Silivhere Technologies Inc., the Charlottesville, Virginia-based company co-founded byJames Smith, University of Virginia Henry L. Kinnier Professor of Civil Engineering, has been awarded a $254,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Small Business Technology Transfer program. The award will be used for further research and development of theMadiDrop+, a water purification tablet made of porous ceramic embedded with silver. Smith co-invented the MadiDrop+ as an extremely low-cost means of providing safe drinking water for individual households. Since about one in four people in the world do not have safe drinking water in their homes, Smith's point-of-use technology has the potential to improve water quality, human health and quality of life for millions globally. Smith's entrepreneurial effort grew out of his research on silver ceramic water filters at UVA's School of Engineering and Applied Science. When the MadiDrop+ tablet is placed in a 10- to 20-liter water storage container, it releases silver ions to disinfect waterborne pathogens such as V. cholera, Shigella and E. coli. One MadiDrop+ treats more than 7,000 liters of water over its 12-month lifespan at a cost of less than two-tenths of a cent per liter.