Dublin City University’s (DCU) Water Institute is proud to announce that the RESTART project, led by Dr. Ciprian Briciu-Burghina and Director Fiona Regan, has advanced to the Grow Phase of Research Ireland’s National Challenge Fund. This phase represents a significant milestone in developing innovative solutions for bathing water quality monitoring, with up to €500,000 in funding awarded for the next 12 months.
The Grow Phase, which supports 16 projects nationwide with a combined investment of over €9 million, is designed to drive prototyping and demonstration of solutions addressing societal and environmental challenges. Teams will now refine their prototypes to demonstrate real-world impact, competing for final-phase prize funding of up to €2 million.
Under the Healthy Environment for All Challenge, the RESTART project focuses on tackling bacterial contamination in aquatic systems, critical for recreation, aquaculture, fisheries, and drinking water supplies. The project introduces an autonomous in-situ sensor, CS Sentinel, integrated with a decision support system for real-time E. coli detection and quantification.
Learn more RESTART: https://restart-sfi.ie/
Research Ireland Article: https://www.researchireland.ie/news/ncf-finalists/