Water Center Increases Impact with New Grant

The Penn Arts & Sciences Water Center, recently launched, serves as a regional hub of water expertise, maintaining a focus on urban water issues and advancing research into innovative and sustainable water solutions. Led by Howard Neukrug, C’78, Professor of Practice in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science and former CEO and Commissioner of Philadelphia Water, the Water Center is building its research initiatives thanks to a recent grant from Spring Partners, LLC.

The three-year, $1.5 million grant will allow the Center to bolster coordination among Penn researchers to address questions in chemistry, biology, earth and environmental science, and medicine, and to establish cross-disciplinary support for research on water issues in public health, technology, business, social sciences, urban studies, and city planning and design.

“This grant will have an impact at Penn and far beyond, supporting some of the world’s best innovators as they collaborate on water programs, conferences, workshops, and research to find solutions to some of the most pressing water challenges,” says Steven J. Fluharty, Dean and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience. “By improving water security and accessibility, their work will have a direct impact on health, social, and foreign policy.”