Current

🌊 Save the Date! 🌊 Chicago Water Week returns May 4-10, 2025.🚰💧 Get ready for an exciting week filled with dozens of water-focused events hosted by our partners — including seminars, panels, facility tours, product showcases, volunteer activities, family fun, and more! 🔗 You can learn more about Chicago Water Week, sign up to host an event, and express interest in becoming a sponsor here: https://lnkd.in/gYUJ-cjt Stay tuned for more details. 🌊 #ChicagoWaterWeek #WaterInnovation #BlueEconomy #SaveTheDate #CWW2025

🌊 Current is #hiring! We're looking for two visionary leaders to join our team and drive real-world impact in the blue economy. These roles will also play a crucial part in advancing our National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded #GreatLakesReNEW engine. 📈 Commercialization Director Are you an entrepreneurial leader passionate about driving innovative tech solutions for water and climate challenges? Join us to lead strategic programs that deploy and scale breakthrough water solutions and support #watertech startups. In this role, you'll tackle barriers to commercialization and champion impactful initiatives that bring cutting-edge water technologies to life. 💼 Workforce Development Director We're looking for a leader committed to equity and inclusion to shape the future of workforce development in the blue economy. Lead transformative programs that create new career pathways in water industries for underrepresented groups. Through partnerships across STEM, education, and entrepreneurship, you’ll help build a more inclusive and connected workforce. 🔗 Learn more about these roles and apply here: https://lnkd.in/giC_pwCW #WaterInnovation #ClimateAction #Commercialization #WorkforceDevelopment #BlueEconomy #JoinCurrent

A central goal for our Great Lakes ReNEW Regional Innovation Engine is building a “K-to-gray” pipeline of curious and skilled water workers. This is the people power - the inventors, builders and makers, engineers and operators, entrepreneurs and leaders - that will help drive and sustain the circular blue economy and solve the water challenges of today and tomorrow. We celebrated a major milestone this week with our partners at TIES Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM: the launch of a brand new Blue Economy Ecosphere 🌊 This new STEM learning ecosystem and community of practice for national STEM leaders will help design and scale new curricula to keep water front and center as a learning, engagement, and career pathway opportunity for students in the Great Lakes and beyond. For our Great Lakes ReNEW Engine, we’re focused on launch opportunities in Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin in our first two years, with pathways to shared learning and scaling. Our team is so grateful to Jan Morrison and Sadie Norwick for their generous partnership spirit through the process of building #GreatLakesReNEW - congrats to the whole TIES team on a successful convening! Kudos to Hannah Henderson and Luke Aylward for representing ReNEW at the “playground” and demoing selective separation in such a fun and approachable way, and to Kalindi Parikh for leading the coalition building and strategy development that places STEM and workforce front and center in our work. Great to see partners from Argonne National Laboratory, Northwestern University, and Illinois Science and Technology Coalition and more - cute escalator pic credit 📸: Becky Goldberg #BlueEconomy #STEMEducation #FutureStewards #NextGenInnovators #ResourceRecovery #WasteToWealth #WaterWorkforce

Such a highlight of my week to join faculty, students, community partners, and fellow alumni for the launch of the UChicago Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth. It has been exciting to watch University leadership on climate grow, deepen, and diversify over time, spanning breakthrough materials science discoveries at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago to policy frameworks at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago to support for climate entrepreneurs at the Polsky Center at the University of Chicago. This new Institute is another level up. The number of leaders assembled showed the breadth of cross-sector vision and backing for this work. It was great to see so many of Current’s partners, including key collaborators in our National Science Foundation (NSF)-backed Regional Innovation Engine, #GreatLakesReNEW - our co-PI Junhong Chen and board member Dean Nadya Mason from PME to Argonne National Laboratory’s Claus Daniel Seth Darling and Alex Mitchell to our anchor Industry Consortium member Exelon - the rooms were full of people who have enabled breakthrough climate leadership in our region and know that water is an essential part of the story. I could have spent an entire day making the rounds at the career fair, with dozens of companies and organizations representing opportunities to work in water, energy, and climate - LanzaJet Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Urban Rivers Environmental Law & Policy Center and so many other ecosystem friends. Extra thanks to our own Alexis Levato - and fellow Harris alumna - for representing Team Current! Congratulations to all the faculty and colleagues involved in the effort, especially to Michael Greenstone and Sam Ori for all the leadership in bringing this effort to life. We were grateful to be part of the day and look forward to being partners in the journey ahead. ⚡️♻️🌊

Chicago’s waterways are full of spooky stories! 👻 🌊 In this special Halloween edition of our monthly newsletter, we dove into some of the eerie legends and ghostly tales lurking in the waters of Chicago’s history: 🏴☠️ Streeterville’s Pirate Origins: This lakefront neighborhood owes its name to "Captain" George Streeter, a bold mariner who claimed his own landmass by dumping debris into Lake Michigan. Streeter defended his domain in armed standoffs with the city, creating a legacy of legend and lawlessness. ⚖️ The Lagoon’s Ghostly Lawyer: After defending infamous teenage killers Leopold and Loeb, attorney Clarence Darrow requested his ashes be scattered in the Jackson Park Lagoon. It’s said his spirit still lingers there... 🏰 The Haunted Water Tower: This iconic landmark survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and is rumored to be haunted by the spirit of a man who took his own life there. Flickering lights and ghostly sightings are still reported by visitors. 🌊 The Eastland Disaster’s Tragic Legacy: The spirits of 844 passengers who perished in the 1915 Eastland Disaster are said to haunt the Chicago River, with eerie presences still felt along the river banks. Read the full 'Under Current' newsletter and subscribe for more water-focused stories, insights, and news: https://lnkd.in/geUWRHfQ #Halloween #SpookyStories #WaterStories #UrbanLegends #newseltter #subscribe #TheUnderCurrent

