Serious shill alert: I serve on the External Advisory Board of OU's WaTER Center. I also think the Center and its four original founding members - Dave Sabatini, Robert Knox, Randy Kolar, and Bob Nairn - come as close to 'walking on water' as human beings can get. But I would never say that to their faces. And Molly Smith keeps things running smoothly!
Anyway, the early bird registration rate has been extended until 7 September 2011. Register here.
Ninety abstracts have been submitted, a 30% increase over the inaugural 2009 conference.
Here is a Power Point flyer with all the information: Download WaTERConfAd_AEESP_v4
Here's the blurb:
The Water Technologies for Emerging Regions (WaTER) Center at the University of Oklahoma will host the 2011 OU International WaTER Conference and Interna- tional Water Prize Award Ceremony on October 24-25, 2011, in Norman, Oklahoma. The conference will bring together participants from multiple groups responding to the UN Millennium Development Goals focused on bringing water and sanitation to remote villages in emerging regions. Water and sanitation experts from academia, industry, NGOs, government, and foundations are invited to participate.
The theme of the two-day conference is “Synergy at the Interface: Integrating Tech nology, Social Entrepreneurship and Behavior Change.” The conference will include poster and paper sessions devoted to appropriate WASH technologies, social entre preneurship, behavior change, climate change effects/water resources and conserva tion and reuse technologies in emerging regions. Optional workshops on field methods will be provided on October 26.
The highlight of the conference will be a plenary lecture by and presentation of the OU International Water Prize to Ben Fawcett, a Professor and Environmental Health Engineer at the University of Queensland, Australia. During his tenure at Southamton University from 1996-2006 he mentored 130 MSc and PhD students who have continued through their work to impact over 60 countries. He is also the co-author of The Last Taboo: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis.
In addition to the plenary lecture by Ben Fawcett, keynote speakers will include:
- Ned Breslin, Water for People – Hydrophilanthropy
- Annette Johnson, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology – Water Technologies
- Dennis Lettenmaier, University of Washington – Water Resources/Climate Change
- John Oldfield, WASH Advocacy Initiative – Legislative Update
- Kurt Soderlund, Safe Water Network – Social Entrepreneurship
- Peter Winch, Director, Social and Behavioral Interventions Program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – Behavior Change
I will see you there!
"To help solve drinking water and sanitation challenges for impoverished regions in developing countries through innovative teaching and research initiatives." -- WaTER Center mission
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