IRES Track 1: Envisioning the Water, Electricity, and Sanitation Utilities of the Future through a US-Kenya Collaboration

这个国际学生研究经验（IRES）项目将吸引不同群体的美国学生参与解决未来水、卫生和电力公用事业面临的挑战。在低收入和中等收入国家的城镇，水、卫生设施和电力服务是通过多种选择拼凑而成的：可能每周只通过管道提供几次水，而房屋在此期间使用地下水；电力可能通过不可靠的电网与分散的太阳能家庭系统相结合来输送。与此同时，高收入国家的公用事业正面临行业变革：水电公用事业需要在创造收入的同时鼓励节约；废水处理设施正在从处理和处置过渡到能量和营养物质的回收。这为重新构想这些公用事业的未来提供了一个令人兴奋的机会。创新的前沿出现在肯尼亚内罗毕等低收入但发展迅速的城市，这些城市对新想法持开放态度，因为它们之前在集中式基础设施方面的投资更为有限。IRES项目将在三年的时间里让17名学生与肯尼亚内罗毕的合作者一起工作10-12周，其中包括来自内罗毕大学和斯特拉斯莫尔大学的研究人员。该研究的重点是解决快速变化的城市中水、电和卫生设施面临的共同挑战。示例项目包括：为肯尼亚的电动汽车设计一个传感系统，以提供电网平衡；比较社区和城市范围内人类废物管理方案对环境和人类健康的影响；改善供水运作和规划；以及对肯尼亚工业用电的灵活性进行量化。学生将从多个学科招募，重点是确保传统上在STEM中代表性不足的学生的参与。为了准备在肯尼亚度过的暑假，学生们将报名参加一学分的课程。项目的设计将使学生有明确的目标，能够在给定的时间范围内完成数据收集和分析，并将他们的项目融入到他们的整体学生体验中。学生还将有机会获得专业发展，包括与肯尼亚的行业和政府接触，并参加为期一周的写作和数据展示研讨会。其结果将是一群具备思想、技能和动力的美国学生，他们将在未来改善水、卫生设施和电力设施的服务，并成为全球劳动力的一员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This International Research Experience for Students (IRES) project will engage a diverse group of US students on addressing the challenges faced by the water, sanitation, and electricity utilities of the future. In cities and towns in low- and middle-income countries, water, sanitation, and electricity services are provided through a patchwork of options: water may be provided only a few times a week through pipes, while houses use groundwater in the interim; electricity may be delivered through unreliable grids combined with decentralized solar home systems. At the same time, utilities in high-income countries are confronting changes in their industries: water and electricity utilities need to generate revenue while also encouraging conservation; wastewater facilities are transitioning from treatment and disposal to recovery of energy and nutrients. This presents an exciting opportunity to reimagine the future of these utilities. The forefront of innovation is occurring in low-income but rapidly developing cities like Nairobi, Kenya, which are open to new ideas given their more limited previous investments in centralized infrastructure. The IRES project will engage seventeen students over the course of three years to spend 10-12 weeks working alongside collaborators in Nairobi, Kenya, including researchers from the University of Nairobi and Strathmore University. The research focuses on addressing the common challenges faced by water, electricity, and sanitation utilities in rapidly changing cities. Example projects include: designing a sensing system for electric vehicles to provide grid balancing in Kenya; comparing the environmental and human health impacts of neighborhood- and city-wide human waste management options; improving water supply operations and planning; and quantifying the flexibility of industrial electricity consumption in Kenya. Students will be recruited from multiple disciplines, with a focus on ensuring participation by students traditionally underrepresented in STEM. To prepare for the summer spent in Kenya, students will enroll in a one-credit course. Projects will be designed such that students have clear objectives and can accomplish data collection and analysis within the given timespan, and integrate their project into their overall student experience. Students will also have the opportunity for professional development, including engaging with industries and government in Kenya and participating in a one-week workshop on writing and data presentation. The result will be a cohort of US students equipped with the ideas, skills, and motivation to improve the service delivery of the water, sanitation, and electricity utilities of the future and function as members of global workforces.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.