Meet our faculty, Dr. Onita Basu
Did you know that globally approx. 2 billion people cannot simply turn on a tap and drink clean safe water? And that, 3.8 billion do not have at-home access to safe sanitation (think toilets) facilities. Addressing access to safe water is a multi-faceted umbrella that spans geographies, rural and urban areas, and more. Dr. Basu is interested in all aspects of water and wastewater treatment spanning from centralized (turn on the tap) services to point-of-use decentralized options. Embedded in this research is a complex mix of technical, social, and sustainability lenses.
For instance, Dr. Basu has been co-conducting research within the Longido area of Tanzania focusing on Point-of-Use ceramic filter systems that includes both technical provision of materials, ongoing field support, and education classes on the filters and water in general. This project requires fundamental respect, knowledge sharing, and co-development of the project with local knowledge in order to move it engage and implement with and within the community.
Dr. Basu also examines novel research on advanced membrane systems targeted toward centralized water systems, exploring fundamental science questions related to water chemistry and membrane fouling. As Dr. Basu has said “Water is the lifeblood of the planet for without clean water people and the environment suffer. As an Environmental Engineer, I am fundamentally interested in doing my part – small as it may be – to ensure access to clean water”.
Dr. Basu completed her Ph.D. at the University of Waterloo and her Masters’s and Bachelors’ Degrees at the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining Carleton, she was a Process Engineer for the Region of Niagara where she worked on process optimization in water and wastewater. At Carleton, Dr. Basu strongly promotes the learning and advancement of students through capstone design projects and research, she additionally strongly supports co-supervision and collaborative training. Dr. Basu received a Carleton Faculty Graduate Mentorship award in 2021, a 2020 Ottawa Chapter Professional Engineers Civics Award, and a Carleton Research Award in 2019.
Please see her research page for more information https://carleton.ca/basuresearch/