CHICAGO — The Water Innovations Alliance, an industry association promoting accelerated development and adoption of water technologies and methodologies, will hold its Water Innovations Alliance Conference concurrently with NanoBusiness 2009 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Sept. 9-10.

The purpose of the conference is to improve awareness and collaboration between large companies, engineering firms, universities, utilities, start-ups, NGOs, and governments by educating attendees on new water technologies, innovations, and prospects. Whether the developments be in materials, IT, engineering, financing, or public policy, the conference will shine a spotlight on all advancements and provide best practices across the spectrum of the water field.

“Currently, 1.1 billion people lack access to a reliable water supply, and 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation,” said F. Mark Modzelewski, co-founder and executive director of the Alliance. “By 2025, over half the world’s population will live in water-stressed or water-scarce countries. One quarter of global freshwater use exceeds local long-term accessible supplies. With those rather startling statistics as a point of reference, we look forward to welcoming key stakeholders to our conference to address how we can solve the world’s water crisis together through innovation.”

To initiate such discussions between attendees at the event, the Water Innovations Alliance has designed a comprehensive two-day conference program that addresses a number of critical topics. Conference sessions include:

• Drinking Water Panel
• Water & Energy: Addressing Climate Change
• Commercialization of New Technology for Water and Waste Water Treatment
• Investing in Water
• Challenges Facing Water Start-ups
• Regulation & Policy
• Water IT Panel

In addition, the conference will host a “Water Innovations Showcase” that highlights developments from companies that are breaking new ground in water technologies. The event will also spotlight leading practitioners and thought-leaders in this field via a series of keynote addresses, kicking-off with a presentation by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen on Tuesday evening. Additional keynoters during the course of the conference include:

• Fabian Cousteau – Explorer and Aquatic Environmentalist
• F. Mark Modzelewski – Co-Founder & Executive Director, Water Innovations Alliance
• Finn Nielsen - Chairman, VWS North America, Veolia Water
• Mark Shannon - Director, the WaterCAMPWS Center, University of Illinois
• Dr. Rishi Shukla - Archer Daniels Midland Company
• Sally Gutierrez – Director, U.S. Environment Protection Agency
• Michael Holman – Research Director, Lux Research
• John Kaestle – President & CEO, HaloSource
• Mark LeChevallier – Director Innovation & Environmental Stewardship, American Water
• Scott Livingston - CEO, Livingston Securities, LLC
• Simon Stringer – CEO, Becatech Security Solutions & Technologies

“Our prestigious group of keynoter presenters has been assembled from the diverse worlds of start-ups, universities, research, government, and investment,” said Vincent Caprio, COO and event director, Water Innovations Alliance. “We’re confident that our attendees will benefit tremendously from the first-hand perspectives delivered by this elite group of innovators.”

For complete event information, including the conference schedule and registration details, visit www.waterinnovations.org/event.php.