Mit Students Advance Solutions For Water And Food With The Help Of J-wafs

For nan past decade, nan Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) has been instrumental successful promoting student engagement crossed nan Institute to thief lick nan world’s astir pressing h2o and nutrient strategy challenges. As portion of J-WAFS’ cardinal ngo of securing nan world’s h2o and nutrient supply, J-WAFS intends to cultivate nan adjacent procreation of leaders successful nan h2o and nutrient sectors by encouraging MIT student engagement done a assortment of programs and mechanisms that supply investigation funding, mentorship, and different types of support.

J-WAFS offers a scope of opportunities for some undergraduate and postgraduate students to prosecute successful nan advancement of h2o and nutrient systems research. These see postgraduate student fellowships, recreation grants for information successful conferences, backing for investigation projects successful India, video competitions highlighting students’ h2o and nutrient research, and support for student-led organizations and initiatives focused connected captious areas successful h2o and food.

As J-WAFS enters its 2nd decade, it continues to expose students crossed nan Institute to experiential hands-on h2o and nutrient research, profession and different networking opportunities, and a level to create their innovative and collaborative solutions.

Graduate student fellowships

In 2017, J-WAFS inaugurated 2 postgraduate student fellowships: nan Rasikbhai L. Meswani Fellowship for Water Solutions and nan J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellowship Program. The Rasikbhai L. Meswani Fellowship for Water Solutions is simply a doctoral fellowship for students pursuing investigation related to h2o for quality request astatine MIT. The fellowship is made imaginable by Elina and Nikhil Meswani and family. Each year, up to 2 outstanding students are selected to person fellowship support for 1 world semester. Through it, J-WAFS seeks to support distinguished MIT students who are pursuing solutions to nan pressing world h2o proviso challenges of our time. The J-WAFS Fellowship for Water and Food Solutions is funded by nan J-WAFS Research Affiliate Program, which offers companies nan opportunity to collaborate pinch MIT connected h2o and nutrient research. A information of each investigation affiliate’s fees supports this fellowship.

Aditya Avinash Ghodgaonkar, a PhD student successful nan Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE), reflects connected really receiving a J-WAFS postgraduate student fellowship positively impacted his investigation connected nan creation of low-cost emitters for affordable, resilient drip irrigation for farmers: “My J-WAFS fellowship gave maine nan elasticity and financial support needed to research caller directions successful nan area of clog-resistant drip irrigation that had a higher consequence constituent that mightiness not person been feasible to negociate connected an industrially sponsored project,” Ghodgaonkar explains. Emitters, which power nan measurement and travel complaint of h2o utilized during irrigation, often clog owed to mini particles for illustration sand. Ghodgaonkar worked pinch Professor Amos Winter, and pinch farmers successful resource-constrained communities successful countries for illustration Jordan and Morocco, to create an emitter that is mechanically much resistant to clogging. Ghodgaonkar reports that their energy-efficient, compact, clog-resistant drip emitters are being commercialized by Toro and whitethorn beryllium disposable for unit successful nan adjacent fewer years. The opportunities and backing support Ghodgaonkar has received from J-WAFS contributed greatly to his entrepreneurial occurrence and nan advancement of nan h2o and cultivation sectors.

Linzixuan (Rhoda) Zhang, a PhD student advised by Professor Robert Langer and Principal Research Scientist Ana Jaklenec of nan Department of Chemical Engineering, was a 2022 J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellow. With nan fellowship, Zhang was capable to attraction connected her innovative investigation connected a caller micronutrient transportation level that fortifies nutrient pinch basal vitamins and nutrients. “We intake micronutrients from fundamentally each nan patient nutrient that we eat; however, astir nan world location are astir 2 cardinal group presently suffering from micronutrient deficiency because they do not person entree to very healthy, very caller food,” Zhang says. Her investigation involves nan improvement of biodegradable polymers that tin present these micronutrients successful harsh environments successful underserved regions of nan world. “Vitamin A is not very stable, for example; we person vitamin A successful different vegetables but erstwhile we navigator them, nan vitamin tin easy degrade,” Zhang explains. However, erstwhile vitamin A is encapsulated successful nan microparticle platform, simulation of boiling and of nan tummy situation shows that vitamin A was stabilized. “The meaningful factors down this research are real,” says Zhang. The J-WAFS Fellowship helped position Zhang to triumph nan 2024 Collegiate Inventors Competition for this work.

J-WAFS assistance for h2o and nutrient projects successful India

J-WAFS India Grants are intended to further nan activity being pursued by MIT individuals arsenic a portion of their research, innovation, entrepreneurship, coursework, aliases related activities. Faculty, investigation staff, and undergraduate and postgraduate students are eligible to apply. The programme intends to support projects that will use low-income communities successful India, and facilitates recreation and different expenses related to straight engaging pinch those communities.

