Dr Jannis Wenk from the Department of Chemical Engineering attended the International Conference on Water: From Pollution to Purification (ICW 2018), December 07 – 10 2018, at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam and the International Conference on Sustainable Innovation in Green Chemistry & New Technological Developments, December 11 – 12 at the Maharaja’s College, Koshi, as an invited speaker.
The Southern Indian state of Kerala is well known for its extensive wetlands and backwaters that are hotspots of biodiversity. However, these ecosystems are threatened by pollution and climate change. Research on how to tackle these threats was an important aspect of the ICW conference at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam held in December 2018.
The ICW is an annual conference series organised by the group of Dr C.T Aravindakumar at the School of Environmental Sciences. The conference attracted a wide range of international attendees and participants from all across India. Topics included most recent research on surface water quality in India and how to better protect of drinking water resources from pollution as well as new technologies for water treatment. Dr Wenk presented on the latest results of his research group looking at the fate of trace contaminants during advanced wastewater treatment schemes.
At the conference many high quality oral presentations and posters were provided, for example a comprehensive review on the activities of the Indian National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research to better understand the implications of climate change and an overview of research projects funded by the Department of Science and Technology for the area of water research in India.
The conference was very well organized. Dr Wenk particularly enjoyed the familial atmosphere at the conference despite 200 participants, and the southern Indian food for lunch and dinner that was freshly prepared on site.
Maharaja’s college is an Indian government college of higher education located in Kochi, Kerala with a history reaching back to 1875. The two day conference was held to further raise the research profile of the college and enable local students to engage with international scholars. The conference was held in collaboration with Mahatma Ghandi University and Dr Wenk was among four invited international speakers.
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