Argonne’s lead water strategist addresses questions on managing our precious water resources
Many questions surround how to best solve the numerous problems involving efficient management of our precious water resources. We asked a few questions regarding water science and engineering of Junhong Chen, lead water strategist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and a professor of molecular engineering at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. Prior to coming to Chicago, Chen served as a program director for the Engineering Research Centers program of the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Q: In what way is water research important to the nation’s needs for sustainable energy, economic prosperity and security?
A: Water is an indispensable resource of our society as it is required for sustaining life and economic prosperity. For example, water is needed for manufacturing nearly everything, ranging from energy to food, clothes, cars and electronics. It is, thus, an integral part of our life beyond simply quenching thirst. Our future economy and national security highly depend on the availability of clean water. However, there is a limited supply of renewable freshwater with no substitute. Population and economic growth, climate change and urbanization further exacerbate the growing water stress globally. As such, we urgently need scientific and engineering solutions to achieve more efficient management of our precious water resources. Research and innovation around water conservation, recycling, reclamation and reuse are critical to meeting the national needs. In response to the looming water crisis, the White House initiated a Water Security Grand Challenge, led by DOE. Its goal is to advance transformational technology and innovation to meet the global need for safe, secure and affordable water.
Continue reading at Argonne National Laboratory
Image via Argonne National Laboratory
