Water for the World

Around the world, more than three times the population of the United States lack access to safe drinking water and more than 2 million people–most of them children–die every year from water-borne illnesses. Tsunamis are both unpredictable and deadly.

At the University of Rhode Island, researchers are seeking better ways to provide potable water and stop pollution from contaminating water supplies.

Associate Professor Vinka Oyanedel-Craver is helping communities in remote villages in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, India, Jordan, and Kenya manufacture inexpensive ceramic water filters. Her students have developed a small, portable solar water treatment system for the rural city in the Dominican Republic.

Assistant Professor Ali Akanda and his expertise in computer modeling of water supplies, floods and droughts. He combines the models with research in water security, climate change and global health to create early warning systems to benefit public health.

Tsunamis are both unpredictable and deadly. 100,000 souls were lost during the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami in 2004. Distinguished Engineering Professor Stephan Grilli is studying Tsunamis, and is considered one of the world experts on the topic.


  • Fulbright Award Winner to Make Clean Water Access a Priority - By Hugh Markey Professor Joseph Goodwill of the College of Engineering will soon be bringing his teaching and researching skills to the University of Trento in Italy now that he has become a Fulbright scholar. Goodwill studies and teaches the application of physics and chemical principles to improve water quality, with the objective to improve […]
  • Block-Island-wind-turbine sized Save the whales- but from what? - By Hugh Markey When ten whales washed up on the New Jersey shoreline over the course a few months in 2023, people were understandably concerned. What happened here? How did these beautiful animals meet such ignominious deaths? Might the cause have something to do with wind turbines? URI Ocean Engineering Prof. James Miller says the […]
Engineering isn’t about doing research for the sake of doing research. It should be useful and make an impact in people's lives
Associate Professor, Vinka Oyanedel-Craver

Faculty

Professor and Department Chair

Ocean Engineering

401.874.6540miller@uri.edu

Associate Professor and Department Chair

Civil and Environmental Engineering

401.874.2693lt@uri.edu

Associate Professor and Graduate Director

Civil and Environmental Engineering

401.874.7050akanda@uri.edu

Professor

Ocean Engineering and Oceanography

401.874.6480rballard@uri.edu

Professor (Courtesy Appointment)

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geosciences

401.874.7053tboving@uri.edu

Associate Professor

Civil & Environmental Engineering

401.874.2680abrads@uri.edu

Associate Professor

Ocean Engineering

401.874.6122jmdahl@uri.edu

Assistant Professor

Civil and Environmental Engineering

401.874.2889goodwill@uri.edu

Professor Research

Ocean Engineering

401.874.6029annette_grilli@uri.edu

Associate Professor

Ocean Engineering

401.874.6217reza_hashemi@uri.edu

Associate Professor and Graduate Director

Ocean Engineering

401.874.6028slicht@uri.edu

Professor & Associate Dean of Research

Civil and Environmental Engineering

401.874.2784craver@uri.edu

Assistant Professor

Ocean Engineering

401.874.6035brennanphillips@uri.edu

Professor Research

Ocean Engineering

401.874.6591gpotty@uri.edu

Professor

Ocean Engineering (limited) and Oceanography

401.874.6115croman2@uri.edu

Assistant Professor

Ocean Engineering

401.874.6879loravu@uri.edu