Potential to ‘save more lives than doctors’: Rice launches WaTER Institute to develop accessible clean water technology(Photo by Jeff Fitlow...
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
(Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Forty-three million Americans lack access to municipal water, and 1 in 10 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water. Rice University’s new WaTER Institute, launched today, aims to address this and other complex water-related challenges.
“Clean water can save more lives than doctors,” said Pedro J. Alvarez , the institute’s director and the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
The institute’s researchers will also predict and prevent diseases by monitoring wastewater; decrease the amount of energy used to move and treat water in large municipal water systems; predict water-related natural disasters; extract high-value metals with high energy efficiency and low water consumption, and more.
The institute will lead cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research and technological innovation focusing on three key areas: public health, energy transitions and resilient infrastructure. Its full name is the Institute for Clean Water Technologies, Entrepreneurship and Research.
“Rice has strategically increased its investment in research that will positively impact the community, region, nation and world,” said President Reginald DesRoches, “As university president and a civil engineer, I am confident that Rice scientists will make discoveries that transform lives and communities through innovation.”
Researchers will tackle seven major challenges related to water:
Safe water quality for a growing population
Distribution between humans and their environment
Water disaster protection
Water infrastructure (distribution and collection)
Enough food for all
Water to produce energy
Solutions for water conflicts and a fair share for all
“I’m excited to see how the WaTER Institute, drawing from the expertise of institutes and disciplines across campus, develops transformative solutions that economically produce clean water while minimizing energy and chemical requirements,” said Ramamoorthy Ramesh , executive vice president for research. “This institute brings together fundamental science, technological innovations and policy. It also promotes a culture of entrepreneurship around water.”
“The WaTER Institute builds on longstanding partnerships and existing strengths that Rice has in wastewater monitoring, water treatment, nanomaterials development and environmental research,” said Rafael Verduzco , professor and associate chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering and professor of materials science and nanoengineering.
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