James Smith - Innovator for Clean Water Solutions

James A. Smith is the Henry L. Kinnier Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia.  Mr. Smith has served as the UPS Foundation Visiting Professor of Environmental Engineering at Stanford University (1998-99) and as the William R. Kenan Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University (2004-05).  He is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a Diplomat of the American Academy of Water Resources.

Jim Smith, professor of environmental engineering, works to solve global water and health problems around the globe.

Mr. Smith is the founder of PureMadi, a not-for-profit organization working to solve global water and health problems by working at the interface of water, societal, and human health disciplines.  He is also the founder of MadiDrop, PBC and inventor of the MadiDrop, a silver-ceramic tablet for point-of-use water disinfection.  He was named the Innovator of the Year by the University Licensing and Ventures group in 2015 for his work with PureMadi and MadiDrop, PBC.

Access to safe drinking water is still not a reality for over 3/4 billion of the world's peoples.

His research interests include sustainable point-of-use water treatment technologies for the developing world and their impact on human health, the disinfection properties of zero-valent nano-silver and nano-copper particles, and low-impact development (LID) technologies for management of stormwater runoff.

The MadiDrop tablet, which will cost between $5 and $10, can provide clean water for up to six months.

Jim Smith working in his lab at University of Virginia

We are pleased to welcome Jim Smith as one of the jurors to select the winner of the 2017 OU International Water Prize.  As part of the WaTER Center Symposium on September 22, Dr. Smith will also be part of a panel discussion on "Critical Water Issues in Today's World".