UofM Technology Spinoff Partners with AMS to Commercialize Water Safety and Monitoring Innovation

April 5, 2019 - Foundation Instruments, a high-tech start-up company spun from the University of Memphis, has partnered with Aqua Metrology Systems (AMS) to expand its offerings of online and real-time monitoring of trihalomethanes (THMs) with the addition of Foundation Instruments' THM-Rapid Response (THM-RR) online benchtop analyzer.

The THM-RR analyzer is the company's flagship product. The benchtop analyzer reports individual and total THM concentrations in real time so that utilities can be more proactive in responding to water quality changes and managing carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBP).

"Public-private partnerships are the key to getting innovative technologies out of our research labs and into the real world for timely adoption and optimal impact," said Dr. Jasbir Dhaliwal, executive vice president for Research and Innovation.

"The University of Memphis congratulates Foundation Instruments and Aqua Metrology Systems on their common plan to enhance water safety for all using these latest innovations from our research. The partnership extends to Foundation Instruments' online Haloacetic Acid (HAA5) analyzer, which is currently in beta testing, and the development and commercialization of other benchtop and online analyzers of emerging contaminants of concern."

Foundation Instruments chose to partner with AMS because of its capability to develop advanced instrumentation, its commitment to innovation and market leadership position in online THM analysis that extends to Europe, where AMS THM analyzers are also used for regulatory analysis.

"Working together, we will provide the latest innovations to all utilities, whether they are small rural water treatment plants or large metropolitan systems," said Dr. Gary Emmert, chair and professor of Chemistry at the UofM and CEO and founder of Foundation Instruments.

"We share a vision of revolutionizing drinking water monitoring and process control. AMS' worldwide network, their keen global insight, and technical integration abilities coupled with Foundation Instruments' cutting-edge systems will greatly improve operator control of DBP formation events and simultaneously lower cancer risks worldwide for drinking water consumers. The development of our technologies was made possible through the support of the University of Memphis FedEx Institute of Technology, the Water Research Foundation, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

CONTACT

Mary Ann Dawson | 901.678.1592 l mdawson@memphis.edu