Partners

The University of Rhode Island (URI) is the state’s public flagship institution with a commitment to learner-centered education within a research university. STEEP’s URI researchers contribute decades of interdisciplinary experience in developing methods for chemical detection in the environment, determining health impacts of chemical compounds and where in the body these compounds accumulate, training the next generation of scientists, engaging communities to improve well water quality and awareness, and communicating complex science to a variety of audiences.

The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is a top-tier engineering school embedded in one of the world’s leading liberal arts institutions. SEAS works within and beyond the disciplines of engineering and foundational science to address the most pressing issues of our time. Through teaching and collaborative research, SEAS discovers, designs, and creates novel technologies and approaches to societal challenges—in service to the world, the nation, and our community and bridges disciplines, both within engineering and the applied sciences and beyond, to prepare broadly trained leaders, to advance foundational science, and to achieve translational impact.

Silent Spring Institute’s research on water quality focuses on PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern. Silent Spring was the first to find PFAS in Cape Cod public water supplies in 2010 and the first to identify septic systems as sources of PFAS in drinking water. Ongoing research areas include identifying additional sources of PFAS contamination into drinking water and other sources of PFAS exposure, such as food packaging.