As the city celebrates Chicago Water Week, the spotlight has turned toward the "Blue Economy"—the intersection of economic growth and water stewardship.
The most transformative solutions are being engineered at a near-invisible scale. At the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME), researchers are working on not just water purification and detection of harmful “forever chemicals,” but building ways to support sustainable resource extraction and boost economic growth, at home and abroad.
One of the main drivers is the U.S. National Science Foundation-backed Regional Innovation Engine Great Lakes ReNEW coalition, an initiative involving UChicago PME that aims to turn the Great Lakes region into a global hub for water innovation.
Recent research breakthroughs at UChicago PME in water science include a novel handheld sensor capable of detecting potentially harmful PFAS chemicals at levels as low as 250 parts per quadrillion, a bio-inspired membrane design that selectively controls chemical transport at the atomic scale, and a powerful technique for intentionally degrading PFAS water pollutants.
Read about these advancements and more below.
Tiny sensors rapidly detect “forever chemicals” in water
Researchers at UChicago PME and Argonne National Laboratory have collaborated to develop a novel method to detect miniscule levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. The method, which they plan to share via a portable, handheld device, uses unique probes to quantify levels of PFAS “forever chemicals,” some of which are toxic to humans.
The technology, described in the journal Nature Water, can detect PFAS present at 250 parts per quadrillion (ppq) – like one grain of sand in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. That gives the test utility in monitoring drinking water for two of the most toxic PFAS—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)—for which the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed limits of 4 parts per trillion.
—Read more about the new sensor device that can measure contaminants in just minutes
Current secures up to $45M to scale Great Lakes RENEW and the regional circular water economy
Current, the independent, regional nonprofit water innovation hub, has been awarded up to $45 million in federal funding over three years to scale Great Lakes RENEW, the U.S. National Science Foundation-backed Regional Innovation Engine for circular water solutions.
This continuation of funding from the NSF builds on Current’s original designation as one of the NSF’s inaugural Regional Innovation Engines and reinforces Great Lakes RENEW’s bold vision: to transform the waste in our water systems into wealth.
As water-intensive industries—from AI data centers to energy production and manufacturing—are placing growing demands on the region’s freshwater, Great Lakes RENEW and its coalition of more than 75 partners are advancing solutions that support the long-term sustainability of Great Lakes water resources. These efforts also drive economic growth and enhance the security, prosperity, and health of American communities.
—Learn more about Great Lakes RENEW’s impact
Researchers use failed batteries to fight “forever chemicals”
Working with researchers from Northwestern University, a UChicago PME team led by Asst. Prof. Chibueze Amanchukwu turned the conditions that unfortunately degrade battery components into a new, powerful technique for intentionally degrading the water pollutants known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Their results, published today in Nature Chemistry, show remarkable results in breaking down the long-chain PFAS molecule perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) into mineralized fluorine without forming short molecular chains that can be even trickier to remove from water. This new fluorine source can be used to create PFAS-free compounds, turning pollutants into valuable commercial products.
—Read more about the new method of destroying water pollutants
Creating games to promote sustainable irrigation in rural Indian agriculture
An innovative, cross-cultural collaboration is using the power of play to solve real-world agricultural challenges in rural India. The Vidyut Project, a creative collaboration between the University of Chicago's STAGE Center and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay's Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (C-TARA), is leveraging storytelling and board games to promote energy-efficient irrigation techniques among farmers.
Supported by the Provost’s Global Faculty Awards at the University of Chicago and the UChicago Center in Delhi, the project aims to make complex scientific concepts accessible and practical for rural communities. The team developed two engaging board games, Capacitor Raja and Sinchan Sharyat, designed to teach farmers how to use low-cost tools like capacitors to improve electricity and water use, thereby addressing critical demand-side energy inefficiencies.
—Learn more about promoting energy-efficient irrigation techniques among farmers internationally
Bio-inspired membrane design unlocks new possibilities for water purification, extraction
In every living cell, there are membranes, and in every membrane there are proteins, each of which acts as a chemical gatekeeper. Rather than passively letting ions pass in and out of the cell, these biochemical bouncers throw the door wide or shut it as needed. They let more of life-sustaining materials like potassium or sodium through the cells’ biological ion channels when the cell needs them, but shut off the flow before the chemical concentration gets too high.
It’s a process biologists have studied and engineers have envied for years. The ability to tune membranes to let more of a material in sometimes and keep them out at other times could revolutionize how people make water safe to drink and remove harmful – or valuable – chemicals from oceans, lakes and rivers.
A UChicago PME team, led by Asst. Prof. Chong Liu, and a Northwestern team are behind a paper in Nature Communications that both solved this mystery and revealed new insights into how ion transport works.
—Read more about the tunable system that selectively controls chemical transport at the atomic scale