Abul Hussam Brings Clean Water to Bangladeshis and Indians
November 15, 2007 – 2:43 am |
Congratulations to Abul Hussam, he won the Grainger Challenge Prize of a gold medal and $1 million in cash at the 2007 National Academy of Engineering. He is the genius behind the SONO arsenic filter. He invented the device in 2006 to rid arsenic from water found in wells in East India and in Bangladesh. Water from the Ganges river are highly contaminated and they are diverted to eastern India: West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland; and Bangladesh. The Ganges usually supply the wells with contaminated water filled with numerous viruses and bacteria which can bring about lung disease to people.
Abul Hussam
Abul Hussam is a Chemistry professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He is from the country of Bangladesh, from the Kushtia region.
Education
Ph.D. Chemistry (Analytical), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA. December 1982.
M.Sc. Chemistry (Physical-Inorganic) University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 1976.
B.Sc. Honors in Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 1975.
The SONO filter
Each filter contains 20 pounds of porous iron and locally available coarse river sand, which the arsenic binds to, separating from the drinking water which is drank by millions every day in the rural areas. Currently there are 30,000 of those filters in use in Bangladesh delivering safe water to the rural inhabitants. The SONO filter doesn’t need to be maintained so, it can be used by poor people without much effort.
The invention of the SONO filter is another proud invention that Desis can be proud of, thank you Abul Hussam.
Contact Information
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
Tel: 703-993-1085 (or 1087)
ahussam@gmu.edu, abulhussam@gmail.com
Source: George Mason University, Grainger Challange, Time Magazine
Tags: Abul Hussam, bangladesh, east india, ganges, sono filter, water
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One Response to “Abul Hussam Brings Clean Water to Bangladeshis and Indians”
Wicked stuff!
Both Dr. Hussam and Dr. Munir’s been getting a lot of attention lately for their work
By Tahbit on Nov 24, 2007