UH company aims to purify water, help end global water crisis

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UH company aims to purify water, help end global water crisis

Wavve, a startup out of theUniversity of Houston, is one of three Houston companies competing to win thousands of dollars at the Rice Business Plan Competition.

The annual event, which will be held April 10-12 atRice University, features 42 graduate student-run startups from around the world that compete for more than $1 million in prizes.

The event previously helped launch the careers of some of Houston's most successful technology startups, andbecause of the track record of success, investors from across the country come to the competition to get a leg up on the latest innovations.

The Houston Business Journal is featuring the three local competitors in this year's competition on its website.Click here to see our previous profile of Rice's A-76 technologies.

Wavve

University of Houston's Wavve has a nanotechnology coating product designed to be used in water filter products.

"We can address the global water crisis and inform people about water purification with our technology," CEOJulia Lonnegren said. "There is a misconception about the amount of contaminants in water. The water we currently drink has a lot of heavy metals and chemicals."

A team of University of Houston Bauer College of Business students is leading the company, but the technology was originally developed byDebora Rodrigues, a UH environmental engineering professor who specializes in nanomaterials, environmental microbiology and molecular biology.

According to Lonnegren, the technology is "ready to go," and ready for production. The company just needs more exposure, and it needs to secure more funding.

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