At Seidenberg School, we believe students can make a difference today,
before they launch their careers of tomorrow.

Do you know if your water is safe before your drink it?

Let us answer that for you: No. We aim to change that.

We are a team of students, interns, graduate assistants, faculty and staff who work to advance the technology, information and warning systems that will bring you that information.

At our technology lab overlooking the Hudson River, our Choate Pond lab on campus, and our data lab in the Goldstein Academic Center, Blue CoLab is dedicated to the proposition that you have the right-to-know the quality of your water before you drink it, swim in it, fish it, or even swamp your canoe.

Chances are the water you use is safe, but millions have found out too late that is not the case. Just one sip of water contaminated with pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses or parasites, can cause severe illness in a matter of hours. Yet, still today, a conventional lab requires 24 – 48 hours to report analyses of samples that may only be taken weekly, or less.

In Milwaukee, 400,000 residents were made ill and 100 died in 1993 due to drinking water contaminated with cryptosporidium. Residents in Hoosick Falls and Newburgh NY were exposed to highly toxic PFAS, and may have been for years without knowing it.

Water contamination is endemic across the planet, making hundreds of millions of people ill, including tens of millions in the United States. The best defense against this threat are innovations that enable real-time, technological detection of water contaminants before they can reach our taps or recreational waters.

Sadly, antiquated drinking water policies were not written to spur innovation in detection technologies. But there are policy solutions too. For more on that, read John Cronin’s article in The Hill:  https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/587667-congress-must-reform-the-safe-drinking-water-act-to-guarantee-the?rl=1

To advance these innovations, Blue CoLab is decidedly “hands-on.” Our students dive into: operation of real-time sensors and instruments; management, visualization and sonification of data; UX, web, GIS and app development; system cybersecurity and more. They work in a team-based environment, using our own labs, instruments, equipment, and servers.

Blue CoLab stands for everything that makes Seidenberg School a special place — harnessing innovation on behalf of society, and providing students skill-based experiences that lead to a career meaningful to them, and to society.

All of us at Blue CoLab look forward to seeing you on the team. ~ John Cronin, Blue CoLab Director