G&G phd student Hachem Kassem has recently accepted an  award for the AQUAscat 1000R acoustic suspended profiler; the first prize at the Aquatec Equipment Awards 2014 for his research on vertical turbulence structures in the benthic boundary layer. The award comprises a 3 month instrument loan and a travel grant, to deploy the instrument in an upcoming field campaign. The instrument is a high frequency acoustic backscatter sensor capable of high resolution profiling of suspended sediment concentrations and sizes  with up to 4 frequency channels, and features built-in temperature and pressure sensors. It is planned to be deployed on a mobile rig in a field campaign to be carried out at Cavallino beach and Lido Inlet, Venice, Italy, in Autumn 2014. The instrument will likely be tested in maiden laboratory experiments at the newly built Fast Flow Facility of HR Wallingford Ltd.