Science AMA Series: In India clean water is a luxury—more than 250
million people drink untreated water. We think we have a solution, We
are MIT Professor Amos Winter and PhD Candidate Natasha Wright. AMA!
Abstract
Unfortunately, that’s all the time we have to answer your questions
today. Thanks to everyone for your fantastic questions! Follow
@MIT_alumni, @MITMeche, #MITBetterWorld to continue to get news around
our work. +++++++++++++++++ In India, roughly 45 percent of the
population is drinking untreated water. In the rural village of
Mhasawad, many residents regularly drink water with salinity levels of
1,200 ppm (parts per million), double the levels recommended by the
World Health Organization. Water with high salinity levels can cause
countless health problems including kidney stones and digestive
problems, and taxes the energy grid. But for many, purchasing treated
water can cost upwards of 30 percent of one’s monthly salary. At the
beginning of this year, we traveled to several rural villages to meet
with farmers and villagers to better understand the problem. Back at
MIT, we are now developing a cost-effective solar-powered desalination
system to provide a safe and affordable source of drinking water. This
is not just an engineering problem—we are operating as product
designers, ethnographers, social scientists, and machine designers to
test our assumptions and build a lasting solution. Ask us anything!
Watch the recent video “Water is Life” on our work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLPiIChFMIA Read the recent article “A
Quest for Clean Water” published on MIT News:
http://news.mit.edu/2016/solar-powered-desalination-clean-water-india-0718
ABOUT US: Amos Winter: I’m an assistant professor in the Department of
Mechanical Engineering at MIT as well as an alumnus of MIT. I also am
the director of the Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Lab, which
focuses on the marriage of mechanical design theory and user-centered
product design to create simple, elegant technological solutions for use
in highly constrained environments. Natasha Wright: I’m a doctoral
candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, a Fellow
in the Tata Center for Technology and Design, and an alumna of MIT. My
current work focuses on using electrodialysis technology, powered by
photovoltaics, to provide clean drinking water in off-grid settings.