Research

Research Groups | Research Projects

Research Groups
Research Projects

Research Groups

Mahidol University Faculty and students in the Graduate Program in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering conduct research in themes including Water Innovation and Emerging Contaminants; Eco-Efficient Engineering; Hazardous and Solid Waste Engineering; Natural Treatment Technology; Renewable Energy and Green Material Engineering; Disaster Engineering and Management; Climate change and Water Resources Engineering; GIS and Remote Sensing. We aims to create new knowledge, develop innovative solutions to global environmental problems and work collaboratively to advance knowledge and make meaningful contributions to our environment.

• Water Quality Monitoring & Management Research Group (WQMM@MU), Leader: Ranjna Jindal, D.Tech.Sc. Members: Kimberley Irvine, Ph.D. E-mail: ranjna.jindal@gmail.com, kim.irvine@nie.edu.sg Water Quality Monitoring & Management Research Group (WQMM) was established to investigate the existing situations of ... More detail

• Emerging Contaminants and Environmental Innovation Research, Leader: Suwanna Kitpati Boontanon, D.Eng E-mail: suwanna.boo@mahidol.ac.th; suwannakit@gmail.com Emerging Contaminants and Environmental Innovation Research laboratory is concerned with: Emerging Contaminants Analysis... More detail

• Hydro-Informatics and Water Management, Leader: Areeya Rittima, D.Eng. Members: Kritsanat Surakit, D.Eng. and Romanee Thongdara, Ph.D. E-mail: areeya.rit@mahidol.ac.th Hydro-Informatics and Water Management Lab (Hydro-Informatics Lab) has been established to share and t... More detail

• Eco-Efficient Engineering Research, Leader: Trakarn Prapaspongsa, PhD E-mail: trakarn.pra@mahidol.ac.th; Trakarn.prapaspongsa@gmail.com Research and education have played a great role in sustainable development around the world. Eco-Efficient Engineering Researc... More detail

• MU(BOX-LAB), Leader: Nawatch Surinkul, D.Eng E-mail: nawatch.sur@mahidol.ac.th is a unit established under Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Program. We are conducting research and/or providing the design, testing and training services.... More detail

Completed Research Projects

• Cooperative Research with Kyoto University for Establishing PFOS and PFOA Measurement Technique for Industrial Wastewater, funded by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), 13,205,760 Yen, March 2007–Feb 2009, Principal Investigator. ,

• Surveying and Improving Wetlands, Water Resources, and Natural Channels Inventory Project, funded by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), 13,205,760 Yen, March 2007–Feb 2009, Principal Investigator. ,

• APEC Low Carbon Model Town (LCMT) Promotion through Eco-Point Program (LCMT-EPP), funded by Bright Management Consulting Co., Ltd. and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, 2014, Sustainable Development Expert & Head of Technical Team. ,

• Corporate Social Responsibility of PANDORA: A comparison between CSR policy and its implementation, funded by PANDORA Production Co., Ltd, 2013-2014, Head of the Project & Project Supervisor. ,

• Assessment on energy performance of certified green buildings in Thailand, funded by Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO), 2013-2014, Head of the Project & Project Supervisor. ,

• Development of guideline for material selection in green building design to reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts, funded by Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO), 2013-2014, Head of the Project & Project Supervisor. ,

• Training Program for Alternative Energy and Efficiency towards Low Carbon Society, funded by Bright Management Consulting Co., Ltd. and Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, Ministry of Energy, Thailand, 2013, Renewable energy and environmental management expert (This training program was taken place in Samui Island with total participants more than 900 people). ,

• �The ECO-Mini Project 2013� Zero Waste Program- A Preliminary Study, funded by PANDORA Production Co., Ltd, 2013, Head of the Project & Project Supervisor. ,

• Life Cycle Assessment of Green Building Technology for Sustainable Energy Consumption, funded by Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO), 2012-2013, Head of the Project & Project Supervisor. ,

