This two-day conference will consider the qualities of water from a scientific perspective as well as will delve into the role of water as a key component to life. It will focus on the challenges that exist and those that lie ahead if we do not properly address the water crisis that the planet currently faces. Water is critically joined in life on the planet. Without water, life cannot be sustained. We will consider the importance of water, maintaining our water resources, understanding the role of water in biological systems, and then looking at novel approaches to the global water crisis including shaping water behavior in water harvesting.

Speakers

Richard J. Saykally, University of California, Berkeley: "Probing Complex Aqueous Interfaces"
Arieh Warshel, 2013 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, University of Southern California: "The role of water in biological systems"
Richard Zare, Stanford University: "Water Microdroplet Chemistry"
Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, Chalmers University of Technology: "Protein folding in water is basis of life and death"
Frances H. Arnold, 2018 Nobel laureate in Chemistry, California Institute of Technology: "Enzymes do it in water"
Harry Gray, California Institute of Technology: "Dynamics of unstructured Parkinsons and COVID proteins in water"
Andrew Fire, 2006 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Standford University: "Investigating biological diversity at the smallest scale"
Peter G. Brewer, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute: "Hydrogen bonds and microbial swimming - and sperm too"
David Sedlak, University of California, Berkeley: "Adventures in Water Decontamination"
Jessica Fayne, University of Michigan: Surface Water From Space: "Mapping Changing Water Levels Using New Radar Satellites"
Cynthia Koenig, Wello Water: Wello: "A Novel Approach to the Global Water Crisis"
Omar Yaghi, University of California, Berkeley: "Shaping water behavior in water harvesting from air"

SYMPOSIUM CHAIRS
Prof. Omar Yaghi, James and Neeltje Tretter Professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley
Prof. Bengt Norden, Molecular Frontiers Foundation, chair, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Prof. Douglas Clark, Dean of the College of Chemistry, UC Berkeley
Prof. Peidong Yang, Prof. of Chemistry at the College of Chemistry, UC Berkeley
Dr. Lorie Karnath. Molecular Frontiers Foundation, Next Breath, President

Read more on Next Breath or Jason Learning