During Spring 2023 (for teaching weeks):
Tuesdays, 3:10 pm to 4:00 pm. Drop-in basis. If that time does not work and you need to meet, please email Prof. Gadgil, and he can organize a time.
Professor of the Graduate School
Ashok Gadgil is the Andrew and Virginia Rudd Family Foundation Chair Professor of Safe Water and Sanitation and a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. Gadgil’s research focuses on computational fluid dynamics of indoor air and pollutant flows, simulation of entry and transport of indoor radon, building energy efficiency, and methods to treat drinking water to make it potable. Gadgil holds a concurrent appointment as a Senior Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). He has more than 150 refereed archival journal papers, 140 conference papers, and several patents. Gadgil also received the prestigious Zuckerberg Water Prize, LBNL Director’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Societal Impact, and the Patents for Humanity Award.
Ph.D., Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1979
M.A., Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1975
M.Sc., Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, 1973
B.Sc., Physics, University of Bombay, 1971
Gadgil’s research focuses on heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and technology design for development. Gadgil has substantial experience in technical, economic, and policy research on energy efficiency and its implementation - particularly in developing countries. Three of his best-known technologies for the developing world are "UV Waterworks" (a simple, effective, and inexpensive disinfection system for drinking water), the "Berkeley-Darfur Stove" (a low-cost sheet-metal stove that saves fuelwood in internally displaced person's camps in Darfur), and ECAR (ElectroChemical Arsenic Removal) for removing arsenic from water. Gadgil advocates for immediate and strategic action on the part of the research community to apply current scientific knowledge to address worldwide issues relating to climate change. Here are a few of the research projects Gadgil is currently working on below:
- Addressing arsenic contamination in Allensworth, California - Allensworth is an impoverished community in California’s Central Valley that relies on drinking water contaminated with naturally high levels of arsenic, a cancer-causing toxic contaminant. Gadgil’s research group has invented a rapid and effective technology to remove arsenic from water to levels below the maximum allowed by the EPA. This technology has been scaled up and is being field-tested in Allensworth with support from the local community and the State of California in collaboration with UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Here is a TV clip produced by the news channel Al Jazeera about this effort in Fall 2022.
- Air quality: Gadgil's current research explores clean-burning biomass stoves, and their adoption in communities in the developing world. His past research includes work on engineering science, design, and development of fuel-efficient, clean-burning, low-emission cook stoves for the 3 Billion people on the planet that still use biomass for cooking. LBNL is one of the best labs for measurements of cook-stoves efficiency and emissions.
- Various: Computational fluid mechanics and heat transfer, energy efficiency in buildings, environmental analysis applied to relevant problems in the industrial countries and developing countries. Another major multi-institution program that Gadgil led from 2021 to 2022 is the Development Impact Laboratory, or DIL.
2022 LBNL Director's Award for Exceptional Achievement in Societal Impact. for “dedication to developing and optimizing an infant warmer technology that will save millions of low birthweight infants from dying of hypothermia.”
2022: Zuckerberg Water Prize, Inaugural Laureate, for "outstanding leadership, vision, innovation, and lasting global impact in the field of Water."
2020: Patents for Humanity, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Honorable Mention for inventing an infant-warming device that uses a phase-change material to indicate temperature
2017: Curry Stone Design Prize. Inducted in the "Social Design Honoree Circle" 2017 cohort of honorees of the Curry Stone Foundation, for design under resource scarcity.
2016: R&D100 Award for invention of a novel, inexpensive, and robust technology for Fluoride-remediation of groundwater. The R&D100 Awards, called the “Oscars of Industrial Innovation”, are an international annual competition and celebrate the 100 top technology advances of the past year (2016).
2015: Leo Szilard Lectureship Award by the American Physical Society. Award recognizes application of physics for the benefit of humanity. Citation states "For applying physics to a variety of social problems and developing sustainable energy, environmental and public health technologies, as well as demonstrating how these could be scaled up, thus contributing to improved life for millions."
2015: Elected Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of engineering that also have been of benefit to improving livelihoods in India.
2014: Honored by the International House at UC Berkeley, along with Wendy Schmidt, as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. Citation states: "For contributions to a more sustainable and peaceful planet, and advancing a world of greater understanding."
2014: Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, an organization sponsored by the US Patent and Trademark Office under the US Department of Commerce.