Ongoing Research Projects

• Occurrence of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) Residues in Some Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants� Effluents in Bangkok Region, funded by Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Principal Investigator. ,

• Presence of PFOS and PFOA and their Relationship to Pollutants in Surface Water: A Case Study of Downsream Chao Phraya River, funded by The Thailand Research Fund (TRF), 480,000 Baht, 2007-2009, Principal Investigator. ,

• Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) Removal by Membrane Bioreactor (MBR), funded by Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, 200,000 Baht, 2009-2010, Principal Investigator. ,

• Contamination of PerfluorooctaneSulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in Food Packaging, funded by Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, 200,000 Baht, 2009-2010, Principal Investigator. ,

• Sanitation Classification and Alternatives Evaluation for Asian Cities, (SaniCon-Asia), funded by Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, 900,000 Yen, March 2009- March 2010, Principal Investigator. ,

• Real Time Flood Forecasting and Warning System for the Upper Ping and Yom River Basins, funded by Royal Irrigation Department, 29,400 $, 2009-2010, Co-Investigator. ,

• Sedimentation Management and Decision Support System for Water Resources Management in Bung Boraphet, funded by Kasetsart University, 62,000 $, 2008-2010 Co-Investigator. ,

• Development of Dynamic Rule Curve for Mae Klong River Basin, funded by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, 848,350 Baht, Febuary 2008-January 2010, Principle Investigator. ,

• Development and Application of Consequential Life Cycle Assessment Method for Food and Fuel in Thailand and Asia, funded by Thailand Research Fund, 2014-2016, Principal Investigator. ,

• Consequential and attributional life cycle assessment of major biomass products in Thailand including land use change impacts, funded by National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Principal Investigator (Head of the sub-project; This project is a sub-project under “Research Network for LCA and Policy on Food, Fuel and Climate Change”), 2012-2016. ,

• Eco-efficiency Assessment of Sustainable Food Waste Management Systems for Large-Scale Hotels on Samui Island, funded by Mahidol University, 2014-2016, Project Supervisor. ,

• Life Cycle Assessment of PANDORA Production Co., Ltd. towards Green Industry, funded by Thailand Research Fund (TRF) and PANDORA Production Co., Ltd. (Researchers and Research for Industry Grants: Master Sci. & Tech Grants 2013), 2014-2016, Head of the Project & Project Supervisor. ,

• Water Scarcity Footprint Assessment of Tap Water from Metropolitan Waterworks Authority for Water Resources Management, funded by Thailand Research Fund (TRF) and Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (Researchers and Research for Industry Grants: Master Sci. & Tech Grants 2014), 2014-2016, Head of the Project & Project Supervisor. ,

• Human Resource Development on Renewable Energy for Industry and Buildings, funded by Bright Management Consulting Co., Ltd. and Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, Ministry of Energy, Thailand, 2014-2016, Head of Sub-Project and Biogas Technology Expert. ,

International Collaborations

Graduate Program in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering actively collaborates with several overseas academic and international agencies in research, curricula development and staff and student exchange - some of our active partners including:

Seoul National University, South Korea

Visiting Prof. Dr. Ranjna Jindal, Program Director of International Masters Program in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University initiated and successfully cultivated very strong research collaboration with Prof. Kyungho Choi in the Environmental Toxicology Laboratory, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, South Korea.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University (MU) and the Dean, School of Public Health, Seoul National University (SNU).

Various joint academic and research activities between MU and SNU included:

Summer internship research trainings of 2 masters students at SNU
Collaborative Research Project entitled “Comparative Study on Pharmaceuticals Residues in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants and Receiving Waters in Thailand and South Korea – An Emerging Threat to Public Health” - Funded by Mahidol University, Thailand in collaboration with Seoul National University, South Korea. (2011-2015)
Several publications in the reputed refereed international journals and international conferences presentations.
Prof. Choi serving as the invited guest lecturer in EGEW 516 Seminar in Environmental & Water Resources Engineering.