Gokul Sampath, a PhD student successful nan Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and Jonathan Bessette, a PhD student successful MechE, initially met done J-WAFS-sponsored convention travel, and discovered their communal liking successful nan problem of arsenic successful h2o successful India. Together, they developed a cross-disciplinary connection that received a J-WAFS India Grant. Their task is studying really women successful agrarian India make decisions astir wherever they fetch h2o for their families, and really these decisions effect vulnerability to groundwater contaminants for illustration naturally-occurring arsenic. Specifically, they are processing low-cost distant sensors to amended understand water-fetching practices. The assistance is enabling Sampath and Bessette to equip Indian households pinch sensor-enabled h2o postulation devices (“smart buckets”) that will supply them information astir fetching practices successful arsenic-affected villages. By demonstrating nan efficacy of a sensor-based approach, nan squad hopes to reside a awesome information spread successful world development. “It is owed to programs for illustration nan Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab that I was capable to get nan support for interdisciplinary activity connected connecting h2o security, nationalist health, and location readying successful India,” says Sampath.

J-WAFS recreation grants for h2o conferences

In summation to backing postgraduate student research, J-WAFS besides provides grants for postgraduate students to be h2o conferences worldwide. Typically, students will only person recreation backing to be conferences wherever they are presenting their research. However, nan J-WAFS recreation grants support learning, networking, and profession exploration opportunities for exceptional MIT postgraduate students who are willing successful a profession successful nan h2o sector, whether successful academia, nonprofits, government, aliases industry.

Catherine Lu ’23, MNG ’24 was awarded a 2023 Travel Grant to be nan UNC Water and Health Conference successful North Carolina. The convention serves arsenic a curated abstraction for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to convene and measure data, scrutinize technological findings, and heighten caller and existing strategies for expanding entree to and proviso of services for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Lu, who studied civilian and biology engineering, worked pinch Professor Dara Entekhabi connected modeling and predicting droughts successful Africa utilizing outer Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) data. As she evaluated her investigation trajectory and profession options successful nan h2o sector, Lu recovered nan convention to beryllium informative and enlightening. “I was capable to grow my knowledge connected each nan sectors and issues that are related to h2o and nan implications they person connected my investigation topic.” Furthermore, she notes: “I was really impressed by nan divers scope of group that were capable to be nan conference. The world position offered astatine nan convention provided a valuable discourse for knowing nan challenges and successes of different regions astir nan world — from WASH acquisition successful schools successful Zimbabwe and India to agrarian h2o entree disparities successful nan United States … Being capable to prosecute pinch specified passionate and dedicated group has motivated maine to proceed advancement successful this sector.” Following graduation, Lu secured a position arsenic a h2o resources technologist astatine CDM Smith, an engineering and building firm.

Daniela Morales, a master’s student successful metropolis readying successful nan Department of Urban Studies and Planning, was a 2024 J-WAFS Travel Grant recipient who attended World Water Week successful Stockholm, Sweden. The yearly world convention is organized by nan Stockholm International Water Institute and convenes starring experts, decision-makers, and professionals successful nan h2o assemblage to actively prosecute successful discussions and developments addressing captious water-related challenges. Morales’ investigation interests impact drinking h2o value and entree successful agrarian and peri-urban areas affected by ambiance alteration impacts, nan effects of municipal h2o shutoffs connected marginalized communities, and nan narration betwixt location h2o guidance and nationalist wellness outcomes. When reflecting connected her acquisition astatine nan conference, Morales writes: “Being portion of this arena has fixed maine truthful overmuch information to proceed my master and world travel successful h2o guidance arsenic it relates to nationalist wellness and metropolis readying … There was truthful overmuch power that was collectively generated successful nan conference, and truthful galore caller ideas that I was capable to process astir my ain profession interests and my domiciled arsenic a early planner successful h2o management, that nan past time of nan convention felt little for illustration an ending and much of nan opening of a caller chapter. I americium excited to return each nan accusation I learned to activity towards my ain research, and proceed to build relationships pinch each nan caller contacts I made.” Morales besides notes that without nan support of nan J-WAFS grant, “I would not person had nan opportunity to make it to Stockholm and participate successful specified a unsocial week of h2o wisdom.”

Seed grants and Solutions grants

J-WAFS offers seed grants for early-stage investigation and Solutions Grants for later-stage investigation that is fresh to move from nan laboratory to nan commercialized world. Proposals for some types of grants must beryllium submitted and led by an MIT main investigator, but postgraduate students, and sometimes undergraduates, are often supported by these grants.

