On August 30, 2024, Dr. Alex Furman from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology was invited to participate in academic communication at the College of Environment and Ecology, Chongqing University. Alex gave a lecture entitled “Soil aquifer treatment: Process optimization and alternative approaches”. Prof. Chun Yang, the college's vice dean, presided over the academic communication. Prof. Jinsong Guo, Prof. Youpeng Chen, Prof. Zhiliang Chen, Dr. Zengyu Zhang, and other faculties and students participated in this communication.

Regarding the issue of water scarcity in Israel, Alex first briefly introduced the background of water resource utilization and water treatment methods in Israel. One of the leading tertiary treatment methods for domestic sewage in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area is soil aquifer treatment (SAT). The treated sewage will be used for agricultural irrigation in the Negev Desert region. Then, Alex introduced the principles and current status of the SAT system. He displayed his work around the SAT system from four aspects: (1) real-time monitoring of SAT system operation by geo-electrical methods; (2) improving the operational efficiency of the SAT system through optimizing hydrological conditions; (3) proposing the concept of the agriculture-SAT coupling system firstly and conducting the pilot operation; (4) proposing the concept of aeration for the SAT system firstly, and conducting lab validation and pilot operation. After the lecture, faculties and students asked questions actively. Alex had in-depth discussions with them.

After warmly welcoming Alex's visit on behalf of the college, Prof. Yang introduced the role of our college on the scientific research missions, research statuses and trainings for young researchers and students for the environmental protection of the Three Gorges Reservoir area. Prof. Yang said that the two universities could continue to deepen cooperation under The Belt and Road initiative and jointly promote the development of international curriculum constructions, scientific research, projects cooperation and trainings for young researchers and students. Alex said he has visited China multiple times to participate in communications and cooperation, and he was delighted to have academic communication with our faculties and students this time. He looked forward to deepening communications and cooperations in the future.

Main guest introduction:

Alex Furman, the associate professor at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, concurrently serves as the director of the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at the Guangdong Technion and the adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He formerly served as the director of the Grand Water Research Institute in the Technion. He was/is the associate editor of Vadose Zone Journal and Irrigation Science, respectively. His research interest is in hydrogeophysics, with a particular focus on soil aquifer treatment. Through geo-electrical measurements, he enhances the understanding of the coupled physical-chemical-biological processes related to biodegradation, thereby strengthening soil and groundwater remediation. He has undertaken multiple international cooperation projects in the United States, China, Germany, Italy and Canada.

Author: Siqi Liu