Japanese associate editor shares passion for potable reuse with AWWA Water Science

Fujioka, an associate professor of water and environmental engineering at Nagasaki University in Japan, has extensive research and industry experience in the water sector. His research focuses on reverse osmosis membrane treatment for removal of pathogens and trace organic chemicals for potable reuse.

“Because we do not have potable reuse practices in Japan, having a connection with a large water community like AWWA is very important to me,” he said. “I was very pleased to accept the request for being an associate editor of AWWA Water Science.”

Fujioka, 40, became interested in the water sector as an engineering undergraduate student at Hiroshima University in 1999 while conducting research on coagulation treatment processes.
He had rarely traveled from his home near Hiroshima until he was hired as a process engineer with Fuji Electric Systems in Tokyo. “I got my passport at the age of 24 for the first time in my life, and my second overseas trip happened when I was 28 years old. Since then I have traveled and even lived overseas frequently.”

Fujioka earned a master’s degree in water supply engineering from UNESCO-IHE in the Netherlands and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Wollongong in Australia, where he was a research fellow and board member of the Membrane Society of Australasia from 2013 to 2015.

Currently, Fujioka is a visiting scholar at Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He collaborates with Dr. Shane Snyder, NEWRI executive director and previous co-director of the Water & Energy Sustainable Technology Center at the University of Arizona.

“I hope I can keep bringing new membrane and analytical technologies to potable reuse in the United States,” Fujioka said.

Outside of his profession, Fujioka – who goes by Taka – enjoys spending time with his wife, Sandrine, and their 3-year-old daughter, Nami. He described his home city of Nagasaki as an area surrounded by ocean with 594 islands. “The fish industry is so big that we can have different kinds of fresh fish at very low cost anytime of the year,” he said.

AWWA’s newest scholarly journal, AWWA Water Science, publishes original, peer-reviewed research on the science, engineering and social aspects of water. Research is published continuously online by AWWA’s publishing partner, John Wiley & Sons Inc., and like Journal - American Water Works Association and Opflow, free access is a benefit of AWWA membership. Submissions are being accepted for AWWA Water Science.