Arjav Shah, a PhD-MBA student successful MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering and nan MIT Sloan School of Management, is presently pursuing nan commercialization of a h2o curen exertion that was first supported done a 2019 J-WAFS seed assistance and past a 2022 J-WAFS Solutions Grant pinch Professor Patrick Doyle. The exertion uses hydrogels to region a wide scope of micropollutants from water. The Solutions backing enables entrepreneurial students and postdocs to laic nan groundwork to commercialize a exertion by assessing usage scenarios and exploring business needs pinch existent imaginable customers. “With J-WAFS’ support, we were not only capable to standard up nan technology, but besides summation a deeper knowing of marketplace needs and create a beardown business case,” says Shah. Shah and nan Solutions squad person discovered that nan hydrogels could beryllium utilized successful respective real-world contexts, ranging from large-scale business usage to small-scale, portable, off-grid applications. “We are incredibly grateful to J-WAFS for their support, peculiarly successful fostering manufacture connections and facilitating introductions to investors, imaginable customers, and experts,” Shah adds.

Shah was besides a 2023 J-WAFS Travel Grant awardee who attended Stockholm World Water Week that year. He says, “J-WAFS has played a pivotal domiciled successful some my world travel astatine MIT and my entrepreneurial pursuits. J-WAFS support has helped maine turn some arsenic a intelligence and an aspiring entrepreneur. The vulnerability and opportunities provided person allowed maine to create captious skills specified arsenic customer discovery, financial modeling, business development, fundraising, and storytelling — each basal for translating exertion into real-world impact. These experiences provided invaluable insights into what it takes to bring a exertion from nan laboratory to market.”

Shah is presently starring efforts to rotation retired a institution to commercialize nan hydrogel research. Since receiving J-WAFS support, nan squad has made awesome strides toward launching a startup company, including winning nan Pillar VC Moonshot Prize, Cleantech Open National Grand Prize, MassCEC Catalyst Award, and information successful nan NSF I-Corps National Program.

J-WAFS student video competitions

J-WAFS has hosted 2 video competitions: MIT Research for a Water Secure Future and MIT Research for a Food Secure Future, successful grant of World Water Day and Word Food Day, respectively. In these competitions, students are tasked pinch creating original videos showcasing their innovative h2o and nutrient investigation conducted astatine MIT. The opportunity is unfastened to MIT students, postdocs, and caller alumni.

Following a reappraisal by a distinguished sheet of judges, Vishnu Jayaprakash SM ’19, PhD ’22 won first spot successful nan 2022 J-WAFS World Food Day Student Video Competition for his video focused connected eliminating pesticide contamination and waste. Jayaprakash delved into nan subject down AgZen-Cloak, a caller procreation of cultivation sprays that prevents pesticides from bouncing disconnected of plants and seeping into nan ground, frankincense causing harmful runoff. The J-WAFS title provided Jayaprakash pinch a level to item nan universal, low-cost, and environmentally sustainable benefits of AgZen-Cloak. Jayaprakash worked connected akin exertion arsenic a funded student connected a J-WAFS Solutions assistance pinch Professor Kripa Varanasi. The Solutions grant, successful fact, helped Jayaprakash and Varanasi to motorboat AgZen, a institution that deploys AgZen-Cloak and different products and technologies to power nan interactions of droplets and sprays pinch harvest surfaces. AgZen is presently helping farmers sustainably thin to their cultivation land while besides protecting nan environment.  

In 2021, Hilary Johnson SM ’18, PhD ’22, won first spot successful nan J-WAFS World Water Day video competition. Her video highlighted her activity connected a caller pump that uses adaptive hydraulics for improved pump efficiency. The pump was portion of a sponsored investigation task pinch Xylem Inc., a J-WAFS Research Affiliate company, and Professor Alex Slocum of MechE. At nan time, Johnson was a PhD student successful Slocum’s lab. She was instrumental successful nan improvement of nan pump by engineering nan volute to grow and statement to meet changing strategy travel rates. Johnson went connected to later go a 2021-22 J-WAFS Fellow, and is now a full-time mechanical technologist astatine nan Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

J-WAFS-supported student clubs

J-WAFS-supported student clubs supply members of nan MIT student organization nan opportunity for networking and master advancement done events focused connected h2o and nutrient systems topics.

J-WAFS is simply a sponsor of nan MIT Water Club, a student-led group that supports and promotes nan engagement of nan MIT organization successful water-sector-related activism, dissemination of information, and investigation innovation. The nine allows students to spearhead nan statement of conferences, lectures, outreach events, investigation showcases, and entrepreneurship competitions including nan erstwhile MIT Water Innovation Prize and MIT Water Summit. J-WAFS not only sponsors nan MIT Water Club financially, but offers mentorship and guidance to nan activity team.

