Anthropology graduate student RoseAnna Downing-Vicklund is investigating people's confidence in their drinking water sources after she was recently named a 2005 Canada-U.S. Fulbright Fellow.

"I'm working in a town that had a tragic case of E. coli contamination in their tap water and half of the people got sick, many with long-term consequences, and some died," Downing-Vicklund said in an e-mail.

"Five years later, I'm studying how this experience shaped local perceptions of water quality and the role government and private enterprise play in providing and regulating drinking water quality," she added in the e-mail.

Downing-Vicklund said she wants to assist in communication between governmental and community leaders about drinking water, along with her other goals.

Downing-Vicklund said she would like to research and teach water and health issues at a university in the future.