**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** AGRICULTURE IS A MAJOR USER OF FRESHWATER IN THE U.S., CONTRIBUTING TO CA. 80% OF THE NATION'S CONSUMPTIVE WATER USE. WITH AN INCREASING DEMAND OF FRESHWATER FOR FOOD PRODUCTION, ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED FOR AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION TO IMPROVE WATER SUSTAINABILITY. WASTEWATER REUSE IS A PROMISING STRATEGY THAT IS BELIEVED TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT SAFE WATER FOR IRRIGATION; HOWEVER, ONE SERIOUS CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL TRANSMISSION OF PATHOGENS FROM REUSED WASTEWATER TO FOOD. FOODBORNE PATHOGENS RAISE SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS IN PUBLIC HEALTH, CAUSE ECONOMIC LOSSES, AND COMPROMISE SUSTAINABLE SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT. IN PARTICULAR, RAW AND MINIMALLY PROCESSED PRODUCE, E.G., FRESH PRODUCE, POSE SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS TO HUMANS IF IT IS NOT SUFFICIENTLY SANITIZED.ROTAVIRUS AND NOROVIRUS ARE TWO IMPORTANT ENTERIC VIRUSES THAT CAN LEAD TO SERIOUS GASTROENTERITIS, THEY ARE FOODBORNE PATHOGENS, AND THEY CAN BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH WATER AND FOOD VIA THE FECAL-TO-ORAL ROUTE. MOST OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES FOCUS ON THE FATE, TRANSPORT, AND TRANSFORMATION OF NOROVIRUS AND ROTAVIRUS IN WATER, AGRICULTURAL, AND FOOD SYSTEMS BY CONSIDERING THESE VIRUSES IN THE FORM OF INDIVIDUAL VIRAL PARTICLES. HOWEVER, RECENT DISCOVERIES CHALLENGED THIS LONGTIME-ACCEPTED CONCEPT AND POINTED OUT THAT THESE TWO VIRUSES COULD BE PRESENT AS VESICLE-CLOAKED VIRUS CLUSTERS (HERE REFERRED TO AS VIRAL VESICLES). VIRAL VESICLES ARE PHOSPHOLIPID-BILAYER ENCAPSULATED FLUID SACS THAT COMPRISE MULTIPLE VIRIONS, AND THEY HAVE BIOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE BECAUSE THESE VIRAL VESICLES COULD BE WIDELY PRESENT IN WASTEWATER, THEY ARE PERSISTENT UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS, AND THEY ARE MORE INFECTIOUS AND MORE RESISTANT TO DISINFECTION THAN FREE VIRUS COUNTERPARTS.ROTAVIRUS AND NOROVIRUS VESICLES ARE EMERGING PATHOGENIC UNITS, AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOLOGICAL BEHAVIORS IN AGRICULTURAL REUSE WATER IS LARGELY UNKNOWN TO DATE. THE PRESENCE AND PERSISTENCE OF VIRAL VESICLES COULD COMPROMISE THE QUALITY OF REUSED WATER FOR IRRIGATION AND FOOD SAFETY AND THREATEN THE PUBLIC HEALTH. WITHOUT RECOGNIZING ROTAVIRUS AND NOROVIRUS VESICLES, WE MAY FACE THE RISK OF UNDERESTIMATING THE ADVERSE HEALTH IMPACTS OF ROTAVIRUS AND NOROVIRUS, ESPECIALLY THROUGH AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SYSTEMS.FOR THIS PROJECT, THE INVESTIGATORSAIM TOUNDERSTAND THE REMOVAL AND INACTIVATION OF ROTAVIRUS AND NOROVIRUS VESICLES IN WATER REUSE; AND EVALUATE THE PERSISTENCE OF ROTAVIRUS AND NOROVIRUS VESICLES IN SOIL ANDON CROP SURFACE IRRIGATED WITH REUSED WATER. THE PROJECT WILL IMPROVE WATER SCIENCE, MANAGEMENT, AND TECHNOLOGIES, AND USE QUANTITATIVE TOOLS TO ASSESS HOW WATER REUSE PROCESSES MITIGATE THE RISK OF EMERGING PATHOGENS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND PROCESSES TO REDUCE THE FRESHWATER DEMAND BY SUBSTITUTING THE USE OF NONTRADITIONAL WATER SOURCES, I.E., RECYCLED WASTEWATER, AND TO ENHANCE WATER SUSTAINABILITY FOR AGRICULTURAL,PRACTICES. THE INVESTIGATORS WILL FIRST EVALUATE THE REMOVAL OR INACTIVATION OF ROTAVIRUS AND NOROVIRUS VESICLES IN MEMBRANE FILTRATION ANDADVANCED OXIDATION PROCESSES TO UNDERSTAND HOW CRITICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PROCESSES CONTROL THE VIRAL VESICLES. NEXT, THE INVESTIGATORS WILL CHARACTERIZE THE PERSISTENCE AND INACTIVATION OF ROTAVIRUS AND NOROVIRUS VESICLES IN SOIL AND ON CROP SURFACES THAT ARE IRRIGATED WITH REUSED WATER TO UNDERSTAND HOW NATURAL ATTENUATION CONTROL THE VIRAL VESICLES IN AGROECOLOGICAL AND FOOD SYSTEMS. FREE ROTAVIRUSES AND NOROVIRUSES WILL BE SELECTED AS REFERENCE PATHOGENS FOR COMPARISON. THIS WORK WILL NOT ONLY PROVIDE FUNDAMENTAL INSIGHTS IN WATER QUALITY ENGINEERING AND MICROBIOLOGY, BUT ALSO GUIDE ENGINEERING SYSTEM DESIGN, E.G., THE REMOVAL OF ENTERIC VIRUSES BY USING ADVANCED TREATMENT PROCESSES IN WATER RECLAMATION FACILITIES, PRE-HARVEST INTERVENTION OF FRESH PRODUCE, AND EFFECTIVE SANITATION OF THE FRESH PRODUCE BEFORE CONSUMPTION.