I was excited this week to connect with so many talented students, faculty and researchers in the region working in the WASH sector when I presented, “Identifying and mitigating microbial health risks in the production of urine-derived fertilizers.”

On April 5, the Bay Area WASH Symposium 2017 symposium brought together researchers working on water, health, and sanitation (WASH) from UC Berkeley, Stanford, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, and other Bay Area institutions. My student, Dani Perguero also attended the event and was pleased to learn about career opportunities in WASH.

Inspired by the symposium organizers to make a creative contribution in addition to presenting results, I wrote the following poem.

Myths and Mechanisms
by Heather N. Bischel

“Urine is sterile,”
You might hear them say.
But they’re behind on the research,
That I’m presenting today.

Liquid gold profits:
Opportunities oft missed.
Recover and use it,
But treat bugs in the piss.