Join us on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 2 PM CST for our next Third Coast Water Seminar featuring Dr. Paul Westerhoff, a Regents Professor & Fulton Chair of Environmental Engineering at Arizona State University.
Semiconductor manufacturing is one of the most water-intensive industries, consuming tens of billions of gallons annually in fabrication, packaging, and supply chain chemicals. With long-term water constraints in Arizona, the sustainability of chip production depends on innovative water reuse strategies. Currently, fabs in Arizona can reuse about 30% of their industrial wastewater for cooling towers and other facilities, but the remaining 70% could potentially be recycled back into chip production if industrial contaminants can be effectively removed.
Dr. Paul Westerhoff will discuss his team’s research exploring advanced treatment methods to address low molecular weight organics (LWOs) like urea, TMAH, and acetone, which are not removed by conventional ultrapure water (UPW) systems.
About Dr. Westerhoff
Paul Westerhoff is a Regents Professor & Fulton Chair of Environmental Engineering at Arizona State University. He has over 450 peer reviewed publications related to water. He is the co-Deputy Director of the NSF Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability Center and Director of the Global Center for Water Technology. He received several awards including the 2020 A.P. Black award from AWWA, 2019 NWRI Clarke Prize, 2013 ARCADIS/AEESP Frontier in Research Award, 2006 Paul L. Busch Award., and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2023.
