水環境国際招聘賞（いであ招聘賞）（JSWE-IDEA Water Environment International Exchange Award）
授賞に関して本会では，水環境分野の国際交流・国際協力の促進を目的として，いであ株式会社からのご出捐により，水環境国際招聘賞と水環境国際活動賞を設けております。水環境国際招聘賞は本会年会で研究発表を行う海外在住外国人会員に対して，来日費用等の助成を行う制度です。第 58 回年会では，中国 2 名および，韓国，オーストラリアから各 1 名の計 4 名を招聘し，年会会場（九州大学）にて研究発表を行っていただきました。そこで，受賞者に研究内容や抱負等についてご執筆いただきましたのでご紹介します。なお，今年度の水環境国際招聘賞の募集案内は秋頃に本誌会告に掲載する予定です。
（水環境国際活動賞・招聘賞選考委員会）

JSWE-IDEA Water Environment International
Exchange Award
Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
College of Engineering, Konkuk UniversitySungjun Bae

It is my great pleasure to attend 58th Japan Society
on Water Environment （JSWE） Annual Conference
and receive the JSWE-IDEA Water Environment
International Exchange Award. I would like to express
my heartfelt thanks to the Award Committee of JSWE.
I am Associate Professor in the department of Civiland Environmental Engineering at Konkuk University
in South Korea. I received a Bachelor’s degree（2007）
in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Sung Kyun
Kwan University and an integrated Master’s andDoctoral degree （2013） in Civil and Environmental
Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Scienceand Technology （KAIST）. I continued my research
journey as a Postdoctoral Researcher at École
Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes in France（2014）and Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal（INE）
at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology （KIT） inGermany （2015）. Then, I moved back to Korea andworked as an Assistant/Associate Professor at Konkuk
University.
My research interests revolve around mineralogy（mineral transformation）, geo-biochemistry （interactions between microbes and soil minerals）, environmental science （monitoring of contaminants in air,water, and soil systems and prediction of contaminantfate and transport）and engineering（development ofnovel catalysts and their use for advanced water treatment processes）, and sustainable environmental chemistry（energy production from wastes/contaminants）.
I believe that these multidisciplinary researches canprovide insights into the macro/microscopic reaction
mechanisms in a variety of natural phenomena and the200

development of Green-SMART technologies to treat
the contaminated systems. I am particularly interested
in spectroscopic identification of interfacial changes inmineral-water-contaminant systems and develop novel
environmental remedial materials from various organicand inorganic solid wastes for wastewater treatment.
In this conference, I gave a talk about “Upcycling ofsolid wastes and their use for removal of contaminant
in wastewater”. Massive amount of various solid
wastes has been produced worldwide from different
industrial plants （e.g., coal fly ash from coal fired
power plant, red mud from alumina production byBayer process, and steel slag from steel plant）. The
solid wastes usually composed of various metal oxides
which can be reutilized as sources of novel materialsynthesis. I provided my current research findingsthat many elements（i.e., Si, Al, Ca, and Fe）can beselectively extracted from various organic and inorganic solid wastes or be used them as support materials to effectively remove organic, inorganic, andradioactive pollutants in water environment. All theremedial materials developed from my study showed agreat performance in each treatment process whichshows the potential conversion of solid wastes intomuch value-added materials.
Throughout the conference, I had a great opportunity
to connect with many experienced researchers not
only from Japan but also other countries. It was very
wonderful and meaningful experience for me. With thisnew research network, I would like to be much closer
to JSWE for my further collaboration with JSWE
committee and researchers.
水環境学会誌

Journal of Japan Society on Water Environment

JSWE-IDEA Water Environment International
Exchange Award
Professor, Institute of Eco-environmental and Soil Science,
Guangdong Academy of Sciences, China

