Exploring the risk landscape around commercially viable and socially responsible consumer point-of-use water purification technologies.
Opportunity
Nanoscale science and engineering offers exciting new possibilities for efficient water filtration – including in point-of-use consumer devices. However, responsible development of commercially viable technologies will depend on understanding a complex risk landscape.
Project
This project is part of the larger Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment Engineering Research Center (NEWT). We are working with point-of-use water purification manufacturers, consumers and others to explore the risk landscape around nanotechnology-enabled consumer water technologies.
Goals
We aim to explore the product risk landscape from the manufacturers perspective around emerging nanotechnology-based water purification units, as well as exploring consumer perceptions and attitudes. These will contribute to risk landscape-mapping, which will in turn inform developmental pathways for future products.
Responsible and successful technology innovation depends not only on ensuring efficacy and safety, but also on addressing acceptability and responsiveness to the consumers and communities it potentially impacts. This project specifically focuses on working with multiple stakeholders, from developers and manufacturers to third party validators and consumers, to ensure the responsible and beneficial development of point of use nanotechnology-enabled water treatment modules. Through an iterative research program, it is developing an integrated and pragmatic approach to responsible innovation that leads to responsible and successful nanotechnology-enabled products
Funding
This project is funded through the National Science Foundation as part of the Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment Engineering Research Center (NEWT).
Team
Andrew Maynard (PI)
Justin Kidd (Researcher)
Contact
Andrew Maynard
Director, Risk Innovation Lab
Email: andrew.maynard@asu.edu
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