Global Voices
Meet Offir Inbar: The TAU PhD Student Addressing Global Water Challenges
Offir Inbar, a Tel Aviv University (TAU) PhD candidate supervised by Prof. Dror Avisar in the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, has always held a deep respect for the environment. Now his research – focused on improving clean water and sanitation globally – is starting to get attention.
In fact, one of his projects in collaboration with Engineers Without Borders, won him the top position in Tel Aviv’s first ever Falling Walls Lab competition as well as local media coverage. Additionally, his research on whether water generated from Tel Aviv’s air meets safe drinking water standards too has received significant media attention.
At the same time, Inbar’s interest in clean drinking water wasn’t always a given. “I didn’t initially want to focus specifically on water,” says Inbar. “But with the water crisis in the world, there’s really no one magical solution, and I saw an opportunity to contribute.”
Closing the Gap on Clean Water
It was during Inbar’s post-army trip when he realized that work was still needed to help improve sanitation and access to clean drinking water.
“I went to India, Vietnam, Nepal and China and while I was there, I became aware that there were many challenges in the area,” recalls Inbar. “I realized there were still places with no sanitation; places where you have to buy drinking water, and if you can’t afford to, it’s an issue.”
It reminded Inbar of Israel 60-70 years ago, a time when sanitation and food security were a given; however, with time, Israel closed the gap with development and industry, and Inbar sees a way forward for these communities in the same manner. “It’s all about creating opportunities to close the gap,” says Inbar.
Inbar’s Academic Journey
After his post-army trip, Inbar decided to complete a BSc in Earth Sciences. From there, he applied for a MSc in Geophysics through TAU’s Water Research Center, beginning his collaboration with Avisar. Throughout Inbar’s academic career, the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences has remained home.
While Inbar’s findings related to the quality of water derived from Tel Aviv’s air was part of his Master’s project (and yes, in turns out that the water does indeed meet drinking safety standards), through his PhD work, Inbar hopes to utilize artificial intelligence to build practical water technologies that can improve the world: “I want to build a live system that will be able to solve practical problems related to wastewater and other areas,” says Inbar.
Engineers Without Borders
In 2021, around the same time that Inbar started his PhD, he also began his volunteer role as general manager of the Africa Group for Engineers Without Borders Israel – Tel Aviv. While in Tanzania, he began working with a school about 50 metres away from a polluted river that needed clean drinking water. He and his teammates decided on a project that could purify the river water; at the same time, they knew they wanted a solution that was sustainable, could be constructed and implemented by locals, and required minimal maintenance.
“We knew buying filters would be easy there, and so we developed an approach that could utilize many filters and would use only local materials,”says Inbar, who acknowledges the project was a multinational effort. “With the solution, we came up with, the school can now purify 1,000 liters of water per day.”
Inspiring Innovation for a Better World
It was this same Engineers Without Borders project that inspired Inbar to apply for Falling Walls Lab Tel Aviv. Falling Walls labs are held around the world, wherein students and early-career professionals, in three minutes or less, present solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
“I wasn’t sure if the project would be a perfect fit, but then I really thought Falling Walls was an amazing opportunity to represent your work and learn from others both internationally and locally, so I thought – okay, let’s go!” recalls Inbar.
The Tel Aviv event was held on June 8, 2023, with twenty finalists from TAU and beyond; Inbar took top place. As the top candidate from the event (the only Falling Walls Lab held in Israel this year), Inbar will be representing Israel at the global finale in Berlin this November. “I’m really proud to be representing Israel and Tel Aviv University,” says Inbar. “It’s going to be amazing.”
And while Inbar isn’t completely sure what his future will hold, he knows he wants to keep doing research and work that makes a positive contribution. “Because this work comes from my heart, it’s a lot more meaningful for me than regular work.”
Learn More
Did you know that Tel Aviv University offers programs in English through the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences? Learn more, for instance, about our one-year international MA in Environmental Studies.
