Center for Clean Water and Clean Energy at MIT and KFUPM
Technologies related to the production of fresh water and low-carbon energy are the focus of a research and educational partnership between faculty in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The joint program will lead to the creation of the Center for Clean Water and Clean Energy at MIT and KFUPM, which will focus on issues such as desalination, solar energy, and advanced manufacturing. The Center is expected to perform 16 joint research projects and eight joint educational projects over seven years.
Project participants will team with faculty at KFUPM to conduct research on topics of mutual interest. Approximately 20 MIT faculty will be involved in the Center’s projects during the first year, with a similar number participating at KFUPM. In addition, KFUPM faculty and graduate students will have the opportunity to spend one or two semesters at MIT, and MIT faculty will visit KFUPM for one to two weeks each year. The Center also includes a unique outreach program that will bring Saudi women engineers and scientists to MIT to participate in its research and educational projects.
The Center’s initial research efforts will include:
- Photovoltaic power including silicon and polymer devices and systems
- Desalination of seawater by advanced membranes and by thermal and solar power
- Applications of nanotechnology to solar and thermoelectric energy conversion
- Design and manufacturing of solar power systems and desalination systems
- Advanced sensors for leak detection in water distribution networks
- Technologies for carbon capture