The MIT Food and Agriculture Club is besides supported by J-WAFS. The club’s ngo is to beforehand nan engagement of nan MIT organization successful nutrient and agriculture-related topics. In doing so, nan students lead initiatives to stock nan innovative exertion and business solutions researchers are processing successful nutrient and agriculture systems. J-WAFS assists successful nan relationship of passionate MIT students pinch those who are actively moving successful nan nutrient and agriculture manufacture beyond nan Institute. From 2015 to 2022, J-WAFS besides helped nan nine co-produce nan Rabobank-MIT Food and Agribusiness Innovation Prize — a student business scheme title for nutrient and cultivation startups.

From 2023 onward, nan MIT Water Club and nan MIT Food and Ag Club person been joining forces to shape a mixed prize competition: The MIT Water, Food and Agriculture (WFA) Innovation Prize. The WFA Innovation Prize is simply a business scheme title for student-led startups focused connected immoderate region aliases market. The teams coming business plans involving a technology, product, service, aliases process that is aimed astatine solving a problem related to water, food, aliases agriculture. The title encourages each approaches to innovation, from engineering and merchandise creation to argumentation and information analytics. The extremity of nan title is to thief emerging entrepreneurs construe investigation and ideas into businesses, entree mentors and resources, and build networks successful nan water, food, and agriculture industries. J-WAFS offers financial and in-kind support, moving pinch student leaders to plan, organize, and instrumentality nan stages of nan title done to nan last transportation event. This year, J-WAFS is continuing to support nan WFA team, which is led by Ali Decker, an MBA student astatine MIT Sloan, and Sam Jakshtis, a master’s student successful MIT’s subject successful existent property improvement program. The last transportation arena will return spot connected April 30 successful nan MIT Media Lab.

“I’ve had nan opportunity to activity pinch Renee Robins, executive head of J-WAFS, connected MIT’s Water, Food and Agriculture Innovation Prize for nan past 2 years, and it has been some immensely valuable and a delight to person her support,” says Decker. “Renee has helped america successful each areas of prize planning: brainstorming caller ideas, reasoning done startup finalist selection, connecting to imaginable sponsors and partners, and more. Above all, she supports america pinch passion and joy; each clip we meet, I look guardant to our discussion,” Decker adds.

J-WAFS events

Throughout nan year, J-WAFS intends to connection events that will prosecute immoderate successful nan MIT student organization who are moving successful h2o aliases nutrient systems. For example, connected April 19, 2023, J-WAFS teamed up pinch nan MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and nan Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) to co-host an MIT student poster convention for Earth Month. The taxable of nan poster convention was “MIT investigation for a changing planet,” and it featured activity from 11 MIT students pinch projects successful water, food, energy, and nan environment. The students, who represented a scope of MIT departments, labs, and centers, were connected manus to talk their projects and prosecute pinch those attending nan event. Attendees could ballot for their favourite poster aft being asked to see which poster astir intelligibly communicated nan investigation problem and nan imaginable solution. At nan extremity of nan night, votes were tallied and nan victor of nan “People’s Choice Award” for champion poster was Elaine Liu ’24, an undergraduate successful mathematics astatine nan clip of nan event. Liu’s poster featured her activity connected managing nonaccomplishment cascades successful systems pinch upwind power.

J-WAFS besides hosts less-structured student networking events. For instance, during MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) successful January 2024, J-WAFS hosted an crystal pick societal for student networking. The informal arena was an opportunity for postgraduate and undergraduate students from crossed nan Institute to meet and mingle pinch like-minded peers moving in, aliases willing in, h2o and nutrient systems. Students were capable to explicate their existent and early research, interests, and projects and inquire questions while exchanging ideas, engaging pinch 1 another, and perchance forming collaborations, aliases astatine nan very slightest sharing insights.

Looking up to 10 much years of student impact

Over nan past decade, J-WAFS has demonstrated a beardown committedness to empowering students successful nan h2o and nutrient sectors, fostering an situation wherever they tin confidently thrust meaningful alteration and innovation. PhD student Jonathan Bessette sums up nan J-WAFS organization arsenic a “one-of-a-kind organization that enables basal investigation successful h2o and nutrient that different would not beryllium pursued. It’s this type of investigation that is not often nan attraction of awesome funding, yet has specified a beardown effect successful sustainable development.”

J-WAFS intends to supply students pinch nan support and devices they request to behaviour authentic and meaningful h2o and food-related investigation that will use communities astir nan world. This support, coupled pinch an MIT education, enables students to go leaders successful sustainable h2o and nutrient systems. As nan 2nd decade of J-WAFS programming begins, nan J-WAFS squad remains committed to fostering student collaboration crossed nan Institute, driving innovative solutions to revitalize nan world’s h2o and nutrient systems while empowering nan adjacent procreation of pioneers successful these captious fields.