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People in the United States have long taken for granted that a glass of cold, safe water was only a faucet away.

But, as evidenced by the ongoing disaster in Flint, Michigan, that’s not necessarily the case.

Cynthia Phillips, a professor from Sandia National Laboratory’s Center for Computing Research, will deliver a presentation at UT on the need for improved and increased monitoring of our water supply.

Her visit is sponsored in conjunction with UTs chapter of Sigma Xi, the national research honors society.

Sigma Xi’s mission is focused on research that can improve humanity, which dovetails with Phillips presentation.

That talk, “Sensor Placement For Municipal Water Networks” is the final event in the Tickle College of Engineering’s Distinguished Lecture Series for the spring.

It will be held Monday, March 27, at 4 p.m. in Room 622 of the Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building and is free and open to all.

Phillips will discuss on ongoing project she is involved in with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that has helped develop warning systems for U.S. municipalities that alert them to contamination issues.

She earned her doctorate in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990, and has spent the last 27 years at Sandia.

There, she has conducted research and developed algorithms related to infrastructure and programming.

Those wishing to see the presentation who are unable to attend can watch the live webcast or view an archived version of the event and earlier lectures in the series.

C O N T A C T :

Christie Kennedy (865-974-0686, ckennedy@utk.edu)