The National Science Foundation recently awarded 20 supplements totaling $1 million to U.S. researchers and students for international collaborations in pursuit of clean water for all.

“These supplements enable NSF investigators and their students to directly engage with researchers in the United Kingdom to exchange research strategies, tools, and knowledge in the vitally important area of clean water,” said lead NSF program director Bruce Hamilton.

The provision of clean water is a global issue with social, health, and economic implications. It has been identified by the international research community, including the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, as a grand challenge for engineering in the area of sustainability.

Beginning this fall, students from Oregon to Arizona to Maine will make their way to the U.K. to spend time using special equipment, examining field sites, and learning new methods first hand.  They will investigate fundamental questions connected to water treatment and purification, water reuse, storm water management, the water-energy nexus, urban water sustainability, and the resilience of water infrastructures.

Hamilton said, “In some cases, U.S. researchers will also receive visits from U.K. researchers and their students.” The U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will support additional exchanges involving U.K. research teams.