BGU | Water Summit

The Summit

This upcoming summit will cover three main topics related to water security in a changing world:

Desalination, water treatment,
hydrology and aquatic microbiology

The conference will address applied and fundamental questions related to the nexus of water, humanity, and the environment. Invited talks by renowned speakers will discuss cutting-edge research, related challenges, and future directions as well as implications for policy makers. The summit will also include round table discussions with active participation of the audience.
Researchers that would like to share their studies can submit an abstract for an exclusive poster session.

Organizing Committee: Prof. Noam Weisbrod (BIDR Director, BGU, Israel), Prof. Amit Gross (ZIWR Director, BIDR, BGU, Israel), Prof. Edo Bar-Zeev (ZIWR, BIDR, BGU, Israel), Prof. Menachem Elimelech (Yale University, USA)

Register

Invited Speakers

Prof. Janet Hering
Prof. Thomas Clasen
Prof. Yoram Cohen
Prof. Pedro J J Alvarez
Prof. Menachem Elimelech
Prof. John Selker
Prof. Eberhard Morgenroth
Prof. Joan B Rose
Prof. Petra Doell
Mr. Seth Siegel
Prof. Lisa Alvarez-Cohen
Prof. Hans W Pearl

Program

First Day, 22nd of May
Second Day, 23rd of May

08:00 – 10:00

10:00 – 10:30

10:30 – 13:00


14:00 – 15:30

15:30 – 16:45

19:30

Registration
Opening Statement
Session A: Frontiers in applied and aquatic microbiology
Prof. Joan Rose: From Polio to COVID: Environmental Virology at its Best
Prof. Hans Paerl: TBA
Prof. Lisa, Alvarez Cohen: TBA
Round table
Session B: New perspectives in hydrology
Prof. John Selker: A critical role of trans-generational teams in advancing hydrological measurements
Prof. Petra Doell: Global-scale quantification of drought hazards
Poster session and coffee break
Gala Dinner and the Zuckerberg Water Prize ceremony
Second Day, 23rd of May

09:00 – 11:00

12:00 – 16:45

16:45 – 17:00

Session C: Desalination: old concepts, new horizons
Prof. Yoram Oren: TBA
Prof. Menachem Elimelech: The relative insignificance of advanced materials in enhancing the energy efficiency of desalination technologies
Prof. Ori Lahav: Resource recovery from seawater: emphasis on selective separation of Mg(II) salts
Prof. Yoram Cohen: Autonomous Optimal Operation of Distributed Membrane-Based Water Treatment and Desalination Systems
Session D: Water treatment and sanitation:
Mr. Seth Siegel: TBA
Prof. Pedro Alvarez: Nanotechnology-enabled water treatment: a vision to enable decentralized water treatment and address growing challenges of the water energy nexus
Prof. Eberhard Morgenroth: Opportunities for greywater reuse at different scales
Prof. Thomas Clasen: Water and sanitation interventions in low- and middle-income settings: what works, what doesn’t
Prof. Janet Hering: Overcoming the barriers to achieving the environmental Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Concluding remarks

08:00 -10:00

10:00 – 10:30

10:30 – 13:45

14:45 – 18:00

19:30

Registration
Opening Ceremony
Session A: Frontiers in applied
and aquatic microbiology
Session B: New
perspectives in hydrology
Gala Dinner

Venue

The Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research Ben-Gurion College

How to get here?

By car

By public transportation

By public transportation

Accommodation Nearby

Abstract Submission
For Poster Presentation

Abstract Template

Contact Us

Ella Nicolaevsky

Special Projects Officer, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR)

International Water Summit coordinator

+972-8-6596702
[email protected]

Contact Us

Sara Guzzetti-Saposnik
Coordinator,
Director office, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Taly Noam
Assistant to the Director,
ZIWR Research, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
+972-8-6596997
[email protected]
+972-8-6596997
[email protected]

Contact Us

Ella Nicolaevsky

Special Projects Officer, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR)

International Water Summit coordinator

+972-8-6596702
[email protected]

+972-8-6596702
[email protected]
Water Summit 2022
Registration Form

Prof. Janet Hering

[email protected]

Affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ)

Topic: Overcoming the barriers to achieving the environmental Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Fields of research: Knowledge exchange at the interface of science with policy and practice Biogeochemical cycling of trace metals and metalloids: microbial redox cycling; field studies of metal redox cycling, mobilization, and sequestration Water treatment processes for removal of inorganic contaminants: role of sorption in contaminant removal; design of novel sorbents Mineral weathering and reactions at mineral surfaces: mechanisms and kinetics of dissolution and precipitation reactions; macroscopic, spectroscopic, and modeling studies of sorption processes

Prof. Thomas Clasen

[email protected]

Affiliation: Rose Salamone Gangarosa Professor of Environmental Health Rollins School of Public Health Emory University Atlanta, GA USA

Topic: Water and sanitation interventions in low- and middle-income settings: what works, what doesn’t

Fields of research: Randomized controlled trials of household and community environmental interventions in low-income settings; systematic reviews of water, sanitation and indoor air quality interventions; environmental health law and policy.