Bin HE

It’s my great pleasure to be invited to attend theJapan Society on Water Environment （JSWE） 58th
Annual Conference and a great honor for me toreceive the JSWE-IDEA International ExchangeAward. I very much appreciate and thank so many
works which has been done by JSWE organizationcommittees. I hope that through this conference we
can further strengthen our collaborations withresearchers in JSWE and make our contribution to theprotection of the water environment in the world. In
this conference, I have learned many new technologies
and latest information from many outstanding
researchers in water environment area. It is truly apriceless opportunity to connect with so many famous
researchers in Japan and other countries.
I have obtained my Bachelor, Master and Doctor
degree from Wuhan University in China, andcompleted my second Doctor degree at Ehime
University in Japan in 2007. After that I worked as
JSPS research fellow and assistant professor in theUniversity of Tokyo, and an associate professor inKyoto University. Then I moved back to China andworked as a full professor in Chinese Academy ofSciences. My research area is related to water environmental engineering and my research interests
include watershed hydrology, water pollution, watertreatment, water related disasters and so on.
As is widely known, in recent years, with the increasein public awareness and regulatory efforts, the point
source pollution has gradually become under control.
Non-point source pollution, especially Agricultural
Non-point Source Pollution （ANSP）, is increasingly
becoming a major contributor to surface water pollution and environment deterioration. It is posing a
global challenge that threatens water quality andVol. 47（A）  No. 6（2024）

drinking water safety worldwide. ANSP is characterized by a wide scope, strong concealment, highrandomness, poor traceability, and long latent periods,
making it difficult to control. Due to the dual pressuresof economic development and population growth, agricultural production in many countries has been forced
to adopt high-input, high-energy consumption, andhigh-waste production methods, leading to significant
pollution in soil and water environments. Thus, effectively assessing and predicting the pollution load andspatiotemporal distribution characteristics of ANSP isof great significance for implementing prevention andcontrol measures and improving the ecological environment. My research aims at analyzing the spatiotemporal characteristics of ANSP loads, evaluating theenvironmental impact of agricultural non-point source
pollution, and holds significant importance for thegovernance of ANSP and the construction of new ruralareas. Our study aims to provide an insight of potential
treatment technologies featuring some simpler,economic, and efficient approaches for ANSP protection. Our research results will clearly illustrate theneed to identify and, more importantly, to quantify
possible metabolites of ANSP in future agricultural
waste water studies for different types of watersheds
in the world.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to JSWE
for organizing the conference and providing the opportunities to continue further collaboration. Let’s shareand exchange research experiences, and strengthen
long-term collaborations and communication. Also, weare looking forward to make more research collaboration between China and other countries in the field ofwater environment in the future.

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JSWE-IDEA Water Environment International
Exchange Award
Associate Professor, Curtin University, Australia

Ranjan Sarukkalige

I am deeply honoured to receive the JSWE-IDEA
Water Environmental International Exchange Awardand grateful for the opportunity to participate in the58th Annual Conference of the Japan Society on Water
Environment （JSWE）, held in Fukuoka, Japan fromMarch 6-8, 2024. I would like to express my sincere
thanks to the award selection committee for recognizing my contributions with this prestigious award. I
also extend my appreciation to the organizing
committee of 58th JSWE conference for organizing
such a remarkable event, providing an invaluable platform for researchers in the water and environment
field to convene, exchange ideas, and foster collaborations and networking.
This was my first experience in attending JSEW
annual conference. I had the privilege to engage withnumerous excellent researchers from Japan anddifferent countries, spanning various multidisciplinary
areas related to water and the environment. During
the conference, I presented my research on the assessment of hydroponic plant capability for enhanced
pollutant removal in constructed floating wetlands.
This presentation facilitated fruitful discussions withfellow researchers sharing similar research interests,
paving the way for potential future collaborations. Theinteractions and knowledge sharing throughout theconference concluded in the initiation of several promising research partnerships.
Allow me to briefly introduce myself; I currently
work as an Associate Professor in the School of Civil
and Mechanical Engineering at Curtin University inPerth, Australia. I obtained my BSc（Eng）degree inCivil Engineering from the University of Peradeniya,Sri Lanka, followed by my MEng degree in Water
Supply, Drainage, and Sewerage Engineering from theAsian Institute of Technology（AIT）, Thailand. I earned202

