J-WAFS at MIT

Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Labs is launching a 10-week challenge in partnership with Minecraft Education and Jordan’s Ministry of Education to redesign the Southern Gate neighbourhood of Amman, Jordan. Students in Amman will have the opportunity to work in teams to redesign public spaces using the Minecraft Education platform to work towards a climate-resilient, inclusive, and food-secure future. “Supporting young people to understand and shape the future of their cities is essential to building inclusive and climate-resilient communities.” - Nader Diab, Head of Programmes at Community Jameel Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dd6g9SYK

Join MIT Sloan School of Management in partnership with the MIT Food & Agriculture Club for a fireside chat with Dan Miller, founder and CEO of Steward Lending. Learn how Miller built a mission-driven company that finances sustainable agriculture around the world, and hear firsthand about the challenges and opportunities in a growing sector. Register at the link below! Lunch will be provided.  https://lnkd.in/eWZpBshk

Through analysis of a promising type of debubbling membrane material, Kripa Varanasi (a J-WAFS PI on other projects) developed a tool that allows scientists to find the best membrane to remove bubbles from their system near-instantly. The technology has near-endless possibilities, including creating membranes that remove oil spills from water. Read more: https://lnkd.in/epn_fesY

Via Separations – a J-WAFS at MIT spinout company driving the transition from expensive, energy-intensive industrial separation processes to efficient, lower-cost filtration with novel membranes – has raised $36M in new funding with participation from Aramco Ventures, Climate Investment (CI), and Marathon Petroleum Corporation, alongside existing investors Embark Ventures, the The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and Safar Partners. The new investment round will accelerate the deployment of Via’s modular filtration platform into the refining and chemical sectors, building on its proven commercial performance in pulp and paper to help industrial operators reduce energy use, improve uptime, and strengthen operational resilience – with the added benefit of lower emissions. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dbQCV3mK

Calling MIT graduate students: The deadline to apply for the Stockholm World Water Week Travel Grant is Monday, May 11! J-WAFS offers travel grants for MIT graduate students to attend major water sector conferences. This year, J-WAFS is offering travel grants for students to attend Stockholm World Water Week, UNC Water & Health Conference, or the International Water Conference. The travel grants support learning and networking opportunities for outstanding MIT graduate students who are pursuing careers in the water sector. For the UNC Water and Health Conference, the deadline is August 24th, and the International Water Conference deadline is September 14th. To learn more and apply, click here: https://lnkd.in/e8QZxPbC

Register now for the Living Climate Futures Symposium held at MIT April 23-25th! The symposium brings community environmental organizations to MIT, where together with researchers and students, they explore how climate change and responses to it are playing out in locations across the planet. The symposium will feature speakers from several organizations across Boston working to improve food systems and other climate-related issues. At 2pm on Friday, there will be a seminar titled Advancing Urban Agriculture in a Changing Climate, with J-WAFS PI Kate Brown as a moderator. J-WAFS PI Janelle Knox-Hayes, PhD will moderate a Q&A after a Climate Voices film screening on Saturday evening. Register here: https://lnkd.in/edWmBgy9

Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day! Earth Day aims to improve the global consciousness about the value of our planet and the impact humans have on it. The first Earth Day occurred in 1970, when U.S. senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson helped to organize nationwide demonstrations. Over twenty million people showed up to demand clean air and water, forcing the government to implement regulations to protect the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created by Congress just a few months later. In honor of her commitment to optimizing our planet’s resources to provide clean water for everyone, J-WAFS is spotlighting Adela Chenyang Li. As a 2025-26 J-WAFS Fellow, Adela is working on a device that captures water from the air to create drinkable water for water-scarce communities. The technology uses advanced powder-like sorbents to condense water vapor from the air into drinking water. To see a video explaining the technology, click here: https://lnkd.in/g_BqqpBs To learn more about Earth Day, click here: https://lnkd.in/evA7QU25 #EarthMonth #EarthDay

Check out this event tomorrow! Featured past J-WAFS PIs include: Olivier "Oli" de Weck Afreen Siddiqi Susan Solomon Sherrie Wang Taylor Perron Dara Entekhabi

Harvard Undergraduate Plant Based is hosting their 3rd Annual Next Gen Food Systems Conference, which will take place on Friday, April 24 in the Science Center starting at 3pm. Open to all students, this event features a plant-based food sampling, a career fair featuring organizations in the sustainable food sector, and a moderated debate exploring diverse policy approaches to ending factory farming. Schedule: https://lnkd.in/exVGxgvZ Register: https://lnkd.in/ezTpskxT