Argonne, Purdue-Calumet agree on water research, economic development

ARGONNE, Ill. (August 10, 2005) – Researchers from Purdue University Calumet and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory today signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on applied research to advance knowledge in water resources and support regional economic development.

Based in the northwest Indiana city of Hammond, the new Purdue University Calumet Water Institute is aimed at using water as a competitive advantage to attract and retain companies that depend on the availability of abundantly clean and secure sources of water for the success of their core businesses.

The mission of the Purdue University Calumet Water Institute is to conduct research, offer education programs in water resources and assist local, regional/state agencies, as well as the private sector in solving water-related problems. The new center provides an interdisciplinary approach to complex issues dealing with water quality, water efficiency, water security and water/energy interrelations.

The Water Institute will also collaborate with the newly formed Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana in Merrillville on technology incubation and commercialization efforts to create new start-up companies with water-related technologies.

“With water, arguably, Northwest Indiana's most strategic natural resource, we believe, the Purdue University Calumet Water Institute can help shape the economic future of our region through the creation of jobs and attraction of new businesses,” said Purdue Calumet Chancellor Howard Cohen. “Our partnership with Argonne National Laboratory is a major step forward, we believe, in assuring the success of the Water Institute. Also essential for our partnership is our close collaboration with industry and government involving the expertise of our faculty through applied research and the participation of our students through hands-on learning internships.”

Argonne's Ron Faibish, who has been named the first director of the Water Institute, echoed the aim of the center in economic development.

“It cultivates the intellectual capital at Purdue University Calumet and Argonne National Laboratory," Faibish said, "and directs it to advancing water-related technologies for the benefit of regional development. In addition, the Purdue Technology Center offers an excellent opportunity for technology incubation, commercialization, and business development and works closely with the Water Institute to facilitate commercialization of new water management technologies for real-world applications.”

Another important focus of the Purdue University Calumet Water Institute will be on water security, Faibish said. “Collaboration between Purdue University Calumet and Argonne will enhance our collective contribution to the critical national security effort and will provide valuable information for decisions made by policy makers at both state and federal levels. This collaboration will provide the nation with valuable studies dealing with water as a national security concern as well as strategic resource for economic development. “

The research program is expected to grow to cover three major areas: water quality/efficiency issues, water security and water/energy interrelations. These areas will include complex and extensive studies aimed at advancing the state-of-art in water resource management and developing reliable tools to inform decision makers in addressing economic development concerns.

In addition, the education and training program of the PWI Purdue University Calumet Water Institute will help provide a well prepared workforce for new, water-related jobs that fuel economic development.

Purdue University Calumet is a comprehensive university within the internationally respected Purdue University system, offering a tradition of academic excellence. Purdue Calumet has a well qualified faculty in all science and technology fields related to water resources including engineering, biology, chemistry, management, social sciences and technology. The university has well equipped labs in high performance computing, life sciences, chemical analysis and computational analysis. In addition, Purdue University Calumet faculty has received continuous grant support from the IN-IL Sea Grant, to provide information to northwest Indiana residents on water quality issues.

Argonne National Laboratory brings the world's brightest scientists and engineers together to find exciting and creative new solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.