This International Research Experience for Students (IRES) project will engage a diverse group of US students on addressing the challenges faced by the water, sanitation, and electricity utilities of the future. In cities and towns in low- and middle-income countries, water, sanitation, and electricity services are provided through a patchwork of options: water may be provided only a few times a week through pipes, while houses use groundwater in the interim; electricity may be delivered through unreliable grids combined with decentralized solar home systems. At the same time, utilities in high-income countries are confronting changes in their industries: water and electricity utilities need to generate revenue while also encouraging conservation; wastewater facilities are transitioning from treatment and disposal to recovery of energy and nutrients. This presents an exciting opportunity to reimagine the future of these utilities. The forefront of innovation is occurring in low-income but rapidly developing cities like Nairobi, Kenya, which are open to new ideas given their more limited previous investments in centralized infrastructure.
The IRES project will engage seventeen students over the course of three years to spend 10-12 weeks working alongside collaborators in Nairobi, Kenya, including researchers from the University of Nairobi and Strathmore University. The research focuses on addressing the common challenges faced by water, electricity, and sanitation utilities in rapidly changing cities. Example projects include: designing a sensing system for electric vehicles to provide grid balancing in Kenya; comparing the environmental and human health impacts of neighborhood- and city-wide human waste management options; improving water supply operations and planning; and quantifying the flexibility of industrial electricity consumption in Kenya. Students will be recruited from multiple disciplines, with a focus on ensuring participation by students traditionally underrepresented in STEM. To prepare for the summer spent in Kenya, students will enroll in a one-credit course. Projects will be designed such that students have clear objectives and can accomplish data collection and analysis within the given timespan, and integrate their project into their overall student experience. Students will also have the opportunity for professional development, including engaging with industries and government in Kenya and participating in a one-week workshop on writing and data presentation. The result will be a cohort of US students equipped with the ideas, skills, and motivation to improve the service delivery of the water, sanitation, and electricity utilities of the future and function as members of global workforces.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
