Dr. Amanda Lounsbury

Dr. Lounsbury did her PhD in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University. Her goal is improving the quality of life of the global community, and she believes this is inextricably linked to its surrounding environment. She has worked in both Ghana (as a Fulbright Fellow) and in Mali on local water-filtration projects.  Now she brings her skills to Israel, a leader in waste-water reuse, which recycles approximately 86% of its wastewater and uses reclaimed waste-water for more than half of its irrigation needs. Working in the Public Policy Department of Tel Aviv University, Dr. Lounsbury will examine pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), one class of contaminants that is often not removed completely by wastewater treatment, and that presents risks at very low exposure concentrations. She will collect wastewater samples from treatment systems and from staple crops, test them, and use comparative risk assessment studies as well as cost-benefit analyses to determine best practices and risk assessment for waste water reuse, both in Israeli and in Palestinian areas. This will not only advance scientific knowledge but it should help decision makers charged with sustainably meeting drinking water quality goals.