An Interview With Prof. Noam Weisbrod
An Interview With Prof. Noam Weisbrod
May 19, 2016
Prof. Noam Weisbrod, director of BGU’s Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, was recently interviewed by The Water Network. Here is an excerpt:
Prof. Noam Weisbrod
Q: The Zuckerberg Institute is a young institute; what is your personal experience of working there? What is your vision for the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research?
A: It is indeed a young institute in age but is also dynamic with lots of great young researchers with strong motivation, open minds, and the drive to be better all the time. We are already a leading water institute. My vision for the Zuckerberg Institute is to be one of the first names to be mentioned, worldwide, in relation to water problems in general and in an arid and semi-arid environment in particular.
Q: What are the milestone projects the Zuckerberg Institute is conducting these days?
A:
- Education. We are trying to get our graduate students connected to NGOs and projects in rural Africa.
- We submitted a proposal to construct a water purification system specially designed for rural areas in Africa.
- Development of an aquaponics system in a rural place such as in Africa in an off-grid setup that is fed by the system’s waste. This setup will allow sustainable and economic production of high-quality food, in a fully recirculating system and without external energy.
- Hydrothermal carbonization of agrowaste and human excretions. The wet waste will be treated in a manner that will produce a renewable energy source as well as liquid fertilizer while eliminating the potential pollution by these wastes.
- Low cost/low tech systems for safe on-site graywater/wastewater reuse, mainly for irrigation and toilet flushing.
The Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research
Q: The Institute is actively involved in creating new membranes and processes for reverse osmosis (RO) research, do you wish to share any findings or results?
A: RO desalination research at the Zuckerberg Instutute is focused on the following subjects:
- Development of RO membranes that can cope with the exposure to oxidizing agents for improved cleaning and fouling control.
- Fundamental understanding of microbial biofilm growth on RO membranes in order to avoid biofilm development on the membrane surface.
- Modification of commercialized RO membranes in order to reduce their fouling and biofouling propensity.
Q: Would you like to address our young water leaders?
A: I believe that the fact that water scarcity will become a bigger and bigger problem in the next two decades is clear. Therefore, the need for bright ideas and creative solutions in the water sector is obvious. I think that there are lots of scientific challenges and business opportunities and young people will make a very smart decision if they become active and invest their skills and motivation in water.
Read the full interview on The Water Network website >>
Stories Like This
