This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Just because water covers 70% of the earth’s surface and composes the majority of our bodies doesn’t mean we know everything about it. Marcia Barbosa talks about the many anomalies of water and how exploiting them with nano-tubes could help address the problem of freshwater shortages.

Marcia Barbosa has a PhD in physics from Brazil’s Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, where she is now the director of its Physics Institute. She studies the complex structure of the water molecule, and has developed a series of models of its properties which may contribute to our understanding of how earthquakes occur, how proteins fold, and could play an important role in generating cleaner energy and treating diseases. She is actively involved in promoting Women in Physics and was named the 2013 L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Awards Laureate for Latin America.

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