Aquatec Equipment Awards 2019 to offer prizes of equipment loan and travel grant awards

The Aquatec Equipment Awards, first launched in 2012 by Aquatec Group, is an annual awards program that promotes the development of marine sciences, encourages environmental research, and raises awareness on sustainability issues. Each year, early career university researchers and postgraduate students from all over the world can win the opportunity to use high-tech, commercially established subsea instrumentation designed and manufactured by the company.

To apply, candidates must fill out a simple online form before 31st October 2019, and write a brief presentation of their research project proposal, including project aims, planned deployment, use of the instrument, and time required. Aquatec Group will judge the applicants on the scientific and innovative merit of their proposals, the practicality of the planned experiment, and the demonstration of a clear need for the chosen instrument.

“At Aquatec, we are passionate about the scientific insight that users of our instruments can gain.  Since launching the Equipment Awards we have enabled many young scientists to get hands-on experience with our state-of-the art instrumentation so they can share that passion at the very outset of their careers,” said Andy Smerdon, Managing Director at Aquatec Group. 

This year, the awards give a loan of an instrument, varying from 2 to 3 months’ time to carry out the research, and a travel grant which can be used for travel to deploy the instrument or present results at a conference. The winners will be able to demonstrate excellence in their efforts and methods while studying underwater conditions, a matter of the upmost importance to the environment, well in line with the company’s core values. 

The top award is a 3 month loan of the AQUAscat ® 1000R acoustic suspended sediment profiler specially designed and manufactured as a research model with a £500 travel grant. 4 cabled transducers are supplied with the instrument, each of which transmits short pulses of ultrasound, which are then scattered back by the sediment in the water, providing information about the mean grain size and concentration of suspended materials over a depth profile. These readings are particularly useful in sediment transport studies, oceanographic research, environmental activities, and dredge plume monitoring among other applications.

The second award is a 2 month loan of an AQUAlogger ® 310TYPT, a self-contained turbidity, temperature and pressure logger and a £300 travel grant. This instrument is easy to use, and suitable for deployment in freshwater as well as ocean environments, where it can measure turbidity to over 10,000 FTU while sensing both temperature and pressure. This instrument can be used by researchers, students and oceanographic professionals who want to measure suspended sediment in rivers and lakes, monitor dredge operations, or assess hydropower intakes.