New & Events

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Showcasing Berkeley Water Center’s Research at BERC Water Expo

“Water as a Resource,” a conference hosted by the Berkeley Energy and Research Collaborative, highlighted the critical role of water in shaping sustainable solutions for people, the planet, and progress. The conference featured keynote speaker Wade Crowfoot, the California Natural Resources Secretary, and included panels on “Data Center Water Consumption,” “Advancing Corporate Water Stewardship,” and “Indigenous Leadership and Collaboration in California Watershed restoration.”

The conference also featured a poster session, where eight students and postdoctoral scholars from the Berkeley Water Center presented. The poster session included a judged contest evaluated by five experts in water management and conservation fields.

Dr. Wenli Jiang, a postdoc in Professor Baoxia Mi’s lab, won second place for her poster “How low is low cost? SWIE for closed-loop ammonia harvesting and fertilizer production from waste streams.” Dr. Jiang presented her work developing a low cost, scalable, and fully solar-driven technology that enables direct ammonia recovery from diverse waste streams and in-situ fertilizer production. Dr. Sugit Modi, a postdoctoral scholar in Professor Ashok Gadgil’s lab, won the third place prize for his poster “Piloting two Electrical, Modular, and Distributed Zero Liquid Discharge Arsenic-Removal Technologies.” Dr. Modi presented his research on the fully autonomous, electrified treatment system currently in use in Allensworth, California, to treat arsenic-laden water sources.

Congratulations to everyone who presented! We look forward to seeing your research continue to grow and make an impact.

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Berkeley Water Day 2025: Addressing Water Challenges of  a Changing Climate

On March 20, 2025, the Water Center hosted Berkeley Water Day, an event focused on advancing solutions to the growing water challenges posed by climate change. Held at the Banatao Auditorium, the event brought together researchers, students, policymakers, and industry experts to share ideas and build connections. 

The day began with a lecture by Dr. Menachem Elimelech of Rice University, titled Desalination Solutions for a Drier Planet. The morning continued with lightning talks from Prof. Baoxia Mi and Prof. Thomas Schutzius, followed by a panel on water scarity moderated by Dr. Peter Fiske (National Alliance for Water Innovation). 

In the afternoon, Dr. Kongjian Yu of Peking University, a global leader in ecological urbanism, gave a keynote on Sponge Planet, highlighting nature-based solution for addressing urban flooding. This was followed by lightning talks from Prof. Kristina Hill and Prof. Mark Stacey, followed by a in a panel on urban flood resilience moderated by Prof. Matt Kondolf.

The day continued on to a focus in policy in the “Putting Research into Action” panel, moderated by Prof. Ellen Bruno, with speakers Joaquin Esquivel (Chair, CA State Water Resources Control Board), Letitia Grenier (Public Policy Institute of California), and Dr. Newsha Ajami (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab). Panelists shared perspectives on how academic research can more effectively inform state water planning, equity, and resilience.

The day concluded with lightning talks and a poster session showcasing student and faculty research from across campus, offering opportunities for informal discussion and collaboration.

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