Presented by Institute for Water Innovation (IWI) and Clean Water Drinking Group (CWDG)
PROFESSOR KUMIKO OGUMA
Associate Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of TokyoOctober 24, 2019 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Bahen Centre, Room 1240 (BA1240)
40 St. George Street
Toronto, ON M5S 2E4
The United Nation’s Agenda for Sustainable Development includes an acknowledgment that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies to improve health and inequality. Drinking water quality is a key factor affecting both of these, but finding solutions that provide access to clean water for communities in small, remote, and resource-poor parts of the world is difficult. For the past two decades, Dr. Kumiko Oguma has been exploring a variety of water-related challenges in underdeveloped areas in Asia. Projects include determining drinking water health risks following flooding in Jakarta, deterioration of water quality in distribution systems in Kathmandu, and identifying the potential source of a mysterious chronic kidney disease in Sri Lanka. In this talk, Prof. Oguma will focus on a recent initiative to install solar-powered ultraviolet light systems in schools in the Philippines. Ultraviolet light is known to be an excellent drinking water disinfectant, but electrical supply and longevity of the UV light source have been obstacles in the past. Her current research is exploring LED sources for UV, which promise to be more robust than traditional lamps, requiring less maintenance and intervention. The presentation will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach, and highlight where this technology might best be applied moving forward.
KUMIKO OGUMA is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Engineering at the University of Tokyo. Her primary research interest is in the use of UV-based technologies for the control and prevention of waterborne infectious diseases. Prof. Oguma has spent considerable time investigating water-related health issues in developing countries in South and Southeast Asia. She currently serves as the Asia-Pacific Regional Vice President of the International Ultraviolet Association.