Water

Build an internationally renowned program that addresses complex water challenges – quantity, quality, and management – from local to global scale and requires application of innovative science and technology to provide solutions.

Goals

Establish the Oklahoma Water Survey as the leader in enabling science-based solutions for water challenges in Oklahoma.
Grow the Water Technologies for Emerging Regions (WaTER) Center to address water quantity, quality, and equity issues in emerging regions around the world.
Lead an NSF engineering or science center (or equivalent) in one of the three thematic areas.

Outcomes

A unified and collaborative university program addressing water resource issues.
Double the number of Ph.D. students receiving degrees in this topical area.
Double faculty research expenditures and publications stemming from this effort.

Research Themes

Smart Water

Application of sensors, information technology, and data analytics to optimize use of water resources.

Water Reuse

Application of engineered treatment technologies and operational strategies to utilize marginal waters (e.g., produced water, municipal and industrial wastewater, and storm water).

Engineering With Nature

Development of hybrid systems that combine engineered and natural systems to treat and manage polluted water, while also providing additional ecosystem services.

Recent News

OU Engineer to Use NSF Award to Advance Knowledge of Droplet Behavior
February 07, 2022

Dynamics of droplet wetting and spreading is not only important in disease transmission but is also central to industrial processes, including cooling of reactors, emerging technologies such as 3D printing, and commercial applications such as agricultural, pharmaceutical and cosmetics.