Sacramento State?s hydrogeology program received a $400,000 grant recently to expand its Master?s program and other facilities.

The W.M. Keck Foundation, which also gave $220,000 to start the program in 1996, awarded the grant Aug. 29. The money will be used to update facilities and laboratories used by graduate students enrolled in the program, said professor Dave Evans.

“The grant will be used to get some state-of-the-art geophysical equipment that would test and characterize the subsurface of geology, and to set up a ground water modeling lab that will be an extension of the Keck Geology Lab and that will train students in ground water training,” Evans said.

Hydrogeology is the study of water resources and water quality, especially that of groundwater, Evans said. There are currently there are 8-10 people completing the program.

The money will also be used to improve the program?s groundwater fountain by installing additional wells, such as a 215-foot monitoring well and a 50-foot shallow extraction well, Evans said.

Also, four new 400-foot wells in crystalline bedrock will be created on the Sierra College campus in Rocklin that will allow students to study different types of ground water, he said.

The W.M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late William Myron Keck, founder of The Superior Oil Company. The foundation’s grant program is focused primarily on the areas of medical research, science, and engineering, according to the foundation?s Web site.

The foundation, which in 1999 made donations to 25 schools in the field of science and engineering is very selective in choosing to whom they donate, Evans said.

“First, the school must write a letter of interest, which will then be carefully reviewed by the committee,” Evans said. “The letter of interest basically makes the case as to why this gift would be a good donation for the program.

“Then, if they like your letter, then you are invited to submit a complete proposal. The committee only reviews those proposals they invite, so we were extremely happy we made it that far.”

Evans, who spent two years gathering enough information for the research, wrote this year?s proposal. The proposal itself is 80 pages, while the project is an additional 30 pages. The project explains in detail what the school plans to do with the money, should that school be elected to receive the grant.

“I think a couple reasons that the Keck Foundation gave us the grant was because we had strong support from President Donald Gerth and from the dean,” Evans said. “Both wrote support statements. Also, we have very strong water-related research, which not many schools have.”

Dr. Evans is beginning his third year at Sac State, and is one of three professors who specializes in water research. There are five professors involved in the masters program.