Skip to Content Skip to Content

Water

Grappling with a watershed’s uncertain environmental future
Several people around a table, one holds a satellite map.

Grappling with a watershed’s uncertain environmental future

Artists supported by the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities created tools for navigating unpredictable ecological challenges, then brought them to life in a series of public workshops at the Independence Seaport Museum.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Engineering a solution for microplastic pollution
Shoshana Weintraub, Sarah Beth Gleeson, and Julia Yan.

Engineering a solution for microplastic pollution

May graduates Sarah Beth Gleeson, Shoshana Weintraub, and Julia Yan will use their President’s Sustainability Prize to create a device for trapping microfibers in laundry machines to reduce ocean microplastic pollution.
The Clean Water Act at 50
ben franklin bridge at twilight with philly skyline

Homepage image: Though a “revolutionary” piece of legislation, the Clean Water Act still has its shortcomings, Penn faculty, staff, and students note. More work is needed to make rivers like the Delaware fishable and swimmable.

The Clean Water Act at 50

Approaching the half-century mark of this landmark piece of environmental legislation, Penn students, staff, and faculty share their reflections on its legacy, both strengths and shortcomings.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change
Aerial view of a flooded Texas town.

Columbus, Texas, was one small town that experienced devastating floods from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Allison Lassiter’s research focuses on coastal communities from New Jersey to Texas. (Image: Weitzman News)

Unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change

Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning Allison Lassiter researches unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change.

From the Weitzman School of Design

A call for tools to navigate the future of the Delaware River watershed
Three images of highway submerged with water, robot, and underwater scene that says Ecotopian Toolkit for Delaware Watershed Justice

A call for tools to navigate the future of the Delaware River watershed

The Penn Program in Environmental Humanities is partnering with Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum to solicit designs for tools to help Delaware River watershed residents adapt and respond to climate change and other ecological challenges.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Rethinking resilience in the face of climate change
Hurricane satellite imagery

Rethinking resilience in the face of climate change

Hurricane Ida brought record-breaking rainfall and flooding, and stronger, more destructive storms will inevitably come. Being better prepared will require reconsidering how to protect people and their homes.

Michele W. Berger

Empowering refugee communities with access to clean water
Leah Voytovich and Martin Leet in front of college hall while wearing masks

Empowering refugee communities with access to clean water

With project Maji, seniors Martin Leet and Leah Voytovich will use their President’s Engagement Prize to install a solar-powered water tank and provide agricultural and first aid training for members of the Olua I community.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Penn group wins EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge
A sketch of adults and children looking over a lush rain garden

Penn group wins EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge

The student-led project will reimagine the campus of West Philadelphia’s Andrew Hamilton School, including vegetable gardens, a food forest, and other green stormwater-management tools.

Katherine Unger Baillie