This international team of women met at the NSF-sponsored Women's International Research Engineering (WIRES) summit, held in Orlando, FL, in April 2011. The purpose of the summit was to introduce female researchers from around the world to one another, in order to facilitate international collaborations in specific thrusts areas of global interest. In this regard, the team has been building an extensive research program focused on water desalination.  The collaborative research addresses a major technical challenge in membrane technology, mitigation of membrane biofouling due to rejected chemicals and microbes, by impregnating the solutions with cost effective nanoparticles. This will elucidate the mitigation of biofouling, which is the accumulation of microorganisms onto the membrane, through comprehensive experimental analyses and testing. Most of the research and development in the area of biofouling prevention has focused on pretreatment of the feed water, improved cleaning solutions and cleaning procedures. In this project, an international team will develop biofouling-resistant (BRN) nanocomposite membranes, loaded with copper or silver ions, from synthesis to macro scale production.  In May 2013, the American team was awarded a NSF OISE International Travel grant to initiate and pursue the research. In October 2013, Abu-Dalo was awarded a USAID grant to start the research internationally. Because of the importance of the research topic, USAID funds were awarded to the US collaborators as well. A kick off meeting recently occurred in Morocco, at the Morocco's National Office of Electricity and Potable Water (ONEEIEA), a partner brought to help conduct extensive testing on the membrane materials. It is evident that the collaborative research team will be successful, since preliminary results have indicated that high quality materials can be synthesized. The success of this program will lead to improved water quality and reduced cost of filtration technology, making it more affordable for world regions suffering from water scarcity shortage. Beyond the research aspect of this program, student training and professional development through international experiences will also facilitate basic understanding of how next generation scholars will succeed in a flat world.

Women changing research in global desalination

248th National Meeting (2014)

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