Professor Ashantha Goonetilleke

PhD (Queensland University of Technology), MSc (Griffith University), BSc(Hons) (University of Sri Lanka)

I am a Professor in Water/Environmental Engineering at Queensland University of Technology with an enduring commitment to make the water environment more sustainable and contribute to its adaptation to climate change. In keeping with this commitment, I have achieved significant success in developing extensive industry partnerships, undertaking research of relevance to industry and the community and the translation of research outcomes for practical application.

For ten years, I was the Technical Advisor on sustainability to the Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) and held the Professorial Chair in Airport Innovation for five years. In this role, I provided advice on a range of sustainability initiatives, related policy development and R & D activities including water and energy efficiency. For five years, I was the Director for Infrastructure Research, Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, QUT and for three years, I was the Discipline Leader for Civil Engineering in the Science and Engineering Faculty, QUT.

My research entails field and laboratory investigations and computer modelling and simulations.

The foundation concepts which underpin my research are:

• Adaptation to climate change - My research focuses on assessing the impacts of climate change on water resources including quantitative and qualitative impacts and the creation of adaptation strategies to cope with these changes.

• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) -  Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) forms a guiding philosophy and the foundation of my research.

The following thematic research areas constitute the core areas where I focus on knowledge creation:

• Protecting and restoring water quality
• Risk-based stormwater/wastewater recycling, water conservation and efficiency
• Resilience of water infrastructure and water security;
• Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

Further, I have significant experience in knowledge transfer and the application of my research for training, capacity building and institutional strengthening.

Protecting and restoring urban water quality

My research focuses on understanding the behaviour of pollutants including emerging contaminants such as PFAS, pesticides and pharmaceuticals and personal products (PPCPs) and microplastics and creating knowledge of their impacts on water and sediment matrices. This knowledge is applied for developing approaches and methods: to assess and diagnose the causes, processes and pollutant sources; tools to assess exposure and to reduce human health risks; to attain water quality standards; for understanding and quantifying the performance and the definition of treatment processes of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) systems.

My research includes:

• the development of analytical methods for water quality evaluation
• characterising water pollution processes
• understanding the fate of pollutants in the environment and their impacts and associated human health risk
• defining climate change impacts on water quality
• water quality modelling

Risk based stormwater/wastewater recycling and water conservation and efficiency

My research identifies issues, challenges and risks associated with water recycling and reuse in order to develop appropriate mitigation actions. An important key to sound urban water management is the integration of stormwater and recycled water as resources in the urban environment based on the concept of ‘use of water fit for purpose’.

My research focuses on:

• stormwater pollution and treatment
• sustainable reuse of wastewater and stormwater and water conservation
• decentralised water and wastewater treatment
• life cycle analysis
• risk assessment and risk management

Resilience of water infrastructure and water security

My research focuses on the analysis of resilience of water supply infrastructure in meeting the quality and quantity challenges posed by climate change, population growth and urbanisation, in order to ensure water security to the community.

My research includes:

• systems modelling
• resilience assessment of water supply infrastructure
• identifying surrogate indictors of resilience.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)

My research focuses on providing innovative approaches to safe water supply and sanitation to protect human and ecosystem health in the context of Sustainable Development Goal 6, ‘Clean Water and Sanitation’. The research areas include:

• use of decentralised water supply and wastewater treatment systems
• land application wastewater effluent
• risk assessment

Research achievements

• Over 300 scholarly publications, including six books and over 200 journal papers
• Received more than $14 million in research funding from the public and the corporate sector organisations for undertaking over 50 applied research projects
• Supervised to completion over 40 doctoral students.

Supervision of Doctorates to completion  

1. Assessing water quality by linking sediment quality to land use
2. Mathematical conceptualisation of stormwater pollutant first flush in urban catchments
3. Availability and mobility of microplastics in river sediments
4. Customized hydrochar from biomass materials for water treatment
5. Influence of physical and chemical properties of adsorbents on heavy metal removal from industrial wastewater
6. Occurrence and fate of some organic contaminants in soils, sediment and estuarine water from South- East Queensland
7. Transformation and degradation of organic pollutants on urban road surfaces
8. Optimization of In situ Bioremediation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contaminated Soils
9. Adaptation of Water Sensitive Urban Design to Climate Change
10. Transformation of physical and chemical properties of pollutants during accumulation on urban surfaces due to climatic and environmental factors
11. Optimisation of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for Urban Stormwater Management
12. Assessment of sediment quality of the Brisbane River estuary
13. Assessing uncertainty in relation to urban stormwater pollutant processes
14. Human health risk of toxic chemical pollutants generated from traffic and land use activities
15. An Examination of the Water Quality of Northern Moreton Bay
16. Source characterisation of build-up and wash off of urban stormwater pollutants for water quality predictions
17. Risk management and high reliability: A case study of Australian airport management
18. Statistical Framework for Determining Design Rainfall Events for Stormwater Quality Treatment Design
19. Resilience of water supply infrastructure in Southeast Queensland to meet the challenge of climate variability and population growth
20. Influence of rainfall and catchment characteristics on urban stormwater quality
21. First flush behaviour in urban residential catchments
22. Performance evaluation of WSUD treatment trains
23. Impact of climate change and urban traffic change on water quality from road runoff
24. Relating vehicle generated pollutants to urban stormwater quality
25. Nutrients build-up and wash-off processes in urban land uses
26. Influence of physical and chemical properties of solids on heavy metal adsorption
27. Build-up and wash-off process kinetics of PAHs and heavy metals on paved surfaces using simulated rainfall
28. Translation of small-plot pollutant mobilisation and transport measurements from impermeable urban surfaces to urban catchment scale
29. Zeolite as a chemical media in the removal of heavy metals from the  stormwater
30. Risk-based approach to on-site wastewater treatment system siting, design and management
31. Integrated land capability for ecological sustainability of on-site sewage treatment systems
32. Role of soil physical and chemical characteristics and landscape factors in defining soil behaviour under long term wastewater dispersal
33. Engaging ethnic minorities in rural water supply project planning in Vietnam
34. Stakeholders’ preferences and environmental effectiveness of catchment management regimes in the Philippines: choice modelling and difference in differences approach
35. Public Private Partnership Model for Low-cost Apartment Development in Surabaya Metropolitan Area
36. Public building adaptation (PBA) in tropical developing countries
37. Developing a decision support framework using crowdsourced data to reduce risk during disasters: the case of Brisbane
38. Exploring a transition strategy for hydrocarbon-dependent rentier states: a focus on Qatar
39. Surrogate approach to assess social resilience in disaster management
40. Strategic Indonesian Government asset management: its performance measurement system and response to climate change
41. Asset Management in Operation of Public Asset Response to Climate Change: Optimising Idle Asset in Rental Scheme
42. Development of an optimal spatial decision-support system using approximate reasoning
43. An integrated knowledge management framework for sustainable infrastructure development

Additional information