Resources to Scale AguaClara Globally

AguaClara at Cornell

Research and Innovation ($180,000 to $255,000 per year)

• The research teams are able to function effectively in part because of our management structure that relies on M.S./Ph.D. students to guide the work of M. Eng. and undergraduates. Because of the high turnover of students (yes, our best students do graduate!) we rely on graduate students and senior members of the team to transfer knowledge to new students. We need a Teaching Assistant fellowship to guide the research teams. ($75,000 per year)
• There are several projects that require in depth and ongoing research that require the focus of a graduate student. We need at least one or if possible two Graduate Research Fellowship. ($75,000 to $150,000 per year)
• Research and Innovation also requires test facilities, supplies, and fabrication services. ($30,000 per year)
• The laboratory research space is currently fully utilized and thus if the team grows in future years it will be necessary to provide additional laboratory space.

Automated Design Tool ($33,000 per year)

• We need a computer facility with at least 8 workstations with Mathcad and Autocad that can be reserved for use by the design team for their multiple weekly meetings.
• The design team can normally be led by a Master of Engineering student who had design experience on the AguaClara team as an undergraduate. The design team leader needs an M.Eng. fellowship ($33,000 per year)

Engineering in a Global Context Intersession Trip ($30,000 per year)

• Although Cornell students do NOT build AguaClara facilities, they do need to see how their research and design work is constructed and used. The innovation cycle requires that engineers receive feedback to continually improve the designs and to generate new research questions. We take 20 students to visit AguaClara water treatment plants as well as other water treatment plant designs during the January intersession. The team trips are an incredibly valuable educational experience as students see how design methodologies and design philosophies translate into success or failure during implementation and operation. ($30,000 per year)

Plant Construction ($50,000 per year)

• We have reached the point where AguaClara plants are being financed by other organizations and thus we no longer need funding for plant construction. We are committed to innovation and continual design improvements and we will need to test innovations at full scale. We will continue to collaborate with Agua Para el Pueblo in Honduras as the test platform for innovation. We will need ongoing funding to build AguaClara plants or to upgrade existing facilities to incorporate the latest innovations. We anticipate the need to test innovations at full scale at least once per year to maintain a high rate of knowledge generation. The annual budget for these full scale facilities is $50,000. In the very near term this will make it possible for AguaClara to test our invention of stacked rapid sand filters that are expected to make it possible to add filtration to AguaClara plants. We are also developing improved chemical dosing equipment, more efficient plate setters, and better hydraulic designs that all need to be tested at full scale.

  ---

  AguaClara Professional Organization ($??0,000)

As the number of partner organizations that are building AguaClara plants begins to grow it becomes imperative that these organizations create a network to share best practices and that there be an AguaClara Professional Organization (APO) that provides technical support and capacity building for implementation partners. We anticipate that the AguaClara Engineers will be incorporated into the APO. The APO will place AguaClara Engineers with partner organizations with a fee and financial structure that is yet to be determined. The APO will also work directly with the team at Cornell to provide documentation for design and implementation. The documentation will cover topics from initial meetings with communities to site design to operation manuals. The APO is currently in the concept phase and we see this as a critical part of our strategy to disseminate the technology.

AguaClara Engineers ($40,000 per year)

• The APO will manage the AguaClara Engineers that will continue to provide technical assistance to implementation partners. The annual budget is $20,000 per AguaClara Engineer. We need two AguaClara Engineers currently given the number of projects that are underway in Central America.

Immediate Funding Needs as of October 2010 (by date when the funds are needed)

These funds are needed by the dates shown to maintain an excellent program.

• $40,000 (immediately) to fund the AguaClara Engineers. Our funding ran out in August 2010 and the two AguaClara Engineers have been working without pay since then. We are now down to one AguaClara Engineer. We need to provide continuity in the AguaClara Engineering positions and thus we need to hire a new AguaClara Engineer immediately.
• $20,000 (by mid November) to send 20 members of the AguaClara team to Honduras in January 2011. We have limited funding for this trip this year and that has made the trip inaccessible to many students.
• $30,000 (by mid December) to fund one AguaClara Graduate Fellowship for the spring semester.
• $37,000 (by May 2011) to fund 3 graduate students over the summer and to run the AguaClara summer program with students working at Cornell and in Honduras.