison’s purpose is to inspire and educate its students to become autonomous thinkers, discerning moral agents and active citizens of a democratic society.

      • Majors
      • Courses
      • Academic Calendar
      • Library
      • Study Abroad

      Admission & Aid

      We are thrilled that you are considering Denison during your college search, and we look forward to getting to know more about you.

      • Apply for Admission
      • Apply for Financial Aid
      • Visit Campus
      • Virtual Tour
      • Request Information
      • Meet the Staff

      Campus Life

      Our students bring diverse talents, interests, backgrounds, and experiences to campus; see how Denison helps them make this college their own.

      • Clubs & Organizations
      • Housing
      • Career Center
      • Exploring Granville & Columbus

      News & Events

      Denison's latest news, stories, and upcoming events from all around the hill and beyond.

      • Events & Athletics Schedule
      • Academic Calendar
      • Press Releases
      • Big Red Athletics
      • Denison Magazine

      Latest Featured News

      Susan Booth

      Susan Booth ‘85 to lead Chicago’s Goodman Theatre

      via New York Times
      July 28, 2022
      Mathematics students in a robotics lab

      Denison introduces new major in applied mathematics

      July 26, 2022
      Liv Gjestvang

      Denison’s new CIO hopes to build structure around innovation

      via Ed Scoop
      July 22, 2022
      Denison University Home
      Map / Tour
      Events
      Give
      Apply
      • Search
      • Menu

      Press Releases

      NSF awards $200K grant to Denison geoscientist Anjali Fernandes

      NSF awards $200K grant to Denison geoscientist Anjali Fernandes

      January 23, 2020
      A Denison student measuring sediment from the Mississippi River

      A Denison student measuring sediment from the Mississippi River

      Assistant Professor of Geosciences Anjali Fernandes and her team have been awarded a grant of $199,947 from the National Science Foundation to study Mississippi River flood deposits at the Bonnet Carre Spillway outside of New Orleans to advance the understanding of hydrodynamic controls and support models for better prediction of flooding events in floodplains. In addition to significant research, the NSF grant is funding accessible research opportunities for diverse geoscience students, including African American, Hispanic and Native American students who currently comprise less than nine percent of all students enrolled in geoscience graduate programs. Fernandes is the lead principal investigator for the study. She is working in conjunction with co-principal investigators Antoinette Abeyta (University of New Mexico, Gallup), Robert Mahon (University of New Orleans), and Travis Swanson (Georgia Southern University).

      As flooding becomes more prevalent along the Mississippi, this research takes on more meaning. For example, the spring flood of 2019 lasted several months and prompted the opening of Bonnet Carre Spillway to protect New Orleans from flooding. The diverted floodwaters constructed a large deposit in the spillway.

      “Vast areas of the Mississippi River Delta are rapidly disappearing due to subsidence, dwindling sediment supply, and rising sea levels. Billions of federal dollars are currently invested in mitigation strategies to combat land loss in coastal Louisiana,” says Fernandes. “These strategies include the construction of engineered diversions to direct sediment-laden floodwaters to regions that have sunk beneath sea-level.”

      The NSF grant supports 17 undergraduate researchers and four early-career investigators to collect, archive and analyze sediment data from this deposit. In addition to significant research, this grant will improve diversity in the future geoscience workforce through targeted recruiting efforts and alliances with institutions in under-served communities. It provides training for undergraduate researchers in traditional methods in sedimentology and advanced techniques in digital data collection and quantitative analysis, preparing a diverse cohort of students readying to join the STEM workforce.

      NSF funding facilitates an inclusive field research experience by providing financial assistance for students and opportunities to analyze data collected during field research back at their home institutions. The undergraduate research framework is intended as a template for fostering diversity and inclusion in Earth science.

      “Thirty-four percent of the Bonnet Carre 2019 team is from historically underrepresented minority and ethnic groups (Black, Native American, Hispanic), which is almost triple the rate of representation in geoscience,” says Abeyta. “Fifty-four percent are female, which is almost double the rate of representation in the geoscience workforce.”

      “Creative scientific solutions for a diverse society require a diverse scientific workforce,” says Fernandes.

      Querying the 2019 Mississippi River flood deposits that fill Bonnet Carre Spillway advances our understanding of the hydrodynamic controls on the sedimentary architecture of floodplain deposits, and bolsters models that predict the dynamics of basin filling at the outlets of sediment diversions using these hydrodynamic variables. Analyzing data from this deposit will allow the investigators to address fundamental questions in coastal restoration science.

      100 West College Street
      Granville, Ohio 43023
      1-740-587-0810

      Footer menu

      • Make a Payment
      • MyDenison
      • Title IX / Non-Discrimination
      • Library
      • Shop Denison
      • Make a Gift

      Stay up to date with the latest campus news and upcoming events.

      Download our App »

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Instagram
      • Youtube

      Our Home:
      Granville, OH »

      • Employment
      • Consumer Information
      • Forms & Policies
      • Privacy Policy
      • Cookie Notice
      • Social Media Community Guidelines
      • Report a Bug

      Denison University's programs, offerings, events and arrangements are subject to change in the event of exigent circumstances, including the ongoing COVID-19 situation.