Discover more about our upcoming and past events
Future events:
Fourth Annual International Atmospheric Water Harvesting Summit
Date: February 2-5, 2027
Location: Memorial Union on the Arizona State University Tempe Campus, Tempe, AZ.
Registration: Information to come.
Our focus on collaboration and outreach
Two of our core priorities center on Facilitation and Leverage, aligning with our philosophy of serving as “unbiased brokers of knowledge.” Facilitation involves organizing and hosting events that assemble experts and key stakeholders in water technologies to foster education and meaningful discussion.
Research can often be constrained by its familiar perspectives. Engaging with experts from a myriad of sectors or academics from varied disciplines can broaden understanding and bring about new insights. By uniting these perspectives, we aim to identify gaps in current technologies and drive creative solutions to address them effectively.
See below for a summary of our previously hosted events.
Third Annual International Water Harvesting Summit
Taking place January 15-16, 2026, in Tempe, Arizona, The 3rd International Atmospheric Water Harvesting Summit (AWH) convened 170 leaders and innovators under the theme:
“Beachhead AWH Materials and Applications to Achieve 1 Billion m³ of Installed Capacity.”
Through keynote addresses, panel discussions, technical sessions, poster presentations, networking, and tours of operational AWH systems at Arizona State University, the Summit explored:
- Commercialization pathways and business models
- Policy frameworks and investment strategies
- Breakthroughs in materials, systems, and scaling technologies
- Water quality, regulatory considerations, and real-world deployment
The event sparked collaboration, showcased the latest research and commercialization milestones, and chartered a clear, collective path toward tracking and achieving 1 billion cubic meters of global AWH capacity. By strengthening ties across the AWH community, the Summit encouraged participants to drive meaningful, large-scale impact in addressing global water challenges.
i4i Value Creation Workshops with Curt Carlson
Over nine workshop sessions, six GCWT startup teams worked with Curt Carlson to refine their pitches for future funding opportunities. Teams, at various stages of development, focused on identifying their “key insight” and iteratively improving their presentations through practice and peer feedback. The series concluded with each team delivering a final polished pitch to an audience.
Curt Carlson, recognized for introducing the NABC framework (Need, Approach, Benefits, Competition) to our Center, has significantly guided the development of our projects. He served as president of SRI for nearly two decades and led groundbreaking technologies such as HDTV, robotic surgery systems, and Siri.
Participating start-ups: AgNanoBub, AmorpH20, Carbon Sunset, Cetara, Softlight, Zwitera.
Interested in learning more about our emphasis on entrepreneurial ventures? Click the link below.
Second Annual Water Technology Showcase
The Global Center for Water Technology hosted the Second Annual Water Technology Showcase. The event brought together a diverse cross-section of the water sector to foster networking, knowledge exchange, and collaboration through panel discussions, keynote presentations, and startup pitches. A key objective was to provide professionals across sectors with a venue to network and connect, while also inviting Arizona-based water-technology startups to present their innovations to potential investors, partners, and customers. This mutual exchange offered all attendees exposure to new and emerging solutions addressing regional water challenges and gave start-ups a platform to showcase their technology.
The 2025 showcase was a success, bringing together representatives from universities and research institutions, municipal and regional water utilities and public agencies, water-technology startups and innovators, engineering, consulting, and professional-service firms , and accelerators, venture capital, and economic-development organizations. This mix of sectors helped create meaningful connections between stakeholders who do not typically interact in their day-to-day work.
Second Annual International Water Harvesting Summit
The 2nd Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH) Summit built on our inaugural event’s establishment of “Atmospheric Water Harvesting” as a field and brought about the creation of the International Atmospheric Water Harvesting Association (IAWHA.org), dedicated to advancing sustainable water management.
The summit gathered researchers, industry leaders, startups, local government officials, and end-users to develop a 20-year AWH technology and commercialization roadmap, with inspiration from the evolution of water technologies like desalination, ozone, and ultraviolet light. We focused on identifying material and system innovations, performance metrics, market opportunities across diverse applications, piloting and scale-up requirements, regulatory frameworks, and research and investment needs. The summit fostered joint dialogue to propel AWH’s role in addressing local and global water challenges through a sustainable, scalable solution.
Industrial Brine Management Workshop
Brine is produced through processes such as hardness control, softening, and/or reverse osmosis, often with additional treatments, to transform tap water, groundwater, or industrial wastewater into various grades of ultrapure water. Manufacturers and commercial, industrial, and institutional water users typically complete these processes on-site. However, they increasingly face challenges in responsibly disposing of brine, as not all sewer systems can accept it, and those that do may impose additional processing fees.
Current solutions include on-site evaporation ponds or off-site disposal, both of which involve significant costs and operational complexities. This workshop aimed to convene local industry partners, researchers, and experts to identify shared challenges, explore treatment and disposal solutions, and establish a knowledge-sharing network to advance effective strategies.
Sea of Cortez Water Importation Panel Discussion
This forum addressed Arizona’s ongoing need for innovative water resource solutions, with a focus on the potential importation of desalinated water from the Sea of Cortez. The event provided a neutral forum for informed, reasoned dialogue among experts and stakeholders to specifically examine the technical, economic, and environmental considerations of this complex proposal. While desalination offers a potential avenue for enhancing water security and resilience in Arizona, the panel highlighted the significant costs and challenges involved, fostering a balanced discussion to support the state’s sustainable water future.
First Annual International Water Harvesting Summit
The first Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH) Summit brought together researchers, startups, industry leaders, and end-users to advance solutions for global water challenges, with a focus on the water-insecure Southwestern USA. Addressing the lack of dedicated AWH forums, the event helped fostered collaboration across two areas: emerging applications for AWH, (think domestic drinking water, industrial uses in sectors like semiconductors and healthcare, and municipal cooling tower innovations); and advancements in materials, (like thermodynamics, and processes to improve water production, energy efficiency, and scalability).
By bringing together diverse perspectives, the summit sparked dialogue to accelerate AWH’s role in achieving net-zero water footprints and addressing humanitarian, industrial, and energy transition needs.