Guangwei Huang | Sophia University, Japan
Dr. Guangwei Huang is a professor at Sophia University, Japan. Born in Shanghai, graduated from Fudan University and obtained Ph.D from the University of Tokyo. Work experiences include Associate Professor at the the University of Tokyo, Kanazawa University, Professor at National Graduate Institute for Policy Study and International Center for Water Hazard and Risk Management under the auspices of UNESCO. Career at Sophia University started since 2011. His research activities over the past decades can be described as multidisciplinary and multi-scales. Lake eutrophication modeling and monitoring; sustainable use of wetland; river flow and water quality simulations, urban flood risk analysis and management, water-food nexus, and long-term policy impact analysis as well. They can be put together as sustainability studies from water perspective. His belief is that environmental problems could not be solved unless we break the walls of conventional research fields. We must take integrated approaches to deal with the very complex and interconnected environmental issues. We need new concepts, new way of thinking, new tools, new value and ultimately new sustainable society.
Mikio Ishiwatari | Meiji University, Japan
Mikio Ishiwatari is Senior Advisor on Disaster Management and Water Resources Management at Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo. He has been engaged in the projects and research works of disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation, and water. He led formulation of the Japanese assistance policies of climate change adaptation and community-based disaster management. He worked at the World Bank as Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist, and produced the “Learning from Megadisaster: Lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake”. He worked at various positions at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Japan for 17 years. He formulated and supervised national projects of flood risk management and highways in Iwami District as Director of Hamada River and Road Office, and was responsible for research and technology development as Senior Deputy Director for River Technology and Information. He worked as Urban Development Specialist at the Asian Development Bank. He was a member of “Committee on Building Resilience to Natural Disasters” of the Japan Science Society; and experienced members of “Advisory Council of Development Assistance in Climate Change Adaptation” of Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan, “Steering Committee of Water and Climate Change of Asia-Pacific Water Forum”, and other committees of government organizations. He holds a PhD in international studies and MSc in Urban Engineering from the University of Tokyo.
Kaimin Shih | The University of Hong Kong, China
Kaimin Shih is currently a Professor and Deputy Head in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Hong Kong. He received his Ph.D. and postdoctoral training in the Environmental Engineering and Science program at Stanford University. After joining the University of Hong Kong, Professor Shih established and led the “Environmental Materials Research Group” in 2008. Their work primarily involves engineering and employing material properties for innovative environmental applications. Professor Shih received the University of Hong Kong 2014 Outstanding Teaching Award for contributing to environmental engineering and sustainability education. Professor Shih is particularly interested in studying the interfacial interactions between solid matrices and environmental pollutants. He has carried out research projects related to environmentally friendly materials/products, the fate and transport of emerging environmental pollutants, and water/wastewater treatment technologies. Professor Shih has published 300+ SCI journal articles with 15,000+ citations (h-index 78), authored 8 book chapters, and edited 2 books. He is ranked as the Top 1% Researcher worldwide by Clarivate Analytics in his research field. Professor Shih is currently the Editor of the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (Impact Factor: 7.2), and an Associate Editor of Waste Management (Impact Factor: 7.1), Sustainable Environment Research (Impact Factor: 4.6), and Cleaner Materials (Impact Factor: 9.0). Professor Shih was the President of the Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers and Scientists Association (OCEESA), Chairman of the Hong Kong Waste Management Association (HKWMA), and President of the American Society of Civil Engineers - Greater China Section (ASCE-GCS). He currently serves as the Chairman of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers - Environmental Division (HKIE-EVD).
Speech title "Examples of Fate, Transport, and Transformation of Environmentally Persistent Wastewater Perfluorochemicals"
Abstract-The discharge of environmentally persistent organic compounds from wastewater has been a growing concern in the area of emerging pollutant problems. Perfluorochemicals are a type of persistent organic compound shown to induce severe health consequences, including neonatal mortality, neurotoxicity, and immunotoxicity. With the variety of compounds used in the industry and their subsequent discharge in the wastewater stream, understanding the fate, transport, and transformation of perfluorochemicals has become more challenging. However, such understanding is crucial to any decision-making in policy setting and technology development in controlling the global distribution and impact of perfluorochemicals. In this presentation, the chemical features and the types of current perfluorochemicals relevant to environmental contamination concerns will be introduced. Investigation examples of perfluorochemical distributions due to urban and industrial influences will also be presented. The environmental matrix was found to directly affect the partitioning of different wastewater perfluorochemicals in the environment, leading to varying levels of exposure risk, combined with the factor of compound molecular features. The discussion will also extend to the transformation of perfluorochemicals in wastewater sludge, examining the chosen thermal treatment strategies. Observing the fate of fluorine discharged from thermally treating perfluorochemicals in wastewater sludge revealed that the nature of environmental treatment technology also plays a crucial role in determining the impact of persistent organic pollutants on our environment.