Great Lakes ReNEW Program
A new multistate partnership including UIC will create a hub of research and economic development around water resources in the Great Lakes region.
Great Lakes ReNEW, funded by up to $160 million through the National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines program, is a collaboration of more than 50 partners, including research institutions, industry, investors, government, and nonprofit organizations.
At UIC, ReNEW will engage a broad spectrum of departments and research centers to address comprehensive concerns ranging from economics and data sciences to community and economic development, climate resiliency, environmental justice, governance issues, social equity, policy analysis, and advocacy.
Faculty involved in ReNEW include Brian Chaplin from the College of Engineering. Chaplin will be joined by other faculty throughout the program.
“What’s unique about ReNEW is that it will support collaborations between academia and industry,” said Chaplin, professor of chemical engineering. “We will take use-inspired challenges that come from industry partners and solve these challenges at a fundamental level. This approach will create a tight feedback loop so that we reach solutions and applications much quicker.”
The overall mission of ReNEW is to “turn waste into wealth” and seeks to invent new materials, processes and sensors that facilitate the extraction of toxic chemicals and valuable minerals and nutrients from wastewater. These innovations will create economic opportunities for the Great Lakes region, as industries transform harvested materials into batteries, fertilizers, and clean energy.
Chaplin will co-lead the ReNEW research and development focus area on selective separations, which focuses on extracting dangerous “forever chemicals,” such as PFAS, and useful elements, such as lithium and nitrate, from water. The program will build upon UIC research strengths in solving water-related challenges by developing new technologies, such as membranes that trap and destroy toxins.