Seeking to improve the lives of the 2.5 billion people who live without safe and sustainable waste processing, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched the "
Reinvent the Toilet Challenge" in 2011. Last month, the
Better Toilet project, helmed by U.Va Materials Science alumni Brian Stoner (MSE MS 89') completed a full scale prototype of a new integrated toilet system which will be demonstrated in March at an upcoming fair
in Delhi, India. The RPI International collaborative project was previously awarded one of
the largest grants given to participants in the second round of the international challenge.
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Side view showing liquid disinfection module
and solid-liquid separation stage underneath
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In addition to Brian Stoner, two other alumni of the U.Va Materials Science and Engineering department are
Jeff Glass and
Paul Natishan. Jeff Glass (MSE PhD 86'), is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University and serves as the project's electrochemical disinfection and materials development lead. Paul Natishan (MSE PhD 84') serves as one of two of the project's technical advisers lending his expertise in electrochemical treatment of waste.
From the "A Better Toilet" website:
