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

该项目解决了一项巨大的全球挑战，即管理和改进分散式供水系统，包括淡水的处理和输送以及废水的去除和处理。该项目将为埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴分散供水系统的12名研究生提供深入的研究和培训机会。在美国以外，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，这些系统只服务于市区的一部分。该项目将通过实践经验，让美国学生清楚地了解分散式供水系统的具体挑战。学生将开发传感器系统，通过蜂窝网络连接，形成数据采集网络，可以显著提高对分散式供水系统的理解和操作。美国学生和教师团队将与来自亚的斯亚贝巴大学（AAU）的五名导师合作，他们在适合具体情况的分散式供水基础设施和专业知识方面具有重要的专业知识。美国学生将直接与AAU的研究生配对，采用点对点学习模式，可能会增加项目的技术影响和文化交流影响。亚的斯亚贝巴是进行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式供水系统和强大的蜂窝网络来支持网络系统的研究。此外，城市还需要提高效率和进一步发展水基础设施。计划大力开展宣传工作，使这一项目的影响扩大到参与的学生群体之外。国际小组正在编制一门关于分散供水系统的课程，以解决严重缺乏关于分散供水系统的教育材料的问题。此外，每位美国学生将向全国会议和校园研究专题讨论会提交摘要，团队建议发表点对点学习模式以及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.