Overview
Zara Visanji is a PhD student as part of the Water Informatics Science and Technology CDT (WISE) at the University of Exeter. She has a BSc in Physical Geography and Geology from the University of Plymouth in 2015 and a MSc in Water Engineering from the University of Exeter in 2017. Whilst carrying out her masters, Zara also worked for the Sewers Adoption team in the Developer Services department at South West Water. Her masters dissertation focussed on determining sustainable treatment technologies suited to the removal of emerging pollutants from wastewater in India. Zara has recently presented the findings from her masters work at the ‘International Conference on Sustainable Development in Civil Engineering’ in Pakistan and the ‘Emerging Contaminants Summit’ in Denver. Zara has also presented her work at the '13th International Conference on Hydroinformatics' where she was awarded a prize for the best student paper within the category of Hydraulic and Hydrological modelling. Zara is also interested in volunteer work, previously she has helped to build a rainwater catchment tank in Fiji and more recently in August 2018 she travelled to Uganda to build a spring water well.
Zara’s PhD research will be part of the Fate and Management of Emerging Contaminants (FAME) project which will investigate emerging contaminants in the major Indian rivers and wastewater treatment works, as well as creating novel and affordable treatment solutions for urban and rural India. She also hopes to look at the removal of emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment plants, with a focus on individual unit processes.
Research Interests:
- Improving the quality of drinking water and wastewater
- Emerging contaminants found in water systems
- Effects of emerging contaminants on the water quality, aquatic life and human health
- Water supply, sanitation and hygiene issues in developing countries.
Teaching Assistant Records:
- ECM3158 Water Resources and Pollution Control (Tutorials)
- ECM1101 Professional Studies and Skills Development (Marking)
