Dr. Meny Elimelech, from Yale University, will be giving a lecture this upcoming Friday, March 24. Professor Elimelech is a 2017 AEESP Distinguished Lecturer and was selected for this honor from large field of contenders nominated by members of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. His lecture is sponsored by the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, EMPOWER, and SUNY-ESF.

His talk, entitled The Global Challenge for Water Supply: Is Seawater Desalination a Sustainable Solution?, is from 3:30-4:30 pm in Link 105.

About Professor Elimelech: Menachem (Meny) Elimelech is the Roberto Goizueta Professor at the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University. Professor Elimelech received his BS and MS degrees from the Hebrew University in Israel and PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1989. His research is in the area of physicochemical and membrane processes at the water-energy nexus. Professor Elimelech has received numerous awards in recognition of his research and mentoring. Notable among these are his election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006, the Eni Prize for ‘Protection of the Environment’ in 2015, and the Clarke Prize in 2005. Webpage: http://www.yale.edu/env/elimelech/bio.html

Abstract: Water scarcity is one of the greatest global crises that we currently face. In recent years, numerous large-scale seawater desalination plants have been built in water-scarce countries to augment available water resources, and construction of new desalination plants is expected to increase significantly in the near future. Despite the major advancements in reverse osmosis desalination technology, the production of freshwater by seawater desalination is still more energy-intensive than conventional technologies for the treatment of freshwater sources. Furthermore, there are concerns about the environmental impacts of desalination and uncertainty about the potential effects on the marine environment. This presentation will review the energy efficiency, the state of the technology, and the environmental challenges of seawater desalination. A discussion will be presented on the possible reductions in energy demand by state-of-the art seawater desalination technologies; the potential role of advanced materials and innovative technologies in improving energy use, reliability, and environmental impact of seawater desalination; and the sustainability of desalination as a technological solution to global water shortages.