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UF Alumni Harness UV Light To Purify Drinking Water

Kristen (I’m waiting on a last name) hangs out with children from the Pwoje Espwa Sud Orphanage outside of Les Cayes, Haiti. aqUV donates purifiers to their partner organizations in Haiti: Alpha Omega Medical Ministries, Free the Kids, and Consolation Center Haiti.
Kristen (I’m waiting on a last name) hangs out with children from the Pwoje Espwa Sud Orphanage outside of Les Cayes, Haiti. aqUV donates purifiers to their partner organizations in Haiti: Alpha Omega Medical Ministries, Free the Kids, and Consolation Center Haiti.

Erica Gonzaga, Rob Damitz and Daniel Blood believe that one way to change the world is through clean water.

So two years ago, the University of Florida engineering students developed aqUV - a portable, solar-powered water purification system that uses UV light to purify water.

It's a system that Gonzaga has a lot of confidence in: She drank toilet water that had been filtered through an aqUV bottle at UF Demo Day on Oct. 14, which was hosted by Student Government and Gator Innovators.

Gonzaga believes this solution can be applied to the world's water crisis.

According to the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion people lack access to uncontaminated drinking water. In addition, around 1,800 children under the age of five die every day from causes related to contaminated water, according to The United Nations Children’s Fund.

“We’re keeping a count on the number of bottles we’ve donated, and just knowing that you’re helping these people is incredible,” Gonzaga said. “Providing these bottles [to people in need] and seeing their feedback and how much it helps them; that’s definitely the reason we did it.”

Gonzaga, Damitz and Blood all have degrees in engineering, and the idea stemmed from previous experience in water treatment and purification, as well as charity projects in Haiti.

Once the company begins manufacturing, their goal is to donate one water purifier for every aqUV sold in the developed market.

David Whitney, the assistant director of the University of Florida’s College of Engineering Innovation Institute and the professor for the Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Engineers courses, joined Gonzaga during the demonstration.

“I have confidence in my students,” Whitney said. “UF, combined with Gainesville, attracts and cultivates a vibrant and ambitious community of thinkers, dreamers and doers.”

Their success is due to the fact that they’re solving a problem, Whitney said.

“They’re using creativity, imagination and ability to commercialize their solution,” Whitney said. “And they have the courage and the conviction to share that solution with the world.”

Currently, they’re in the process of raising funds to jump into full-scale manufacturing. In the long-term, the company hopes to use the technology to provide sustainable water solutions for developing countries.

“We’re starting out with a water purifier but this can definitely expand into a larger form,” Gonzaga said. “It could be sized for a house, for a community; we’re not limited to just the shape and form.”

Gabriella is a reporter who can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.