Jamboree Sparks New Vision for University-Wide Water Research
Interdisciplinary event united faculty to tackle water challenges and sustainability
During the Northwestern Water Jamboree held January 28 at Nona Jo’s Café inside the Walter Athletics Center, a poster titled “NU Water: The Past, Present, and Future,” displayed important milestones in water research and related developments at the University with yellow sticky notes.
Following the jamboree, Northwestern faculty are confident there will be plenty of future entries on the poster.
“We want this timeline to be a living one,” said Sera Young, professor of anthropology at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, who co-organized the event. “While we have key [events] up there, the future lies at our feet.”
Hosted by the Center for Water Research (CWR) and the Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience (CESR), the jamboree brought together an interdisciplinary group of faculty for an interactive meeting geared toward the early development of a new, University-wide vision for water-related research, education, and impact at Northwestern. Twenty-seven professors, including 10 with primary appointments at Northwestern Engineering, shared their research focuses during one-minute lightning talks.
The event’s organizers were Aaron Packman, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and director of the CWR; Jennifer Dunn, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern Engineering, director of CESR, and the CWR director of water systems; and Young, director of water insecurity at CWR.
“Today, we have an opportunity to build on [past] success,” Packman said. “We’re here to reimagine what the University might do in the water space.”
“Having a view of Lake Michigan while we discussed and envisioned boosting research and education opportunities about water at Northwestern was really inspiring,” Dunn said. “The Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience anticipates continuing to connect engineering faculty with faculty across the university to contextualize technology solutions to water pollution and scarcity in the realities of community experiences, policy, and the market.”
Following the lightning talks, the gathered faculty separated into breakout groups to discuss different pressing topics in water research. Following these discussions, each team shared their conclusions with the broader audience.
The topics included:
- Improving Water Quality
- Water Sensing and Data Science
- Resource Recovery from Water
- Reducing Water Scarcity
- Water and Public Wellbeing and Health
- Water Education
- Water Justice
The importance of the subject of water was underscored by its location – Nona Jo’s floor-to-ceiling windows offered picturesque views of Lake Michigan – and a land acknowledgment that began the event.
“I’m really excited about this work,” said Megan Bang, James E. Johnson Professor of Learning Sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) and director of Northwestern’s Center for Native American and Indigenous Research. “As a native woman who calls the Great Lakes my home territories, we have always been deep water people.”
Other speakers at the jamboree included Northwestern Engineering dean Christopher Schuh, Weinberg dean Adrian Randolph, and Bryan Brayboy, dean of Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy.
Schuh stressed the value of interdisciplinary work and the importance of water research. He discussed the efforts to combat PFAS and forever chemicals, ways to test for lead, hydrology, and the impact of water sustainability.
“There’s just a lot going on with water,” Schuh said. “I’m really glad to have everyone at the table and talking about it together.”