Photo credit: N. Mladenov
Sustainable Sanitation IRES
This project is a summer research experience for students at San Diego State University and CalPoly Pomona University to study new advances in decentralized wastewater treatment and sustainable sanitation at the the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa.
The Sustainable Sanitation IRES seeks to immerse students in hands-on projects, stimulate interest in the hot topic of water reuse, and encourage pursuit of post-graduate education. Read more about our motivation and scientific goals on the Project Background page. What is covered for IRES students?
What is expected of IRES students? To ensure an enriching international research experience, we expect that all students will be engaged in research and contribute to a safe environment during their stay in Durban. At the end of the experience, students will make a presentation about their research results to UKZN faculty in Durban. Upon return to the US, students will present a poster or talk at a scientific conferences. Contributions to a peer-reviewed journal article(s) are strongly encouraged. We also expect students to share their experiences through video and other outreach activities to K-12 institutions, peers, and future cohorts. |
In the news...January 2018. Poster accepted to the ACS conference in New Orleans on diurnal variability in the ABR and a bench-scale model. Oral presentation the cultural and educational impacts of the international research experience on US participants also accepted to the ACS conference.
November 2017. The 2017 Cohort heads to Cal Poly Pomona to attend the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research (SCCUR).
April 2016. Parsons presents, "Hydraulic Behavior Analysis in an ABR" at the California Nevada Section of the American Water Works Association (CA-NV AWWA) Conference in Anaheim, CA, USA.
November 2016. Students from the 2016 Cohort present research at the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research (SCCUR) at UC Riverside.
October 2016. Oyaoye paper "Using duckweed for nutrient recovery and as a polishing step for DEWATS effluents" accepted for Dresden Nexus Conference.
August 2016. IRES students from SDSU (Parsons, Scolavino, and Palacios) and CPP (Okamoto and O'Hara) return from a successful research campaign in Durban.
December 2015. Bigelow et al. paper, "Evaluation of biodegradability in the Newlands-Mashu anaerobic baffled reactor using spectrofluorometry" accepted for the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) 2016 conference.
November 2015. Melgoza, Pinongcos, Tegley, and Bigelow present their research at the SCCUR conference at Harvey Mudd College, CA.
September 2015. One degree of separation from the Daly show. Check out this NPR news story about the woes of indoor toilets and Professor Chris Buckley, our UKZN chief collaborator and sanitation expert.
July 2015. IRES students just back from Durban! Here is their YOUTUBE video covering the experience.
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