💧 ERM Sustainability Institute and J.P. Morgan's new report, "The Future of Water Resilience in the U.S.," highlights water's essential yet often overlooked role in our economy and daily lives—and outlines both the challenges and opportunities shaping the water sector today. With climate change creating unpredictable water supplies and surging demand from industries like #manufacturing, #AI, #datacenters and #quantumcomputing, the need for action has never been clearer. The report also emphasizes a critical funding gap for water in the U.S., which—like the energy transition—the level of investment does not match the needed spend. Emerging water regulations only amplify the urgency to act. Federal investments are already accelerating progress, and initiatives like our National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded #GreatLakesReNEW engine are leading the charge. By driving use-inspired R&D, building an inclusive #bluejobs workforce, and developing innovative solutions that recover valuable minerals and remove harmful chemicals from wastewater, Great Lakes ReNEW is working to build a circular blue economy. As our CEO Alaina Harkness often says: Our freshwater resources are abundant— not infinite. Building resilience requires collaboration, innovation, and public-private partnerships and investment to secure our water future. 🔗 Explore the full report: https://lnkd.in/gDU7GHx5 🌊 Learn more about Great Lakes ReNEW: greatlakesrenew.org #WaterResilience #GreatLakesReNEW #WaterInnovation #CircularEconomy #BlueEconomy

In this article from Current, Bryan Stubbs highlights how Cleveland Water Alliance's testbed assets are transforming water technology innovation. By providing crucial testing opportunities for innovators, CWA is not only accelerating product development but also contributing to the Great Lakes ReNEW initiative, which aims to create a connected testbed network that fosters collaboration and drives scalable solutions in water technology.

Another valuable episode of the Fundamental Molecule pod by Burnt Island Ventures, featuring Sarah Brody, the new North American Water Practice lead for McKinsey & Company. The return of a specific water practice for McKinsey is a market signal and response to growing global water stress and risk - big changes that will shape both business practices and policy. “When it comes to the corporate industrial water users — semiconductors, mining companies, oil and gas, food and beverage — what I'll be looking for is this continued shift from water as a sustainability goal, to water as a license to operate imperative. Where the risks — whether it's the risks in the supply chain, risks in operations, risks in manufacturing — become real and become more and more front of mind.” I appreciated Sarah’s approach to the complexity and fragmentation of the water arena, and her recognition of the role that system integrators and ecosystem builders have to play during this big transition. It’s a clear articulation of the need for work that Current and our partners in #GreatLakesReNEW are doing to build an inclusive and circular #blueeconomy and a Regional Innovation Engine that drives the change. Give it a listen 🎧:

Last Thursday, we gathered at The Ohio State University for our Annual Current Research Consortium & Industry Consortium Joint Workshop—a powerful meeting of minds dedicated to advancing water innovation and building a more sustainable future. 🌍🔬 Our CEO, Alaina Harkness, kicked the day off by emphasizing the importance of collaborative efforts like these, especially through our Great Lakes ReNEW initiative, backed by up to $160M from the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Regional Innovation Engines program. 🚀 This initiative aims to transform waste into wealth by recovering valuable resources from wastewater and eliminating harmful contaminants like #PFAS. From Lake Erie’s role as the nation’s first “smart and connected” lake to the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers supplying both recreation and drinking water to Columbus, Ohio plays a crucial part in our engine’s region of impact. Ohio’s leadership in water gives us reason for hope and evidence of progress, particularly from the work being done by our engine partner Cleveland Water Alliance and its investors, as well as the Ohio EPA, Ohio Water Resources Center, Ohio Sea Grant, and many others with whom we look forward to deepening collaboration. This workshop showcased the power of partnerships between academia and industry. We’re grateful for the contributions of our research institutions, university partners, and industry members—especially those joining us to explore new opportunities through the ReNEW engine. Special thanks to OSU faculty and partners—including Dr. John Lenhart, Dr. Linda Weavers, and John Newsome—for hosting us so warmly. We also extend our sincere gratitude to Councilmember Christopher Wyche and Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel for sharing their insights and showing support at our evening reception. This gathering reaffirmed our shared vision: building a circular blue economy and driving meaningful change in the Great Lakes region and beyond. 🌊✨ And we’re just getting started! If you'd like to learn more about our Consortia and how you can get involved, contact us at: https://lnkd.in/gdBkmFUm #WaterInnovation #GreatLakesReNEW #WaterResearch #CircularEconomy #BlueEconomy #WaterPartnerships Ingredion Incorporated StormTrap Parsons Corporation Kubota Corporation Exelon Sentry Equipment Dow Black & Veatch Sloan BASF Cummins Inc. University of Cincinnati University of Illinois Chicago University of Chicago University of Minnesota Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Illinois Institute of Technology Purdue University University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee University of Michigan US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Northwestern University Argonne National Laboratory Freshwater Advisors

"Partnership and communication across industries and scientific disciplines are crucial for efficient development and implementation of these technologies. Collaborations like Great Lakes ReNEW and the ReCell Center help facilitate the validation of new approaches at different scales, accelerating their transition to market. They’re also connecting with academic institutions and local communities to foster an inclusive innovation ecosystem and educate the next generation of scientists, engineers and policymakers." 👏 💧