DevEng pioneer and Prof. Ashok Gadgil is turning a breakthrough into a lifeline — and a new $13.5 million philanthropic investment is helping make it happen.

Named a 2026 AIC-Bakar Fellow through Berkeley’s Academic Innovation Catalyst, Gadgil is tackling the arsenic contamination problem in U.S. drinking water, a public health crisis affecting more than 8 million Americans, particularly in smaller communities relying on groundwater.

His solution: a 3D-printed, electrochemical-reactor-based arsenic removal technology that dramatically lowers operating costs that have doomed prior efforts. His goal is to spin out a scalable, affordable, community-driven startup.

The AIC program, with funding from Berkeley alums Matt and Lisa Sonsini, provides the kind of commercialization runway to get technologies like Gadgil’s from the lab into the hands of communities that need them most.