Rice researchers to demonstrate water desalination technology

Rice University
Office of Public Affairs / News & Media Relations

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Amy McCaig
713-348-6777
amym@rice.edu

Rice researchers to demonstrate water desalination technology
Rice graduate student, postdoc to participate in inaugural University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase in Washington, D.C.

HOUSTON – (Nov. 13, 2017) – Rice University researchers who pioneered a solar water desalination project, SNOWater, will participate in the inaugural University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Association of American Universities (in partnership with the National Academy of Inventors and VentureWell), the showcase will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 14 in the foyer of Rayburn House Office Building, 45 Independence Ave. SW.

SNOWater was invented by Rice graduate student Pratiksha Dongare and Rice postdoctoral research fellow Alessandro Alabastri in Rice’s Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment Research Center. It converts high salinity and polluted water to freshwater. The system will allow the use of solar energy for off-the-grid water purification. On a large scale, this technology may enable thousands of oil and gas production sites to manage and reuse produced high-salinity waters more economically and with less environmental impact.

Dongare and Alabastri will conduct demonstrations of the technology during the showcase.

The inaugural showcase will aim to highlight the role of federally funded university research in fueling entrepreneurship, innovation and competitiveness across the country. Twenty university-affiliated startups will participate and be featured in the Nov. 14 evening exhibition among members of Congress, staff and other innovation and policy stakeholders in Washington.

Who:              Rice University SNOWater inventors.

What:             University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase.

When:            5-7 p.m. Nov. 14.

Where:           Foyer of Rayburn House Office Building, 45 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C.

For more information or to interview the SNOWater inventors, contact Amy McCaig, senior media relations specialist at Rice, at 713-348-6777 or amym@rice.edu.

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Photo link: http://news.rice.edu/files/2017/11/drops-of-water-water-nature-liquid-40784-290z6dh.jpeg

Photo credit: Pexels.com

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