Graduate Students and Faculty:

Please mark your calendar to attend the following seminar.

Presentation: Ceramic Water Filters Impregnated with Silver Nanoparticles
for Point-of-Use Water Treatment in the Developing World

Date: February 10th 

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Meeting room: TBD (a follow up e-mail will be sent out)

Abstract: For the past decade, several nonprofit organizations such as
Potters for Peace have promoted the use of locally produced ceramic water
filters impregnated with silver nanoparticles for point-of-use (household)
water treatment.  Despite their increasing production and use in
developing-world communities, there has been relatively limited assessment
of the technological performance, design, and social acceptance of these
filters.  Herein, we present field and laboratory data that critically
evaluates these parameters in both field and laboratory settings.  In the
laboratory, bacteria (E. coli) and virus (MS2 coliphage) transport
experiments have evaluated the technological performance of the filters, the
design elements that maximize pathogen removal, and the effects of silver
nanoparticles on filter performance.  In the field, we have evaluated
technological performance with respect to turbidity, coliform bacteria, and
E. coli removal in the Guatemalan highland community of San Mateo Ixtatan
and with respect to human health with an HIV-positive cohort in Limpopo
Province, S. Africa.

Biography: James Smith is a Professor in the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia.  He received BS and
MS degrees in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech and a PhD in Civil
Engineering from Princeton University.  He worked as a research hydrologist
for the U.S. Geological Survey for seven years prior to his appointment at
the University of Virginia.  His research and teaching focuses on the
environmental chemistry, the fate, transport, and remediation of
ground-water contaminants, and more recently, the development and testing of
point-of-use water treatment technologies for the developing world.