Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS)

2018-19 J-WAFS Fellow Andrea Beck sits by the Charles River.

Untangling the social dynamics of water

J-WAFS Fellow and DUSP PhD student Andrea Beck examines the success factors behind water utility partnerships in Africa.

June 10, 2019

Agricultural productivity technologies for small-holder farmers; sustainable supply chain interventions in the palm oil industry; interventions that can provide clean water for cities and surrounding ecosystems — these are just a few of the research topics that grantees are pursuing, supported by the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) at MIT.

J-WAFS announces seven new seed grants

Nine principal investigators from MIT will receive grants totaling over $1 million for solutions-oriented research into global food and water challenges.

May 29, 2019

A new agreement will help initiate research collaborations between scholars at MIT and IIT-Ropar that respond to water- and food-sector challenges in India. IIT Ropar is located in Punjab, a primarily agriculture-based region of India, and has interdisciplinary centers focusing on water and agriculture.

New seed fund to address food, water, and agriculture in India

MIT-India, J-WAFS, and the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar launch fund to facilitate collaborations between faculty and scientists from MIT and ITT Ropar.

May 9, 2019

Judges and sponsors of the Rabobank-MIT Food and Agribusiness Innovation Prize pose with members of the winning team, Gramhal. Team members pictured include advisor Russell DeLucia (third from left); head of operations Simeen Kaleem (fourth from left); CEO and founder Vikas Birhma (fourth from right). Not pictured is Gramhal chief program officer Pankaj Mahalle.

Mobile solution for farmers and plan for global shrimp marketplace win agribusiness prize

Seven finalist teams pitched their business ideas at the Rabobank-MIT Food and Agribusiness Innovation Prize competition.

May 3, 2019

Janus emulsion droplets are captured in the process of changing form in response to the presence of contamination by a food pathogen in a lab setting. The emulsions can be viewed by the naked eye and, with the aid of a handheld sensor currently in development, can quantify the presence and amount of bacterial contamination in food.

MIT spinout seeks to transform food safety testing

An affordable, easy-to-use handheld sensor, soon to enter the market, can indicate the presence of bacterial contaminants in food in seconds.

April 9, 2019

J-WAFS commercialization grants are supporting two MIT research teams developing technologies to make current agricultural practices more sustainable.

J-WAFS grants advance sustainable agriculture

Two new J-WAFS Solutions commercialization grants will support novel technologies that aim to improve the economics and resiliency of farming.

February 14, 2019

Seaside desalination plants like this typically discharge large volumes of concentrated brine back into the sea. MIT researchers have shown that instead, much of this waste could be turned into useful chemicals.

Turning desalination waste into a useful resource

Process developed at MIT could turn concentrated brine into useful chemicals, making desalination more efficient.

February 13, 2019

For tropical growing regions in Brazil and some countries in Africa, differing soil and rock compositions make for a poor match for the fertilizers that are currently on the market. J-WAFS-funded MIT researchers seek to meet this challenge with a new type of fertilizer, and call for more interdisciplinary research to help close yield gaps.

Local rocks can yield more crops

J-WAFS-funded MIT research team shows a new method of fertilizer production can better suit the needs of farms in Africa and around the globe.

February 12, 2019

In this experiment, the new steam-generating device was mounted over a basin of water, placed on a small table, and partially surrounded by a simple, transparent solar concentrator. The researchers measured the temperature of the steam produced over the course of the test day, Oct. 21, 2017.

Sun-soaking device turns water into superheated steam

High-temperature steam might be used in remote regions to cook, clean, or sterilize medical equipment.

December 11, 2018

Throughout the MIT Water Club’s November Water Summit, attendees from industry, government, and academia engaged in detailed discussions on how cities across the globe can meet water scarcity with resilience strategies.

Urban water scarcity takes center stage at MIT Water Summit

Experts gather at MIT to share insights, techniques, and strategies for building resilient urban water systems.

December 6, 2018

Christopher Voigt, a professor of biological engineering, presents the latest research results for a J-WAFS-funded project that seeks to engineer cereal grains to produce their own fertilizer.

Collaboration runs through J-WAFS-funded projects

Researchers from across MIT showcase J-WAFS-funded projects tackling critical water and food systems challenges from solutions-oriented perspectives.

October 16, 2018

Reflecting the broader range of challenges embodied by the terms “food systems” and “water systems,” the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab announced that it is changing its name to the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab.

From security to systems: J-WAFS name change reflects its breadth and impact

Emphasizing the scope and interdisciplinary mission on which it was founded, J-WAFS has a new name: the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab.

September 28, 2018

“If you have a problem, and you look into the problem in nature and see how animals or plants deal with these kinds of problems and extract those design principles, you can try to replicate [them] using engineering approaches,” saysZijay Tang, a PhD candidate in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering.

Inspired by nature, reaching across disciplines

PhD student Zijay Tang is developing a living material that can sense and filter water contaminants.

September 17, 2018

This wearable water quality test kit (early prototype pictured at left) provides a simple, accessible way to test the presence of E. coli in drinking water. A J-WAFS Solutions grant will enable an MIT research team to develop a regionally-appropriate commercialization strategy to ensure that these test kits can be accessible to rural and urban communities in Nepal as well as the other areas in Sou...

J-WAFS awards grants for commercialization of food and water technologies

Solutions grants will aid commercialization of novel MIT technologies to test water safety and improve agricultural productivity.

September 11, 2018

Krithika Ramchander (left), a PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Andrea Karin Beck, a PhD candidate in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, have each received fellowships from MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (J-WAFS) for 2018-2019. Their research explores solutions to global and local water supply challenges using engineering and q...

Krithika Ramchander and Andrea Beck awarded J-WAFS fellowships for water solutions

Graduate students receive J-WAFS fellowships to support research focused on improving water access for rural as well as urban communities.

August 9, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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