When energy companies drill for oil and gas, they pump up contaminated "produced water" alongside the fuel. Loaded with brine and heavy metals, produced water is usually injected back into the ground, a practice which has recently been linked to earthquakes. So, Geosciences grad student Joshua Swigart decided to find a process that could clean that water - and harvest the valuable heavy metals in it. He and his advisor, assistant professor of Geosciences Charles Paradis, just won a $50,000 UWM Catalyst Grant to help bring their idea to market.