YWPDK Profile December 2017

Lorenzo Pugliese is our profile of the month for december. Lorenzo originates from Italy, but he has lived and worked in Denmark since 2010. Lorenzo works as a postdoc at Aarhus University with mitigation of nutrient pollution of water bodies.

What is your current work title and what is your background/degree?

I am hired as a postdoc at the Agroecology Department, at Aarhus University. The daily work aims at developing cost-effective technologies able to mitigate site-specific nutrient loss from agriculture. Nutrient inputs from intensive farming are in fact responsible for eutrophication in water bodies and thus pose a challenge to meet the quality goals of the European Water Framework Directive for the aquatic environment.

In Italy I graduated in environmental engineering, which made me acquainted with water and wastewater technologies. From December 2010 until February 2014 I was Ph.D. student at Aalborg University, where I investigated flow transport in coarse granular porous media.

What is your motivation for working with water?

I have been always looking for challenges and rewards, and the water sector offers countless opportunities. Water is a finite resource and we, as YWPs, should use our knowledge to support water conservation and sustainable use.

What are your main interests within this field?

Currently, I have great interest for surface and subsurface constructed wetlands. These man-made systems are designed to mimic wetland ecosystems, and are considered some of the most biologically productive ecosystems on the planet. Among the different tasks I enjoy performing tracer tests to investigate hydraulic efficiency and the effects on nitrogen and phosphorus removal.

What was your motivation for becoming a member of YWPDK and how did you hear about the network?

The opportunity to broaden my knowledge and to enhance my network are without any doubts the main reasons why I decided to join YWPDK. I first heard about it from a colleague at the IWA specialist conference on wetland systems for water pollution control, in Poland.

What are your thoughts on the challenges that we, as young water professionals, face in the coming years?

There is a common rising concern among the population for a large number of worldwide water issues. These issues are often complex and require the synergy of different and specialized water professionals to be solved. Young water professionals have an obligation to contribute in a meaningful way with innovative and sustainable solutions.