Two new devices, with powerful nanotechnologies at their core, offer a way to provide safe, plentiful and affordable drinking water where it is scarcest. One pulls liters of pure water daily from desert air, and the other turns seawater into freshwater in a way that's never been done before. Remarkably, both devices run on only sunlight, making them deployable in nations where electrical grids are limited and fresh water is in short supply.
This roundtable features three of the nanoscientists behind these remarkable technologies. They will discuss their inventions, the science behind them, their potential uses, and the role that nanoscience could play in addressing the global water crisis.
The participants were:
- MENACHEM (MENY) ELIMELECH – is professor of chemical and electrical engineering and founder of Yale University’s environmental engineering program. He leads a research program to develop long-lasting water purification and desalination membranes at NEWT, the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment.
- NAOMI HALAS – is director of the Smalley-Curl Institute and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University and the leader of low-energy desalination research at NEWT. She is a world leader in the study of how nanoparticles transform light into heat.
- OMAR YAGHI – is professor of chemistry and co-director of the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, and one of the world’s most highly cited chemists. He developed the nanomaterials that make it possible to capture water from desert air.
The following is an edited transcript of their roundtable discussion. The participants have been provided the opportunity to amend or edit their remarks.