my PhD in Civil Engineering from Tohoku University,
Japan. Prior to joining Curtin University, I worked as a
JSPS Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Tohoku
University and served as a lecturer in Civil
Engineering at the University of Ruhuna in Sri Lanka.
My research expertise lies in urban water management, including areas such as stormwater management, urban wastewater treatment, and hydro-environmental studies. Over the years, I have supervisednumerous PhD and Masters students, fostering a prosperous research environment at Curtin University.
Currently, I supervise 7 PhD students and lead myresearch team conducting innovative studies in urbanwater, employing advanced tools, modelling techniques,
and laboratory facilities to address pertinent issues inurban water management. Our research activities
include hydrological modelling, flood forecasting, stormwater management, and experimental studies aimed atenhancing water and wastewater treatment processes,
specially improving the stormwater quality.
The research I presented at the JSWE conferencefocused on a crucial methodology for improving stormwater quality: constructed floating wetlands（CFWs）.
CFWs represent a highly efficient structural approach
to pollutant removal from stormwater, characterized
by their environmentally friendly, natural, simple andcost-effective design to remove pollutants in stormwater. Given the significant role of plants in CFWs, mypresentation aimed to identify the most suitable hydroponic plant species grown in Western Australia for
optimal performance in constructed floating wetlands.
I am truly privileged to have had the opportunity toshare my research findings at the JSWE conference
and look forward to further collaborations in the fieldof water environment.

水環境学会誌

Journal of Japan Society on Water Environment

JSWE-IDEA Water Environment International
Exchange Award
Associate Professor, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University

Wenlong Wang

The 58th Annual Conference of the Japan Society onWater Environment （JSWE） took place in Fukuoka
from March 6 to 8, 2024. It was a gathering of top
professionals and experts in the field, providing a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration. I am
deeply honored and grateful to have been awarded theprestigious JSWE-IDEA Water Environment Inter­national Exchange Award at this esteemed conference.
I would like to sincerely appreciate the organizing
committee for their meticulous organization andthoughtful arrangements.
I obtained my Ph.D. degree in Environmental Scienceand Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2018.
Prior to my Ph.D., I completed a Bachelor’s degree in
Environmental Engineering in 2012 from Beijing
Normal University. Following my doctoral studies, I
served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the School ofEnvironment, Tsinghua University, from 2018 to 2020.
Subsequently, I held the position of Assistant Professorand Associate Professor at Shenzhen International
Graduate School, Tsinghua University’s.
Water reclamation is an important way to mitigate
the problems of water shortage and water pollutants.
However, reclaimed water needs further treatments,
e.g., chemical oxidation, to eliminate the harmful pollutants, especially the recalcitrant trace organic contaminants. To achieve safe water reuse, my research
primarily focuses on water pollution control and recycling. I have expertise in areas such as water quality

Vol. 47（A）  No. 6（2024）

conversion theories and methods, water quality risk
assessment, advanced physical and chemical treatment
technologies （e.g., advanced oxidation processes）,
pollutant transformation and risk control, as well as
wastewater recycling processes and regulatory techniques. In this conference, I shared our researches ofnovel advanced oxidation technologies in which thepromotion of hydroxyl radical（•OH）generation can beachieved. For example, the micro-bubble ozonation canenhance the oxidation performance via bothO3-oxidation and •OH oxidation; the vacuum-UV（185nm）can achieve chemical-free oxidation but remains
better UV-light penetration in the water.
The JSWE Annual Conference was a truly enrichingexperience, and I am grateful for the recognition andopportunities it has afforded me. I am inspired by thewealth of knowledge shared and the innovative ideas
exchanged among participants. The opportunity toengage with fellow researchers and industry professionals has been invaluable, and I look forward toincorporating these insights into my future work.
The pandemic has had a significant impact on international exchanges in the past few years. This conference was my first international exchange event after
the pandemic, and it left a deep impression on me. As
the pandemic is going away, I believe that international exchanges will become more active, bringing
new opportunities for cooperation and development
among countries.

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