Pictured above: Roy J. Zuckerberg
The Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at BGU partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on the first joint Israel/U.S. water conference, BusinessH2O Summit, at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas on December 12.
The summit brought together policy experts, entrepreneurs, business leaders, government officials, researchers, academics, and investors to discuss best practices in water policy, management and technology.
Featured speakers from BGU included Zuckerberg Institute Director Prof. Noam Weisbrod, Prof. Amit Gross and Prof. Jack Gilron, co-founder of Rotec, which develops novel technologies for sensing, monitoring and preventing mineral scaling on the surface of membranes and pipes used in the water treatment industry.
Zuckerberg Institute benefactor Roy J. Zuckerberg gave a keynote address on “Investing in Water Research Through Philanthropy.” Zuckerberg is chairman emeritus of the University’s board of governors.
BGU has become a vice chair member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and will continue to partner with and inform the Chamber and its members on issues pertaining to water resource management. The Chamber will be leading a trip to Israel in September 2017 in conjunction with Watech 2017; the Chamber’s delegation will visit the Zuckerberg Institute on BGU’s Sede Boqer campus.
Israel is the only semi-arid country where desertification is not spreading because of water management practices and innovations. BGU scientist Sidney Loeb pioneered modern desalination techniques in the early 1960s and the University has since developed or improved many water technologies that ensure the country has more than enough water to serve its population and agriculture.
Currently, BGU has water research partnerships with major U.S. universities, including the University of Chicago and Arizona State University, and continues to advance international water research.
Above: Prof. Noam Weisbrod, Director of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research
