The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and The Water Council announce Dr. David Garman as the new chief technology officer for The Water Council. Garman will specifically lead The Water Council’s new ICE (Innovation Commercialization Exchange) Institute while continuing his role as the associate vice chancellor for water technology, research and development for UWM.
Demand for freshwater has led to global recognition of the need to bring new water technologies to market. Doing so will require a close collaboration between industry and researchers at top universities and research centers, according to The Water Council. The new partnership between The Water Council and UWM builds on their close relationship and reportedly gives industry greater access to the scientists associated with the National Science Foundation and other federal laboratories.
At UWM, Garman is responsible for strategic water visioning, stimulating interdisciplinary research and translation of research for industry, major funding acquisition in this area and new water technology development. He served previously as the executive director of a cooperative research center in Australia - one of the first such centers dedicated to university-industry partnerships for new technology development, in the area of waste management and pollution control. He also successfully led an industry-university cooperative center in environmental biotechnology until he moved to Milwaukee in 2011 as the founding dean of UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences.
UWM joined The Water Council in the Global Water Center, where UWM scientists and students work side-by-side with industry partners to conduct early stage research. Technology developed there includes lead sensors to protect drinking water and ballast water monitors that can detect invasive species before they get into the Great Lakes. The Water Council and its industry partners, along with the National Science Foundation, are also underwriting the development of other technologies through the UWM/Marquette Water Equipment and Policy Industry and University Cooperative Research Center, directed by UWM engineering professor Junhong Chen.
For more information, visit: www.thewatercouncil.com
