Lecture series dives into social impact of water science

The global, humanity-wide importance of access to clean water is self-evident,” says clean-water champion and renowned researcher, educator, author, and inventor Arup SenGupta.
“It is not up to water scientists alone to address the issue. The world needs all of us—engineers of every stripe, businesspeople, educators, journalists, artists, and designers, among others—to learn about the challenges and engage in the search for sustainable global solutions.”

To engage the Lehigh community more deeply in this issue, SenGupta, the P.C. Rossin Professor of Civil and Environmental and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has recently led an interdisciplinary faculty team in founding a new public lecture series to bring top researchers, innovators, and policy makers in water science to campus.

On October 29, 2019, Joan Rose, the Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research at Michigan State University, will deliver the inaugural Distinguished Water Lecture, “Linking Animal and Human Sources of Water Pollution to the Landscape.” Rose is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and received the internationally prestigious Stockholm Water Prize in 2016 for her research on microbial risk to human health and her work in creating policy tools and guidelines

While one aim of the series is to broaden the dialogue about unmet needs around water issues, SenGupta notes that it also serves to honor the many Lehigh students who have studied, researched, supported, implemented, and extended his efforts over his 30-plus years on the Rossin College faculty.

Their combined efforts have made safe water accessible to millions while creating new opportunities to reuse impaired water sources. In doing so, SenGupta’s research has expanded the field of ion exchange science and technology in solving environmental problems, and has led to the development of new classes of hybrid ion exchangers that have been incorporated into water and wastewater treatment processes.