The University of California Los Angeles' (UCLA) Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has formed a new Water Technology Research Center that will develop technologies to turn brackish or seawater into fresh water. Researchers at the center also will study methods to minimize environmental impacts associated with desalination - the removal of salt and other pollutants from water, and will seek to lower the cost of desalination by integrating it with innovative energy generation.
“Water scarcity is intensifying in all regions of the country,” says UCLA Engineering Dean Vijay Dhir. “The need for an adequate supply of affordable, accessible, clean water is a key priority for our nation's future and for Southern California. As the birthplace of the first viable reverse-osmosis membrane in the 1960s, it is entirely fitting that the UCLA School of Engineering should continue to take this important research to the next level and beyond.”