Rice researchers demonstrate water desalination technology in D.C.

(From left) Rice postdoctoral research fellow Alessandro Alabastri, alumnus Andrew Treleaven ’13 and graduate student Pratiksha Dongare attended the inaugural University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase in Washington, D.C., to demonstrate SNOWater, a solar water desalination project they pioneered at Rice’s Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment Research Center. SNOWater converts high-salinity and polluted water to freshwater and allows the use of solar energy for off-the-grid water purification. The Nov. 14 showcase highlighted the role of federally funded university research in fueling entrepreneurship, innovation and competitiveness across the country. The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Association of American Universities in partnership with the National Academy of Inventors and VentureWell hosted the event. Below: Dongare explains the project to U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas. (From left) Treleaven, Alabastri, U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, Dongare, U.S. Rep. Pete Olson ’85, R-Texas, and Nathan Cook, Rice director of government relations, gather in front of the SNOWater display. (Photos by Nathan Cook and Gina Foote)