전 세계적으로 10명 중 1명 꼴로 안전한 식수를 공급받지 못하며, 4천300만 명의 미국인이 생활용수에 접근하지 못하고 있다. 지난 2월 1일 출범한 라이스 대학교(Rice University)의 새로운 WaTER 연구소(WaTER Institute)는 이 문제와 기타 복잡한 물 관련 문제를 해결하는 것을 목표로 한다.

페드로 알바레즈(Pedro J. Alvarez) 연구소 소장이자 조지 브라운 토목 환경 공학과 교수는 “깨끗한 물은 의사보다 더 많은 생명을 구할 수 있다”며 물의 중요성을 강조했다..

WaTER 연구소는 △하수 모니터링을 통한 질병 예측 및 예방 △에너지 사용 저감 △물 관련 자연재해 예측 △에너지 효율 높고 물소비량이 적은 고부가가치 금속 추출 등 다양한 물 관련 연구 활동을 펼칠 계획이다.

이 연구소는 공중 보건, 에너지 전환 및 회복탄력성 있는 인프라라는 세 가지 핵심 영역에 초점을 맞춘 최첨단 다학제적 연구와 기술 혁신을 주도할 것이다. 정식 명칭은 깨끗한 물기술, 기업가 정신 및 연구소(Institute for Clean Water Technologies, Entrepreneurship and Research, WaTER)다.

레지널드 데스로흐스(Reginald DesRoches) 라이스대 총장은 “라이스대는 지역사회, 지역, 국가와 세계에 긍정적인 영향을 미칠 연구에 대한 투자를 전략적으로 늘렸다”며 “대학 총장이자 토목 기술자로서 라이스대 연구진은 혁신을 통해 삶과 지역사회를 변화시키는 발견을 할 것이라고 확신한다”고 전했다.

WaTER 연구소에서는 물 관련 7가지 주요 과제를 다룰 것이다.

-증가하는 인구를 위한 안전한 수질

-인간과 환경 사이의 분포

-수재해 보호

-물인프라(배분 및 수집)

-모두를 위한 충분한 음식

-에너지를 생산하는 물

-물갈등에 대한 해결책과 모두를 위한 공평한 분배

라무르시 라메시(Ramamoorthy Ramesh) 연구 담당 전무는 “캠퍼스 전체의 연구소와 학문 분야의 전문성을 바탕으로 한 WaTER 연구소가 에너지와 화학적 요구사항을 최소화하면서 깨끗한 물을 경제적으로 생산하는 혁신적인 솔루션을 개발하는 방법을 보게 돼 기대된다"며 이 연구소는 근본적인 과학, 기술 혁신 및 정책을 한데 모으고 있으며, 또한 물을 둘러싼 기업가 정신 문화를 촉진한다"고 말했다.

라파엘 베르두즈코(Rafael Verduzco) 화학 생체분자공학부 및 재료과학 나노공학부 교수는 "WaTER 연구소는 라이스대가 하수 모니터링, 수처리, 나노 재료 개발 및 환경 연구 분야에서 갖고 있는 오랜 파트너십과 기존 강점을 바탕으로 구축됐다"고 말했다.

치린리(Qilin Li) 알바레즈 소장과 함께 나노기술 기반 수처리를 위한 나노시스템 엔지니어링 연구 센터의 공동 센터장이자 토목 환경 공학과 교수는 "라이스 WaTER 연구소는 연구원, 실무자, 기업가 및 정책 입안자가 건전한 기술 솔루션이 지원하는 물관리에 대한 장기 비전을 목표로 함께 협력할 수 있는 플랫폼을 제공할 것"이라고 말했다.

또한 연구진은 내분비 교란 물질, PFAS(과불화 알킬 및 폴리플루오로 알킬 물질) 또는 기존 수처리 시스템을 파괴하는 '영원한 화학 물질'과 같은 오염 물질을 제거하기 위해 개발 중인 기술을 통해 공중 보건을 보호할 것이다.

알바레즈 소장에 따르면 연구소는 물기술에 대한 기업가 정신, 특히 스타트업을 장려할 계획이다. 연구진은 기술 및 기업가 정신을 위한 라이스 연합(Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship) 등과 협력할 예정이다.

연구소의 연구 분야는 자연 과학, 사회 과학, 인문학 및 공학을 포괄하며 라이스대의 다른 연구 기관과 연결될 것이다.

[원문보기]

Potential to ‘save more lives than doctors’: Rice launches WaTER Institute to develop accessible clean water technology

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.

For example, the Houston Health Department, partnering with Rice and Houston Public Works, is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Wastewater Surveillance System Center of Excellence. The wastewater monitoring effort, led by Lauren Stadler, Rice assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; Loren Hopkins, chief environmental science officer for the Houston Health Department and a professor in the practice of statistics at Rice and Katherine Ensor, the Noah G. Harding Professor of Statistics, helps predict and prevent pandemics by detecting diseases in sewage. The center, dubbed Houston Wastewater Epidemiology, will provide training on wastewater epidemiology to other state and local health departments as well as research on developing statistical tools and metrics to enhance surveillance interpretation.

Qilin Li , one of the institute leaders, has been leading a collaboration with the city to develop decision-making tools to optimize water supply systems, including wastewater reuse for potable water supply to alleviate shortages. Rice scientists also plan to develop virtual testing to improve resilience, minimize energy requirements and prevent degrading water quality associated with water distribution through large, centralized systems.

“The Rice WaTER Institute will provide a much-needed platform for researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs and policymakers to work together toward a long-term vision for water management that is supported by sound technological solutions,” said Li, professor of civil and environmental engineering and co-director of the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment with Alvarez.

The researchers will also protect public health through the technologies they are developing to remove contaminants such as endocrine disruptors and PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) or “forever chemicals” that are breaking through traditional water treatment systems.

“Like other toxic things in our water and environment, PFAS is not going away by itself,” said Mike Wong, a Rice researcher and one of the institute’s leaders. “We need better understanding and better solutions, but we also need better plans on how to get the technology off campus and into the homes, communities and businesses that need help the most. I am excited about all the ways the WaTER Institute can speed up our collective work to create low-cost, no-fuss methods to destroy PFAS.”

Wong is the Tina and Sunit Patel Professor in Molecular Nanotechnology, chair and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and professor of chemistry, materials science and nanotechnology, and civil and environmental engineering.

The institute will promote entrepreneurship, specifically startups, for water technologies, Alvarez said. Researchers will collaborate with the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and The Ion.

The WaTER Institute’s work will cut across the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and engineering and connect with Rice’s other research institutes . “Our collaborative structures and culture are a major competitive advantage,” Alvarez said.

This marks the fifth institute Rice has launched over the past year and the eighth to receive additional funding from the university. The other new institutes include the Rice Advanced Materials Institute, Rice Synthetic Biology Institute, Medical Humanities Research Institute and the Rice Sustainability Institute.

[출처 = Rice University(https://news.rice.edu/news/2024/potential-save-more-lives-doctors-rice-launches-water-institute-develop-accessible-clean) / 2024년 2월 1일]

[번역 = 배민지 차장]