2013: The Tech Award for Economic Development -- based on the large positive economic impact of the Darfur Stoves Project (now Potential Energy) on the lives of the recipients of the Berkeley-Darfur Stoves. (I am the co-founder, and Board Chair of Potential Energy) See:
http://eetd.lbl.gov/news/article/57172/the-darfur-stoves-project-wins-
2013: Reed-Elsevier "Environmental Challenge" Award, Silver Prize, for invention and development of ECAR Technology
2013: Alumni Leadership Award for 2013 by the IIT Kanpur Alumni Association of Silicon Valley. Citation states “In recognition of the impact of his work on lives of millions in the developing world.”
2013: Siemens-Stiftung Award for "Empowering People" for multi-disciplinary development and implementation of ECAR technology for affordable arsenic removal from groundwater used for drinking. See:http://www.empowering-people-network.siemens-stiftung.org/en/shortlist/?tx_solr[filter][]=category%3AWater+%26+Waste+Water
2013: Elected to the National Academy of Engineering – one of the highest honors in the engineering profession.
2013: Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, in the top (Creativity) category, along with my team -- for invention of ElelctroChemical Arsenic Remediation (ECAR) technology. http://www.psipw.org
2012: Lemelson-MIT Global Innovator Award, for engineering innovations that improve the lives of impoverished people around the world. The Lifetime Achievement Award "recognizes outstanding individuals whose pioneering spirit and inventiveness throughout their careers have improved our society and inspired others." More at websie: http://web.mit.edu/invent/n-pressreleases/n-press-12LMA.html
2012: Zayed Future Energy Prize. Selected by a four-stage independent international selection process, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Prize. Award recognizes "innovation, leadership, long-term vision, and impact in renewable energy and sustainability." www.zayedfutureenergyprize.com/en/
2011: European Inventor Award – Selected by an independent jury assembled by the European Patent Organization, for the most significant invention in the Non-European Category from all non-European countries. For UVWaterworks.
2011: Olympus and NCIIA Lifetime Award for teaching innovation to students, and inspiring them and other faculty at UC Berkeley and other institutions about teaching about innovation.
2010: “Sustainability Pioneer Award” from SAG/SAM of Zurich, Switzerland, "for pioneering efforts with the private sector in support of sustainability on the planet."
2010: One of the top 10 global innovators in water technologies selected by NASA and USAID. (www.launch.org)
2009: The Heinz Award for the Environment. Award citation is "for Research, Innovation and Humanism." www.heinzawards.net/recipients
2009-14: Andrew and Virginia Rudd Family Foundation Distinguished Chair of Safe Water and Sanitation, UC Berkeley.
2009: Outstanding Mentor Award by the Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy.
2008: Campus Sustainability Award for “Outstanding Faculty Contribution to Campus Sustainability” by the Chancellors Advisory Committee on Sustainability. UC Berkeley.
2007: Global Citizen Award by the United Nations Association of USA (East Bay Chapter) for “individual efforts to ensure that your invention is in place and functioning ... thereby saving lives and improving the quality of life of the beneficiaries.”
2007: Popular Mechanics Magazine, “Breakthrough Award” for the Berkeley Darfur Stove
2007: Faculty Public Service Award by UC Berkeley Chancellor “for outstanding leadership and commitment to service-learning.”
2007: Toshiba Green Innovation Award for WaterHealth International, the start-up based on the technology platform that I invented: UVWaterworks
2006: Honored by the Museum of Science and Technology, Chicago, as One of 40 living exemplars of the spirit of Leonardo da Vinci in modern America.
2005: Trendsetter, Public Works Magazine, for inexpensive safe drinking water solutions for developing countries
2005: Outstanding Performance Award by LBNL for invention and development of a method for arsenic removal from drinking water, using coated coal ash.
2004: “Tech Laureate” award by the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, in the health category, for development and implementation of innovative technology to improve societal health
2004: Outstanding Technology Transfer Award by the Federal Laboratory Consortium of DOE, for protecting against chemical and biological threats to buildings, facilities and occupants
2002: “World Technology Award” in Energy category (visit www.wtn.net for more information)
CE 104 / 204 (w/ Prof. Tina Chow), Planetary Boundaries and the Anthropocene, in Fall 2022
CE 209 Design for Sustainable Communities in Spring 2023
Current Grad Students:
See: Gadgil Lab - People