Dr. Svetlana Boriskina of the MIT Mechanical Engineering department and Ikra Shuvo of the MIT Media Lab have been awarded a 2024 MIT J-WAFS (Abdul Latif Jameel Water & Food Systems Lab) seed grant for their research entitled "High-efficiency atmospheric water harvesting enabled by vibrational actuation.”

The team will investigate the fundamental physics underlying the efficiency enhancement of atmospheric water harvesting systems, to be tested by collaborators in Mexico, Israel, and Ukraine—countries with large arid areas or territories at the risk of desertification. The team will also use AI techniques to optimize the actuator configuration to maximize both AWH productivity and energy efficiency. The aim is to make the technology economically feasible for adoption on a scale to decentralize water production.