Prof. Yoram Cohen

[email protected]

Affiliation: Distinguished Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department and Institute of the Environment and sustainability Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Topic: Autonomous Optimal Operation of Distributed Membrane-Based Water Treatment and Desalination Systems

Yoram Cohen is a UCLA Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a faculty member at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (1981-present). He is Director of UCLA's Water Technology Research (WaTeR) and Adjunct Faculty at Ben-Gurion University. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and received the Clarence Gerhold Award (2019) and Lawrence K. Cecil Award (2003) from the AIChE Separations and Environmental Divisions, respectively.  Dr. Cohen is a recognized expert in water purification and desalination, membrane separation processes, and environmental impact assessment. His research has focuses on the development and deployment of advanced flexible, self-adaptive, and energy optimal high recovery water treatment and desalination systems, new membranes and monitoring technology for membrane fouling, surface mineral crystallization, mitigation of membrane scaling and fouling, and the development of machine learning and AI approaches for decision support and process automation. He is also engaged in environmental protection efforts to promote water reuse, develop clean drinking water supplies for disadvantaged communities, and reduce risks from exposure to chemical contaminants.

Prof. Pedro J.J. Alvarez

[email protected] Affiliation: George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University, USA Topic: TBA

Field of research: Environmental implications and applications of nanotechnology, bioremediation, fate and transport of toxic chemicals, water footprint of biofuels, water treatment and reuse, and antibiotic resistance control.

Prof. Menachem Elimelech

[email protected]

Affiliation: Sterling Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, USA

Topic: TBA

Field of research:
Membrane-based processes for energy-efficient desalination and wastewater reuse; sustainable production of water and energy generation with engineered osmosis; environmental applications and implications of nanomaterials; water and sanitation in developing countries.

Prof. John Selker

[email protected]

Affiliation: Department of Biological & Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University, Distinguished Professor, USA

Topic: A critical role of trans-generational teams in advancing hydrological measurements.

Fields of research: Dr. Selker is interested in advancing methods of measuring water resource stores and fluxes. He is co-Director of both The Center for Transformative Environmental Monitoring Programs (CTEMPs.org) and the Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory (TAHMO.org), and PI of the Openly Published Environmental Sensing Laboratory (currently employing 40 undergraduates - Open-Sensing.org). Selker has worked in more than 20 countries across 5 continents. Focus areas include environmental instrumentation, groundwater processes, and ecohydrology.

Prof. Eberhard Morgenroth

[email protected]

Affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Switzerland

Topic: Opportunities for greywater reuse at different scales

Field of research: wastewater treatment, membrane bioreactors for water reuse, control of biofilms, biofilm reactors, biological drinking water treatment, decentralized wastewater treatment, and energy recovery from wastewater and organic residuals

Prof. Joan B. Rose

[email protected]

Affiliation: Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research Michigan State University, USA

Topic: From Polio to COVID: Environmental Virology at its Best

Joan B. Rose holds the Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research at Michigan State University. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2011) and the winner of the 2016 Stockholm Water Prize. She is an international expert in water microbiology, water quality and public health safety. She has published more than 300 manuscripts. She led the International Water Associations (IWA) Task Force on COVID19 in 2020. She is also in charge of the Global Water Pathogens Project www.waterpathogens.org. She was a member of the IWA Board of Directors (2016-2020). Dr. Rose earned her Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Arizona, Tucson and masters from the University of Wyoming. She is currently collaborating with the State of Michigan on the State-wide program on Wastewater Surveillance for COVID-19.

Prof. Petra Doell

Affiliation: Professor of Hydrology at Institute of Physical Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany

Topic: Global-scale quantification of drought hazards

Fields of research:
- global water modeling
- methods for transdisciplinary knowledge integration and participatory processes. The first research focus aims at quantifying water resources and human water use under the impact of global (climate) change for all land areas of the globe. We are continuously improving our global hydrological model WaterGAP and strive to develop meaningful indicators for problems such as water scarcity, drought or alteration of freshwater biota habitat. In the second research focus, we investigate how the diverse knowledge of multi-disciplinary scientists and multi-sectoral stakeholders can be optimally integrated to identify sustainable risk management strategies in problems fields such as water scarcity and pollution, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and adaptation to climate change.

Mr. Seth Siegel

[email protected]

Affiliation: Senior Fellow at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Water Policy, USA

Topic: TBA

Prof. Lisa Alvarez-Cohen

[email protected]

Affiliation: Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Fred and Claire Sauer Professor of Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley, USA

Topic: TBA Field of research: Environmental microbiology and ecology, biotransformation and fate of environmental and wastewater contaminants, and innovative molecular and isotopic techniques for studying microbial ecology of communities involved in wastewater treatment and bioremediation communities.