State University of New York College at Buffalo, USA

Visiting Prof. Dr. Ranjna Jindal initiated another very strong research collaboration with Prof. Kimberley Irvine, Director of Center for Southeast Asia Environment and Sustainable Development, State University of New York College at Buffalo, USA

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University (MU) and the Director of Center for Southeast Asia Environment and Sustainable Development, State University of New York College at Buffalo, USA

Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore

Visiting Prof. Dr. Ranjna Jindal initiated one more very strong research collaboration with Prof. Kimberley Irvine, currently from the Department of Humanities and Social Studies Education, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Prof. Irvine is currently serving as the co-advisor of 4 international masters students and providing tremendous support and input in the supervision of the dissertation research of these students.

Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University

The Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University and the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, first signed an agreement on education and research collaboration in 2007. Since then, this partnership - a relationship under which there have been numerous activities. Examples of these include, student exchanges, cross faculty appointments, research collaborations and partnership office. - has become one of our most active.

“The opening ceremony of Kyoto University Partnership Office in Mahidol University” is another significant milestone in our relationship, and demonstrates the strong friendship between Kyoto and Mahidol Universities. We aimed to launch a double Master’s degree between the Faculty of Engineering at Mahidol University and the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies at Kyoto University in 2017.

Aalborg University

International Master's Programme in Environmental Management & Sustainability Science, Aalborg University

Liverpool John Moores University

Faculty of Technology and Environment, Liverpool John Moores University

National University of Singapore (NUS)

Dr. Ranjna Jindal (Program Director) was at the Environmental Science and Engineering Division (ESE), National University of Singapore (NUS) as a Visiting Professor for 7 weeks between September-November 2009. During her stay at NUS, Dr. Ranjna gave a seminar on “Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in Municipal Treatment Plants in Bangkok, Thailand

Industries and Governmental Agencies

Collaboration with Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT)

International Masters and PhD Program in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering has joined hands closely with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) for almost 10 years. Our joint research work has been focusing on the area-based water resources management.

Some of our past and current research projects are:

Development of Dynamic Rule Curve for Maeklong River Basin (2006-2008)
Development of A Model for Optimal Reservoir Operation of Maeklong River Basin (2014-2016)

Collaboration with Royal Irrigation Department

Water Resources stream faculty member of our program, Dr. Areeya Rittima has successfully developed a strong academic collaboration with the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), while serving as a member of the Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID).
One of the regular activities of THAICID is to organize the THAICID National Symposium which aims to exchange and transfer knowledge between academics and practitioners internally and globally.

The Royal Irrigation Department (RID), Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ThaiCID) and International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) are going to co- host “The 2^nd World Irrigation Forum and 67^th International Executive Council Meeting in November 2016 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, aiming at sharing experiences in water management among the stakeholders from around the world and enhancement of sustainable development of irrigated agriculture through a comprehensive water management framework.

Collaboration with Industry

Local Community

Sustainable Tourism Development

Project: Encouragement of green hotels and low carbon activities for tourism sector in Loei province, Thailand
Local governmental agency: Designed Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Public Organization) Loei Province, Thailand
Advisor: Dr. Nawatch Surinkul

The project is aimed to encourage and improve local hotel (small) and SME (small medium enterprise) for the green and low carbon communities. The criteria of green procedure will be applied to representative group. Training, workshop, monitoring and evaluation are planned through the whole period. Examples of activities in this project are shown above.

Collaboration with Local Community on Samui Island

Under the training program for Alternative Energy and Efficiency towards Low Carbon Society funded by Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, Ministry of Energy from February to December 2013, Bright Management Consulting Co., Ltd and Dr. Trakarn Prapaspongsa from Eco-Efficient Engineering Research Lab (ECO-LAB), International Graduate Programs in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, Mahidol University trained more than 900 people on Samui Island. The participants were from local community as well as hotels on Samui island. The specific topics in which Dr. Trakarn was responsible included eco-lifestyle (how to live in a more sustainable way), sustainable waste management and sustainable water consumption.