School children learn that water has three phases: solid, liquid and vapor. But we have recently uncovered a fourth phase. This phase occurs next to waterloving (hydrophilic) surfaces. It is surprisingly extensive, projecting out from the surface by up to millions of molecular layers. And, its properties differ markedly from those of bulk water. The talk will present evidence for the existence of this phase of water — how come nobody’s seen it before? It will also consider the potentially broad implications of this phase for health.

Presenter:

Gerald Pollack received his PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 . He then joined the University of Washington faculty and is now professor of Bioengineering . He is also Founding EditorinChief of the journal, WATER, convener of the Annual Conference on the Physics, Chemistry and Biology of Water, and Executive Director of the Institute for Venture Science.

This workshop recording comes from the 2021 NOFA Summer Conference. Visit nofasummerconference.org to learn more.