💫 We are happy to share that Meththika Vithanage, our new Professor of Water Quality Assessment, has received a prestigious Start-up Grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation 💫 The grant is about Rethinking biochar in CO₂ sequestration: Unexplored redox-driven transformations and their impact on contaminant fate in agricultural soils. 💡🌱 Biochar is increasingly promoted as a tool for climate action through CO₂ sequestration in soils. Yet, important questions remain about its long-term environmental effects – particularly how it interacts with pollutants and affects groundwater quality. Through the project #BioReCo (Biochar, Redox, and Contaminant fate in CO₂ sequestration), Professor Vithanage and her team will investigate how redox-driven transformations of biochar influence the fate of contaminants such as PFAS and other harmful chemicals in agricultural soils. 🧪🌱 The research will connect climate mitigation with groundwater protection, aiming to ensure that biochar-based solutions are both effective and environmentally safe. ♒ 🌍🛟 “Biochar holds great promise for both carbon sequestration and soil health, but we need to understand its complex chemistry and its impact on emerging contaminants. Adding biochar can alter soil redox conditions, which in turn may influence how emerging contaminants are released or retained, sometimes more strongly than under natural conditions. With this grant, we can explore those unknowns and contribute to more sustainable climate solutions,” says Professor Meththika Vithanage. Meththika Vithanage specialises in environmental chemistry and the fate and transport of pollutants in groundwater. With a strong research background, she has published extensively, making significant contributions to our understanding of how pollutants transform and behave in the environment, and how biochar can mitigate their effects.💡 An essential part of the project is also to train and mentor early-career researchers, including a PhD and a Postdoc, helping to build new expertise at the intersection of environmental chemistry and climate research. The grant of nearly 8 million DKK will support the project for four years (2026–2029). We look forward to following the progress of #BioReCo and its contribution to advancing knowledge on climate-smart and groundwater-safe technologies. Stay tuned. 💡 #Research #Biochar #Groundwater #EnvironmentalChemistry #dkforsk
Sumedha Gunasena
9mo
Congratulations 👏👏👏🎉
Achlesh Daverey
9mo
Congratulations 👏👏
Sameera Alwis
9mo
Congratulations 💐💐
Wathsala Y.
9mo
Congratulations 🙌
Congratulations Doctor ❤️
congradulations, dear Madam.
Congratulations madam
Congratulations Madam 🫡🫡🫡
Well done and well deserved, Meththika. Happy to have you in the department :-)