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The Future of Water Science Professionals

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Like many industries since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been a dwindling number of professionals working in the water industry. These numbers have dropped as a result of a  higher rate of retirements as well as more competition for companies searching for employees . More competition means that potential employees don’t need to agree to the first job offer they receive. What do Water Science Professionals Do? The water science industry has many possible job positions that you can take part of, which include everything from a wastewater treatment operator to a water quality specialist. The tasks you perform on a given day largely depend on the position you take. If you work your way up to being a wastewater treatment operator, you’ll be given such responsibilities as: Maintaining extensive knowledge of the practices used to operate a wastewater treatment plant Completing plant inspections and collecting samples Making sure that the treatment plant adheres to regula...
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Pure Water: The Unsung Hero Of The Lab

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Pure water plays a pivotal role in almost every life science experiment, diagnostic test or chemical reaction. It’s so important, there’s even a  high impact journal  dedicated to reporting on new water-based research and purification methods. Sadly, lab water still rarely gets the attention it deserves.   The Ultimate Dissolution Solution Without pure water, very few experiments, tests or reactions would be possible. Thanks to its favorable chemical and physical properties, water is often considered the ‘universal solvent’ as it dissolves more substances than any other liquid. Perhaps even more importantly, many biochemical reactions will only take place within aqueous solutions. Ultra-Sensitive Analytics Some of the most interesting science being carried out at the moment pushes the boundaries of analytical sensitivity. Techniques such as inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and ICP atomic emission spect...
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Oil-adsorbing sponge

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  Oil-adsorbing sponge The words “oil spill” call to mind images of a large slick, perhaps floating on water. But many spills aren’t like that — the oil instead takes the form of microscopic droplets suspended in wastewater. Cleanup techniques such as booms or skimmers don’t work on these types of spills. A collaboration between professors   CHUL PARK  and  AMY BILTON   has produced a possible solution. Led by former graduate student Pavani Cherukupally, the team developed  a sponge that can remove tiny oil droplets from wastewater  with more than 90% efficiency, in just 10 minutes. Partnering for next-generation water treatments In developed countries, people expect clean, safe drinking water whenever they turn on their taps, but civil engineering professors  BOB ANDREWS ,   SUSAN ANDREWS   and  RON HOFMANN   know that this cannot be taken for granted. As members of UofT Engineering’s  Drinking Water Research Group (DWRG)...
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