The Spring Meeting featured opening remarks from Kelly Speakes-Backman, the Acting Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy; presentations by NAWI leadership; and a number of sessions led by NAWI Alliance Members themselves. The attendees, including those from EESA at Berkeley Lab, were able to share latest research findings and innovations, position themselves as thought leaders, and engage deeply with the extended NAWI network. Sessions led by EESA colleagues included:

• Sergi Molins Rafa led the session on Challenges and Opportunities in the Chemistry of Non-NaCl-Dominated Saline Waters
• Peter Nico and Bhavna Arora led the session on Tackling Autonomous Water Problems with Machine Learning and Data-Driven Science
• Dan Miller led the session on Membrane Fouling

Headquartered at Berkeley Lab, the National Alliance for Water Innovation, or NAWI, was selected in 2019 to support the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy-Water Desalination Hub. Along with co-founding laboratories Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, NAWI brings together a world-class team of industry and academic partners to examine the critical technical barriers and research needed to radically lower the cost and energy of desalination.