October 30, 2008
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment is hosting a symposium on solving the challenges of providing safe drinking water to the world’s population.

The event, “Safe and Sustainable Drinking Water in Developing and Developed Countries: Where Science Meets Policy” will take place Nov. 5 and 6, 2008, at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill.

The symposium will showcase advances in scientific understanding and technology, as well as innovative policies for managing water resources worldwide. Presentation topics include controlling chemical contaminants in water (from personal hygiene products to arsenic), comparing investments in treating water versus vaccinating people against water-borne diseases, and implementing regulations to provide water to the greatest amount of people.

 

Dr. Philip Singer

Dr. Philip Singer

Philip C. Singer, PhD, Daniel A. Okun Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, is the symposium chair.

About 100 people from academic institutions, non-profits and government agencies in the United States and abroad are expected to attend. The event is the second in a series of safe drinking water symposiums hosted at UNC.

Following the two-day event, a memorial symposium will be held Nov. 7 to honor the life and work of Daniel A. Okun, PhD, who passed away in December 2007.

Okun was chair of the public health school’s Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering from 1955 to 1973. During his career, he worked in 89 countries and consulted throughout the United States. In Chapel Hill, he led the campaign to build Cane Creek dam and reservoir in the 1980s. Okun retired from teaching in 1982, but continued writing, lecturing and consulting until his death.

The memorial, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is sponsored by the school and will be held in the Rosenau Auditorium.

 
For more information on the water symposium, visit: http://www.ie.unc.edu/content/news_events/symposia/2008/index.cfm.Institute for the Environment contact: Danielle Del Sol, (919) 962-0965,

delsol@email.unc.edu.

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.

 

 

 

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