New PIRI to Tackle Critical Water Purification Challenges for Health and Defense 

Nearly 130 years after the Marston Watertower was built, the newest Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Initiative has formed to deliver impactful solutions for improving water purification for human health and national defense purposes. Pictured are the core team members. Seated (L to R): Beatrise Berzina (CHEM); PI Robbyn Anand (CHEM); and Cristina Poleacovschi (CCEE). Standing (L to R): Dave Cwiertny, University of Iowa; and Baskar Ganapathysubramanian (Mech. Eng.).

In 1895, one year after a severe water shortage forced the cancellation of classes at Iowa State, campus leadership made the decision to build a new water tower. Anson Marston, the first dean of the College of Engineering, leveraged the best insight, knowledge, and technology of the time to create an innovative solution to the university’s fresh-water challenge: a 150-foot tall, 162,000-gallon steel structure – the first of its kind built west of the Mississippi River. 

Now, 130 years later, the leaders of the latest Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Initiative (PIRI) are leveraging the best insight and knowledge and latest technology of our time to deliver innovative and impactful solutions for improving water purification for human health and national defense purposes. 

The project is led by Robbyn Anand, associate professor of Chemistry and a core team that includes: Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, Joseph C. and Elizabeth A. Anderlik Professor in Engineering and Professor in Mechanical Engineering; Cristina Poleacovschi, associate professor in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering; David Cwiertny, William D. Ashton Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Iowa; and Beatrise Berzina, research scientist, Chemistry.

The PIRI is a multidisciplinary collaboration intended to advance core technologies of electrokinetic separation and electrochemical sensing to develop fit-for-purpose water purification and monitoring for point-of-need applications.

Anand believes the PIRI – and what she and her team hopes will ultimately lead to the formation of the Hydration and Defense Research and Outreach (HYDRO) Center – is a convergence of the right people at the right place at the right time.

“Members of my lab and I have worked with core team members on developing water purification technologies. So, the thought of this initiative really came about through these experiences and my conversations with Baskar (Ganapathysubramanian),” Anand said. “As I started to put it together, I felt that we had a very compelling case.

“Developing practical solutions for real-world challenges requires multidisciplinary teams,” she added. “At Iowa State, we’re in a fortunate position to have strengths and affiliates with expertise in sensing, chemical separations, materials science, catalysis, socioeconomic research, computation, artificial intelligence, water quality and security, agriculture and veterinary medicine, food science, and manufacturing.”

The Anand-led PIRI will receive $250,000 of university strategic plan funding support from the Office of the President for three years. The funding will support activities such as: 

• Seed grants to affiliated investigators to pursue new collaborations that yield preliminary results for competitive research grant applications from external sponsors; 

• Socioeconomic research and customer discovery to ensure research thrusts are on target to deliver technologies and solutions that meet real-world needs; 

• Symposia to facilitate effective knowledge transfer, identify new opportunities, and cultivate relationships; 

• Travel to high-priority agencies to cultivate relationships with program officers and directors to ensure project initiatives align with technological needs and funding opportunities; 

• Industry engagement to connect with external partners to showcase relevant research at Iowa State, helping identify innovation priorities, and facilitating cross-sector collaborations; 

• Developing sustainability plans that address long-term research strategy, leadership, and funding needs to support the continued growth and impact of a center launched from a successful PIRI; and 

• Applying for large center grants including EFRC (Energy Frontier Research Centers) and STC (Science and Technology Centers), to secure long-term funding and support for ambitious, multi-institutional research efforts.  

Over the next three years, the PIRI collaboration will emphasize six research thrusts for water purification for human health and defense. 

Human Health 

• Drinking water access in rural settings. Contaminants like nitrates, pesticides, PFAS, microplastics, and livestock manure microbes are commonly found in well water. Developing solutions to purify drinking water in rural areas strongly aligns with Iowa State’s land-grant mission. Technological advances will focus on user-centered design for at-home purification, continuous contaminant monitoring, and real-time data analysis. This thrust will engage experts in water quality, electrochemical sensors, community outreach, and materials innovation. External partners include the University of Iowa (materials for purification) and companies like 3M and Corteva.  

• Clean water for critical care. This thrust will focus on improving water purification for dialysis patients, particularly those using peritoneal or hemodialysis. Traditional treatments often require travel and disrupt daily life. At-home and wearable dialysis technologies can ease this burden, but they need compact, lightweight purification systems that meet FDA standards and minimize water use. Iowa State experts will develop user-centered solutions, while partnerships with healthcare innovators – such as Vantive (formerly part of Baxter Scientific) – will support further advancement.  

• Food chain safety. Given agriculture’s key role in Iowa’s economy, ensuring clean drinking water for livestock is vital for public health and regulatory compliance. This research thrust will focus on purifying livestock water and detecting contaminants in meat and dairy. Iowa State experts in agriculture, food safety, water quality, and sensor technology will collaborate to develop solutions that address both environmental and economic concerns. Industry partners will include companies like Tyson and Cargill.  

Defense

• Purification for extreme environments. Purifying water in space and other extreme settings is challenging due to strict limits on weight, power, and size. This effort will focus on developing compact, efficient systems that use minimal resources. Iowa State experts will explore advanced materials (e.g., sorbents, catalysts) and sensing technologies to ensure water purity. External partnerships with space agencies like NASA will support continued innovation. 

• Portable water purification for combat. This thrust will focus on portable purification systems for military personnel in the field, where clean water is essential. Research will emphasize wearable or compact devices that function in diverse environments. The key challenge – adaptability – will be addressed using AI-driven feedback control. Iowa State experts in wearable tech, smart sensing, AI, and water purification will lead development. External partnerships will be pursued with companies that service the military wearables market (Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics).  

• Strategic recovery of rare earth elements. Recovering rare earth elements (REEs) – vital for electronics and other industries – from natural water sources offers a promising alternative to mining by-products. This effort will focus on developing selective enrichment and extraction methods to recover high-value REEs like neodymium and dysprosium from dilute sources. Iowa State experts in materials science, environmental engineering, and sorbent technologies will lead the work, with potential industry partners such as TdVib, LLC in Iowa. External partnership with Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) is under discussion.  

The contributions and impacts of these research thrusts will go a long way in determining the ultimate success of the PIRI. 

“Our PIRI will be successful if we cultivate a culture that fosters collaboration and leverages the strengths of our affiliates,” Anand said. “If we’re successful in doing these things, my hope is that we will launch a HYDRO Center that supports breakthrough research, boosts the university’s reputation for innovation, and delivers solutions with real-world impact.” 

Vice President for Research, Peter Dorhout, commends Anand and the PIRI team for their vision and work. “Our rural constituents look to Iowa State University for solutions that make their lives better. The HYDRO team’s bold innovations will deliver water purification that will improve rural Iowans’ access to clean water and improve their overall health,” Dorhout said. “Additionally, the new technologies Dr. Anand and her collaborators are exploring will help us forge new frontiers in space travel and on the battlefield, while also increasing our nation’s access to strategically critical rare earth elements.”