Subscribe
The Library Store
Donate Now
ALOUD, Science

Dreams, Genes, & Machines:
Are We Living Science Fiction?

In conversation with Deborah Netburn, features writer, LA Times
Date: Nov 15, 2019
Time: 7:30pm
- 9:00pm
Location: Mark Taper Auditorium-Central Library
Event-Image_Water_LFLA
Back to Calendar

As California—and many other parts of the world—are facing acute water shortages and misusing available resources, the future of the global water supply is bleak. Dr. William Tarpeh is one trailblazing scientist whose work grapples with how to innovate water conservation, filtering, and recycling. Reimagining liquid waste streams as resources, the Tarpeh Lab at Stanford University is researching how to recover valuable products like energy, water, nutrients, and metals through capturing pollutants and creating more efficient, less costly approaches to reducing harmful discharges to the environment. Exploring the electrochemistry behind recovering resources from “waste” waters, Tarpeh will discuss how these cutting-edge processes can change the infrastructure of future water systems.

Frequently asked questions

Back to Calendar

Dr. William Tarpeh

Dr. William Tarpeh is an assistant professor of Chemic Engineering at Stanford. With a mission to solve major world sanitation problems, his lab develops and evaluates novel approaches to resource recovery the waste from wastewater and turn it into useful products. For example, for his dissertation he developed a method to extract nitrogen from urine, turn it into a gas, and combine it with water to make fertilizer. His work is recognized in the Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list.

Deborah Netburn

Deborah Netburn is a features writer at the Los Angeles Times. Endlessly curious, she’s covered a wide variety of topics since starting at the paper in 2006, including entertainment, home and garden, national news, technology and science. She’s hung out with Tibetan monks in the Pacific Palisades, seen seahorses at the bottom of Alamitos Bay and spent time with the working witches of Los Angeles. She is always looking for a good story.

<br /> <b>Warning</b>: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in <b>/nas/content/live/lfladev/wp-content/themes/lfla/inc/features/event-single-shortcodes-bios.php</b> on line <b>45</b><br />

This program is generously supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

630 W. Fifth St.
Los Angeles, CA 90071

213.228.7500

info@lfla.org

Subscribe to our newsletter

Name(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
About Us
Programs
Calendar
Support Us
Library Store
Los Angeles Public Library
Contact Us
Financials
Core Values and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Reservation Policy
Donors Privacy
Privacy Policy

© 2025 Library Foundation of Los Angeles

Subscribe

Library Store

Donate Now
Stacy-Lieberman_headshot_President-and-CEO_LFLA

Stacy Lieberman

As President and CEO of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles (LFLA), Stacy Lieberman is an innovative and inclusive leader whose career dwells at the intersection of arts and culture, lifelong learning, storytelling, and equitable access. Stacy guides the Foundation’s philanthropic and public-facing priorities to serve the Los Angeles Public Library, embracing the notion that libraries are beacons of democracy where everyone is welcome. She works intentionally with community leaders, donors, and internal and external strategic partners to raise awareness and resources for the Library and its life-changing initiatives.

With more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive, Stacy has left an indelible mark on iconic L.A. arts, non-profit, and educational institutions such as The Broad, the Autry Museum of the American West, and the Skirball Cultural Center. Building on an early career in book publishing, she has dedicated her professional life to sharing stories and broadening the reach of public institutions to welcome visitors and students of all ages and backgrounds to experience educational, arts, and cultural opportunities.