Gary White, executive director and co-founder of water.org and a graduate of Missouri University of Science and Technology, will visit Missouri S&T to discuss his life’s inspiration and work — bringing safe drinking water to people living without it.

White’s presentation will be held at noon Saturday, Nov. 12, in Room 125 of Butler-Carlton Civil Engineering Hall on the Missouri S&T campus. The event is free and open to the public.

White earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Missouri S&T in 1985 and 1987, respectively. In 1990, he founded WaterPartners to provide access to safe water and sanitation in developing countries. In 2009, WaterPartners merged with actor Matt Damon’s nonprofit, H20 Africa, to form water.org.

Water.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people in the developing world to gain access to safe water and sanitation. Its mission is to create accessible, safe water supplies in developing countries and to liberate people to live healthier, fuller, more productive lives. So far, White has been instrumental in transforming more than 600,000 lives in Africa, South Asia and Central America through better access to safe water and sanitation.

In May 2011, TIME magazine named White and Damon to its 2011 TIME 100, the publication’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. White is also an Honorary Knight of St. Patrick at Missouri S&T.

For more information about the discussion, contact Dr. Joel Burken, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Missouri S&T, at 573-341-6547 or email burken@mst.edu.