Bekhit will use his fellowship to conduct laboratory experiments on the potential of colloids--liquids containing undissolved solids in suspension, such as the milk fats suspended in whole milk--to to retard or mitigate the movement of pollutants in ground water. Bekhit is completing his course work at UNR this semester and will continue his experiments at DRI's Las Vegas research facility under the guidance of scientists in DRI's Division of Hydrologic Sciences.

A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national, and international scale. Nearly 500 full- and part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 150 research projects at DRI annually. More than 85 percent of DRI's annual $33 million operating budget consists of research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists. The balance is received from the state of Nevada for administrative costs.