Deepika Kurup —The Science Behind Clean Water

Interviewer :

Why do you focus on water issues?//

Kurup :

When I was young,/I often traveled to India/to visit my relatives.// There,/I had to drink boiled or bottled water/to avoid getting diarrhea/and other diseases.// One day,/I was shocked/to see children drinking water/from puddles on the road.// These children didn’t have access/to clean water.//

I :

What did you think/about the situation?//

K :

I thought,/“This situation is a social injustice.// Only poor people/don’t have access/to clean water.// If the international community did something,/the situation could be improved.”// So/I decided to work on the problem/of clean water access.//

I :

What did you do first/to work on the problem?//

K :

I read a lot of books.// I also talked with many people,/including scientists.// I realized/that science could solve the problem.//

I :

What scientific solution/did you find?//

K :

I learned about SODIS,/which is a method to purify water.// In this method,/people fill plastic bottles/with dirty water/and leave them in the sun/for six to eight hours.// The sunlight kills the harmful germs/in the water.// Although SODIS is simple and ecological,/it’s too slow.// So/I decided to do experiments/to speed up the process.// If I had had a laboratory then,/I could have done complex experiments.// Since I didn’t have one,/I did my experiments/in the kitchen and garage.//

I :

Did your experiments go well?//

K :

They were not always successful.// I was looking for a photocatalyst/to put in plastic water bottles.// A photocatalyst was the key/to speeding up the purification process.// It wasn’t easy/to find a new material for it.// But I finally found one.//

I :

What’s the material?//

K :

It’s a mixture/of cement and a kind of metal.// It’s effective/for speeding up the process.// In addition,/the material is so flexible/that it can be formed/into different shapes and sizes.// Without this flexibility,/it wouldn’t fit/in many different containers.//

I :

In what kinds of containers/can it be used?//

K :

It can be used/in not only small, personal bottles,/but also large water tanks.//

I :

How has your research been going/since then?//

K :

I’ve made improvements/to the photocatalyst/so that water can be purified/in 15 minutes.// However,/no matter how well my research goes,/it’s just a part of the solution/to the world’s water problem.//

I :

What else/is needed to solve the problem?//

K :

Scientists in the world/will have to work together.// They also need to cooperate with governments/and other organizations.// Alone,/a single drop of water/can’t do much.// But when many drops come together,/they can sustain life/on our planet.// Just as water drops come together/to form oceans,/I believe/that we all must come together/when we tackle this global problem.//