[OKC] Sustainable Water Supply Lecture

[Brunson, Laura R.]

“Science and Technology for
Sustainable Water Supply”
 Menachem Elimelech, Ph.D.
Department of Chemical Engineering
Environmental Engineering Program
Yale University
Member, National Academy of Engineering
Friday,  February 20, 2009
11:30 – 12:20 p.m.
Sarkeys Energy Center, Room A235




Increasing global water scarcity and degradation in the quality of available water supplies present a grave challenge to the present and future health, welfare, and prosperity of the world’s people.  Desalination of seawater and saline aquifers and reuse of industrial or municipal wastewaters are viable avenues to increase water availability beyond that attainable from the hydrogeological cycle.  Traditional methods for water purification, however, are chemical and energy intensive.  Highly effective, low-cost, robust technologies for augmenting water supplies are needed, with minimal impact on the environment.  Recent advances in the science and technology of water purification are presented, focusing on desalination and water reuse technologies.  Major developments in these technologies are made possible due to recent advances in materials science, nanotechnology, and the fundamental understanding of the physics/chemistry of the solid-water interface.  Among the topics discussed in this presentation are the development of fouling-resistant membranes for water treatment, use of interfacial force measurements to elucidate the antifouling mechanism of water treatment membranes, highly permeable reverse osmosis membranes incorporating nanomaterials, bio-inspired high flux desalination membranes, robust systems for wastewater reuse, and novel desalination technologies that may dramatically alter the energy/water nexus.  These technologies are discussed in the context of the global challenges in water supply and energy.

Biographical Sketch: Menachem Elimelech

Menachem Elimelech is the Roberto Goizueta Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University. Professor Elimelech received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1989.  Professor Elimelech was the recipient of the 2005 Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize for excellence in water research and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006 “for contributions to the theory and practice of advanced filtration technologies for the treatment and reuse of potable water”.  His research interests center on problems involving physicochemical and biophysical processes in aquatic systems, including (1) environmental applications and implications of nanomaterials, (2) membrane separations for desalination and water quality control, (3) microbial transport and adhesion, (4) engineered osmosis for sustainable production of water and power, and (5) water and sanitation in developing countries. Professor Elimelech serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards of Colloids and Surfaces A, Desalination, Environmental Engineering Science, Langmuir, and Separation Science and Technology.







 This seminar is sponsored by the WaTER Center and CEES.

Accommodations on the basis of disability are available by
contacting Molly Smith at (405) 325-5913.





Laura R. Brunson
NSF Graduate Fellow
Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science
University of Oklahoma
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sustainableokc.org/pipermail/okc-sustainableokc.org/attachments/20090205/22d50934/attachment.htm>