Prof. Hans W. Paerl

[email protected]

Affiliation: Kenan Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences

Topic: TBA

Hans W. Paerl is the Kenan Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences. His collaborative research addresses microbially-mediated nutrient cycling and primary production dynamics, environmental controls and management of harmful algal (specifically cyanobacterial) blooms and their toxins, and assessing effects of human and climatic alterations of water quality and sustainability of inland, estuarine and coastal marine waters in the US and globally (see: https://paerllab.web.unc.edu/research/). He has published over 300 peer reviewed articles and book chapters on these subjects. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, EPA, NIH, NOAA/NC Sea Grant, USDA, The NC Water Resources Research Institute, various State environmental agencies and private foundations, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Science and Technology and the Netherlands Academy of Sciences. He also manages several estuarine water quality monitoring and assessment programs, including the Neuse River Estuary (NC) Modeling and Monitoring Program, ModMon (https://paerllab.web.unc.edu/projects/modmon/) and the Ferry-based Water Quality Monitoring Program for the Pamlico Sound System, FerryMon (https://paerllab.web.unc.edu/projects/ferrymon/). He has supervised over 70 Graduate Students, 12 Post-Docs and advises undergraduate students at UNC-CH as well as other institutions. He received the 2003 G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the Association of the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), and the 2011 Odum Award from the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) for addressing the causes, consequences and controls of eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems. In 2015, he was named a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) , and in 2017 he was named a fellow of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences and a holds honorary joint faculty positions at the Hohai University and the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, both located in Nanjing, China.

Arriving by public transport

From Tel Aviv to Beer Sheva

By Bus

Express lines to Beer Sheva from Tel-Aviv are operated by the Metropoline Bus Company.

370

Bus 370 depart from Tel Aviv
Central Bus station
Timetable →

380

Bus 380 depart from Tel Aviv
2000 Terminal respectively
Timetable →

By Train

The trains departs from any station in Tel Aviv to Beer Sheva main station. An express train to Beer Sheva would often be significantly faster.

The train station is 200 meters off the Beer Sheva Bus station.

Israel Railways website →

From Ben-Gurion Airport to
Beer Sheva Train

By Train

Catch the train from Ben Gurion Airport and change train to the Ha’Hagana Station, Tel Aviv.

Switch that Train to Beer Sheva main train station.

The Train departs from Ben-Gurion Airport at every half an hour.

Israel Railways website →

From Jerusalem to Beer Sheva

By Bus

Express line to Beer Sheva is operated by the Eged Bus Company.

470

The Bus 470 depats from Jerusalem
Central Bus Station every half an hour
Timetable →

From Beer Sheva to the conference at ZIWR

By Bus

Bus service from Beer Sheva to Midreshet Ben-Gurion, ZIWR is operated by the Metropoline Bus Company.

60

Bus 60 is very convenient and comes up to the
main gate of Midreshet Ben-Gurion
Timetable →

64

Bus 64 is very convenient and comes up to the
main gate of Midreshet Ben-Gurion
Timetable →

Special note:

Do not get off at Kibbutz Sede Boqer, instead, ask to get off at “THE MIDRASHA”.

65

You may also take the 65
Timetable →

You may also take the 65 Timetable you will need to get off the bus at the intersection, adding a 12 minutes walk to get to the main gate of the Midrasha.

From the bus stop, walk through the Yellow gates, continuing straight to a “T” junction and turn left into the BIDR, BGU campus.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev​

The fastest growing research university in Israel.
With 20,000 students, 4,000 staff and faculty members, and three campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sede Boqer and Eilat, BGU is an agent of change, fulfilling the vision of David Ben-Gurion, who envisaged the future of Israel emerging from the Negev. Today, BGU’s mission continues to be effecting change, locally, regionally and internationally. With five faculties and several world-renown research institutes, BGU is a recognized national and global leader in many fields, actively encouraging multidisciplinary collaborations with government and industry, and nurturing entrepreneurship and innovation in all its forms.

Read More
The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research

The BIDR were established in 1974 and are composed of three institutes: The Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands and the Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research. The BIDR mission is to combat desertification and face global challenges by bringing together water, food, energy, and environmental research. Today, the BIDR is a global leader in research on desertification and sustainable development of the drylands. BIDR researchers and students focus on new and alternative ways to meet global challenges related to food security, water scarcity, clean energy and more. To address these challenges, researchers help to harness dryland ecosystems around the world for human habitation and survival with innovative science and cutting-edge technology. The knowledge gained here is hared worldwide, where the rapid expansion of drylands, water scarcity, food security problems, and energy crises are affecting the lives of billions of people living in more than 100 countries.

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The Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research

The ZIWR was founded in January 2002 within the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, at the Sede Boqer Campus of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. ZIWR scientists use experimental and theoretical approaches to conduct fundamental water related research to understand wide-ranging phenomena. Our broad-based research encompasses nanoscience and pore scale phenomena, and extends to pilot projects and field studies. Our interdisciplinary team includes hydrologists, soil scientists, geologists, chemists, microbiologists, and engineers. The result is a unique scientific environment facilitating the investigation of environmental challenges and the development of engineering solutions for water-related problems. Young and dynamic, the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research is open to change, and research topics are “fine-tuned” to remain responsive to constantly evolving needs and challenges. The ZIWR vision is to be a leading international multidisciplinary institute studying water in the anthropogenic and natural spheres, and a national center of expertise and training in water issues. In its research and education activities, the ZIWR will identify current and emerging fundamental and applied challenges in water-related developments, rehabilitation, and stewardship.

Read More