Gates funds USF waste-not project

Posted Nov 18, 2011 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Nov 19, 2011 at 09:55 AM

Is there anything better than becoming nationally known for building a better toilet?

Ask USF’s Daniel Yeh.

He’s a guest today (World Toilet Day) on NPR’s Science Friday, explaining his NEWgenerator.

He and his collaborators in the College of Engineering aim to create a device that recovers nutrients, energy and water from human wastes.

If you missed the show, you can see and hear him explain his sanitation sensation on the Science Friday website.

If that’s not enough, they show someone flushing five large hot dogs, and other assorted things, down a toilet. It’s a little disturbing.

Back to science, USF announced last week that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations is providing support to help develop Yeh’s design. You can read more about that here.

Yeh’s team will build a pilot version of the NEWgenerator in partnership with the Learning Gate Community School, a kindergarten-9th grade charter school that focuses on the environment.