Center for Water Research logo

Mechanisms of Water Retention at Carbohydrate-Clay Interfaces with Dr. Ludmilla Aristilde

Fascinating new work from Northwestern University’s school of NU Civil and Environmental Engineering, published in PNAS Nexus: “Mechanisms of Water Retention at Carbohydrate-Clay Interfaces.”

Led by Ludmilla Aristilde and her team, Sabrina Kelch, Ph.D., Benjamin Barrios-Cerda, Yeonsoo Park, Eric Ferrage, this study reveals for the first time how organic matter helps soils hold onto water — even in the driest conditions.

Understanding the Climate Cost of Cleaning our Water with Dr. Jennifer Dunn

We’re excited to share a new paper from Jennifer Dunn and her group, who found that the cleaning of the trillions of gallons of water we flush and drain every year produces the equivalent of 47 million metric tons of CO₂!

Every year, the trillions of gallons of water that flow through America’s wastewater treatment plants come with a hidden climate cost. By compiling data from over 15,000 facilities, Northwestern researchers and collaborators at University of Illinois and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories found that the sector produces the equivalent of 47 million metric tons of CO₂ annually.

FY26 Seminar Series: Brandon Curry | Fri 11/07

Join the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences for this week’s Friday Seminar featuring Dr. Brandon Curry, who will present “Fine-Tuning Regional Deglacial History through Analysis of Loessy Lake Records in Central Illinois.”
The seminar will take place on Friday, November 7 at 10 AM CT in Tech F285, with a Panopto webcast available at https://tinyurl.com/11-07-Seminar. Coffee Connection @ 9 AM CT in Tech F373 Atrium (treats, coffee, tea and juice will be served)

Aaron Packman speaks at Stand Up for Science's Teach-in

Last weekend, NU Water’s co-director, Aaron Packman, highlighted how federal funding for Great Lakes research and infrastructure supports both environmental protection and Illinois’s $17 billion water economy with 1.5 million jobs at Stand Up for Science’s Teach-in.

The collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and organizations like Current shows what’s possible when we unite around water protection. Special thanks to fellow presenters Rachel Poretsky, Debra Shore, and Mike Pasqua for their valuable insights.

Protecting our Great Lakes requires continued investment in science-based solutions and community engagement—exactly what this event championed.

A Big Win for Water

Major update from our March Watering Hole event! Rob Weinstock’s case against Trump Tower’s unauthorized Chicago River water intake has won. Trump Tower will:

– Stop harming aquatic life
– Comply with Clean Water Act
– Pay $4.8M settlement ($1.5M penalties, $3M restoration)

This record Illinois settlement will fund new fish habitat through Friends of the Chicago River.

New Paper Alert! Ultrasensitive Water Contaminant Detection with Transcription Factor Interfaced Microcantilevers

Congrats to McCormick School of Engineering’s Dilip Kumar Agarwal, Tyler Lucci, Jaeyoung Kirsten Jung, @Angel Green Samuel, Gajendra Shekhawat, Jean-Francois Gaillard, Julius Lucks & Vinayak Dravid for their paper in ACS Publications. Their work on ultrasensitive water contaminant detection is a breakthrough for global water quality monitoring.

New Paper Alert! Enhancing Water Harvesting Efficiency in a Phosphonate Metal–Organic Framework through Controlled Defect Generation

Congrats to Northwestern University Department of Chemistry’s Owen Bailey, Haomiao Xie Jinlei Cui, Courtney Smoljan, Kent Kirlikovali Songi Han & Omar Farha for their paper in ACS Publications. Their work on metal–organic frameworks as a tunable class of crystalline porous materials is an exciting advance for atmospheric water harvesting.