November 2025: Hot Takes on Cool Tech Innovations for Food Security

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Rohit Karnik, Director of Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) at MIT—a pioneering research hub that tackles global challenges in water and food systems, and since 2014, has invested more than $25 million in transformative solutions that address food security, water scarcity, and climate resilience. One of J-WAFS’ standout collaborations is with CoolVeg. Led by Dr. Eric Verploegen, he speaks on how CoolVeg develops forced-air evaporative cooling chambers designed to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables in off-grid, low-resource settings—offering a low-cost, energy-efficient alternative to traditional refrigeration, helping smallholder farmers reduce post-harvest losses and improve food access.

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GUESTS

Rohit Karnik, PhD, is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Water & Food in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT where he leads the Microfluidics and Nanofluidics Research Group. His research focuses on the physics of micro- and nanofluidic flows and the design of micro- and nanofluidic systems for applications in water, healthcare, energy, and the environment. As of 2025, Karnik also serves as the director of J-WAFS, where he leads J-WAFS’ research agenda and priorities, and supports proposal review processes, project oversight, and interactions with corporate partners.

Eric Verploegen, PhD, is a materials scientist and international development professional who focuses on working with off-grid communities to implement affordable and scalable post-harvest storage solutions for fruits and vegetables. Verploegen worked at MIT D-Lab from 2014 to 2023 as an instructor and principal investigator on numerous global development projects, and he is currently a MIT D-Lab affiliate. He led research studies related to evaporative cooling technologies for fruit and vegetable preservation, working with collaborators in six countries across Africa and South Asia. His team developed a training program for the wide dissemination of clay pot coolers and an innovative design for a forced-air evaporative cooling chamber. His work has been featured in MIT News, Engineering for Change, Agrilinks, Next Billion, and at the MIT Museum.