IRES: Advancing Cyber-Enabled, Decentralized Water Systems in Rapidly Developing Cities

该项目解决了一个巨大的全球性挑战，即分散供水系统的管理和改进，包括淡水的处理和输送以及废水的清除和处理。该项目将为埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴分散式供水系统的12名研究生提供深入研究和培训的机会。在美国以外的地方，大多数城市供水系统都是分散的，这意味着它们是在住房建成后建造的。在许多地方，这些系统只为城市的一部分提供服务。该项目将通过实践经验让美国学生清楚地了解分散供水系统的具体挑战。学生将开发通过蜂窝网络连接的传感器系统，以形成数据采集网络，从而显著提高对分散的供水系统的理解和操作。美国学生和教师团队将与亚的斯亚贝巴大学(AAU)的五名导师合作，他们带来了适合具体情况的分散的水利基础设施和专业知识方面的重要专业知识。美国学生将直接与AAU研究生配对，采用点对点学习模式，可能会增加该项目的技术影响和文化交流影响。亚的斯亚贝巴是进行这项拟议研究的绝佳地点。它正在迅速发展，拥有强大的现有分散供水系统和强大的蜂窝网络来支持网络系统研究。此外，该市还需要提高效率，进一步发展水利基础设施。计划进行强有力的宣传工作，以增加这一项目的影响，使其超出参与学生的范围。国际小组正在开发一门关于分散供水系统的课程，以解决关于分散供水系统的教育材料严重缺乏的问题。此外，每个美国学生将向一个全国会议和一个校园研究座谈会提交摘要，该团队建议发表关于点对点学习模式的文章以及关于具体研究项目的论文。

This project addresses an enormous global challenge, the management and improvement of decentralized water systems, including treatment and delivery of fresh water as well as removal and treatment of wastewater. The project will provide an in-depth research and training opportunity for twelve graduate students in decentralized water systems in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Outside of the United States, most urban water systems are decentralized, meaning they are built after housing is established. In many locations, these systems serve only a segment of an urban area. This project will provide US students a clear understanding of the specific challenges of decentralized water systems through hands-on experiences. Students will develop sensor systems, connected through cellular networks, to form data acquisition networks that can significantly improve the understanding and operation of decentralized water systems. The U.S. students and faculty team will work with five mentors from Addis Ababa University (AAU) who bring significant expertise in context-appropriate, decentralized water infrastructure and expertise. The U.S. students will be paired directly with AAU graduate students, using a peer-to-peer learning model likely to increase the technical impact and cultural exchange impacts of the project. Addis Ababa is excellent site for the proposed research. It is rapidly growing, with a strong existing decentralized water system and strong cellular networks to support the cyber-systems research. In addition, the city has need for more efficiency and further development of the water infrastructure. Strong dissemination efforts are planned that should increase the impact of this project beyond the cohort of participating students. The international team is developing a course on decentralized water systems that will address a significant lack of educational materials on decentralized water systems. In addition, each US student will submit abstracts to a national conference and an on-campus research symposia, and the team proposes to publish on the peer-to-peer learning model as well as papers on the specific research projects.