J-WAFS leadership transition

Dear colleagues,

I write to share the news that John Lienhard has decided to step down as director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS), as he plans to retire in 2025. With deep gratitude to John for his leadership, I am launching a search for his successor at J-WAFS and welcome your suggestions and interest. John will remain as director until the position can be filled in the spring.

As founding director of J-WAFS since 2014 and a member of the MIT faculty for more than three decades, John has created a community of scholars centered on addressing the urgent need for safe and resilient water and food supplies amid the global challenges of population growth, urbanization, and climate change. In the Department of Mechanical Engineering, where he is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Water and Mechanical Engineering, John’s own research has advanced both fundamental and technological aspects of desalination, thermodynamics, and transport phenomena. He has authored hundreds of papers, holds more than 40 patents, and has been recognized with many awards for his research, most recently the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Desalination and Reuse Association. He is also a cofounder of the billion-dollar water treatment company, Gradiant Corporation. John intends to remain engaged with J-WAFS until the summer to ensure a smooth transition.

J-WAFS approaches its 10th anniversary this spring with much to celebrate. The new director will oversee a vibrant interdisciplinary research program that has engaged more than 40 departments, labs, and centers and which has provided tens of millions of dollars to MIT researchers. The role centers on guiding J-WAFS’ research agenda, the review and selection of research projects, the stewardship of J-WAFS’ endowment, interaction with external sponsors, and assistance with technology commercialization. J-WAFS is supported by a dedicated team.

To advise me on the search for this important faculty role, I have asked Gang Chen, the Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering and director of the Pappalardo Micro and Nano Engineering Laboratories, to lead a faculty search advisory group that will seek to understand the needs of the J-WAFS community for their next leader and offer insights on possible candidates. Gang and the members of the search advisory group, listed below, will begin their work this fall and plan to interview interested candidates in January. To share your thoughts on the search, nominate a faculty colleague, or submit your CV and statement of interest, please write to jwafsdirectorsearch@mit.edu. Your submissions will be treated as confidential.

Sincerely,

Ian A. Waitz
Vice President for Research

Search advisory group

Gang Chen, Chair; Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering; Director of the Pappalardo Micro and Nano Engineering Laboratories

Mary Gehring, Professor of Biology; Core Member and David Baltimore Chair in Biomedical Research, Whitehead Institute

Jeffrey Grossman, Morton and Claire Goulder and Family Professor in Environmental Systems; Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Christopher Voigt, Daniel I.C. Wang Professor; Head, Department of Biological Engineering

David Des Marais, Cecil & Ida Green Career Development Professor; Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Patrick Doyle, Robert T Haslam (1911) Professor of Chemical Engineering