Co-designer of innovative pump remembered

Alan Plumtree, an inventor of a pump that provides clean drinking water to developing countries, died on November 5.

Plumtree, a Waterloo mechanical engineering professor, and Alfred Rudin, a Waterloo chemistry professor, created the hand-operated

pump in the late 1970s after being approached by the International Development Research Centre.

Alan Plumtree, left, and Alfred Rudin invented the Waterloo Pump 

The Waterloo Pump design is still in use in countries around the world, delivering clean, safe water on demand. 

Plumtree joined the University of Waterloo's mechanical engineering department in 1965. He served in many capacities at the University including as associate dean for graduate studies, and a member of the Board of Governors. [full story]