Meet EPA Environmental Engineer and Interdisciplinary Scientist Santosh Raj Ghimire, Ph.D.

Dr. Santosh R. Ghimire analyzes the potential trade-offs of green infrastructure to support more sustainable water systems. In his spare time, Dr. Ghimire likes to serve professional societies and humanitarian organizations. He was previously the president of a humanitarian organization in Nepal. He also contributes to scientific and engineering journals as a reviewer and guest editor.

What research are you working on right now?

I am currently working on research related to green infrastructure practices such as rainwater harvesting systems and riparian buffer zones (vegetated zones adjacent to streams and wetlands) used in sustainable water resource management. More specifically, I am conducting a sensitivity analysis of simulated riparian buffer zone designs to understand potential trade-offs between the designs and changes in water quality parameters. I am also assessing the influence of future climate projections (precipitation and temperature) on these trade-offs.

What is your education/ science background?

I earned a Ph.D. and M.S. degree in environmental engineering and an interdisciplinary graduate certificate in sustainability from Michigan Technological University. I also hold a M.S. degree in statistics and a B.S. in physical group, both from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. I have published over a dozen of peer-reviewed scientific and engineering articles, taught water resources management courses and laboratories, and delivered over 20 presentations at national and international conferences related to environmental and water resources sustainability. One of my articles (life cycle assessment of domestic and agricultural rainwater harvesting systems) published on Environmental Science and Technology has received the EPA’s FY 2016 Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards, Level II Award.

Prior to joining EPA, I was a water system engineer at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. I first joined EPA as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Postdoctoral Fellow in 2012. I was also an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a part-time instructor at the University of Georgia. I have served as president of the Northeast Georgia Branch of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and I am a member of ASCE and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

A citizen scientist (Mr. Tek Raj Ghimire, father of Santosh R. Ghimire) points towards a traditional stone-spouts (hiti) in Nepal. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Tek Raj Ghimire).

When did you first know you wanted to be a scientist?

During my childhood in Nepal, I was fascinated by infrastructure such as buildings, bridges, and traditional knowledge of water supply systems. Many of these infrastructures were designed using traditional knowledge.

For example, rainwater collection and traditional stone spouts (locally called dhunge-dhara or hiti) are still being used as source of water supply for drinking, sanitation, irrigation, and livestock uses in Nepal as depicted in the photograph to the right. This caused me to start looking into a career in engineering. After finishing my Ph.D. in environmental engineering in 2008 and an interdisciplinary certificate in sustainability in 2007, I wanted to pursue a career as an interdisciplinary scientist/environmental engineer.

What do you like most about your research?

I like that my research involves an interdisciplinary, holistic approach that is applicable not only for assessing the sustainability of water resources management strategies but is also applicable to other industrial and environmental systems.

How does your science matter?

My research focuses on green infrastructure systems used in sustainable water resource management and conventional gray infrastructure systems. Examples of green infrastructure systems include stormwater reuse, rainwater harvesting, air conditioning condensate harvesting, and riparian buffer zones. Examples of gray infrastructure systems include conventional centralized municipal water supply systems and irrigation systems. I assess these systems using a holistic approach consisting of life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost assessment, and watershed-scale sustainability modeling to explore the sustainability space (environment, economic, and social pillars) of alternative objectives.

These demonstrated methods and scientific findings are important for decision-making related to on-site green infrastructure and gray infrastructure systems as well as other industrial and environmental systems.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would you be doing?

In 1994, I established a non-government, non-profit humanitarian organization, called Social Technology and Activities Research (STAR) Center to help the rural population of Nepal uplift their economic, social, health and sanitation conditions. If I was not a scientist, I probably would have further developed this organization and worked as an environmental and social justice advocate.

What advice would you give a student interested in a career in science?

I would advise them to dream big and take action. I would encourage them to explore science with a holistic approach.

If you can have any superpower, what would you choose?

I would choose to heal others’ pain and suffering.

What do you think the coolest scientific discovery was and why?

The Internet. It has connected individuals virtually and enabled synergic scientific discoveries.

If you could have dinner with any scientist, past or present, who would you choose and what would you talk about?

I would choose Dr. Anthony Fauci. I would like to discuss possible reasons for outbreaks of novel diseases such as COVID-19, Ebola, and Zika. I would discuss potential connections with the accessibility of safe and sustainable water in the context of global differences in socio-economic conditions, humanity’s needs, and culture.

You are stranded on a desert island; how do you use science to survive?

I would harvest water from desert air! I would have carried a device for harvesting atmospheric water from desert air with low relative humidity.

What do you think is our biggest scientific challenge in the next 20/50/100 years?

I think sustainable water resource management will be the biggest scientific challenge in the next 100 years. Water is interconnected with almost all aspects of humanity including food, energy, health, and sanitation.

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the researcher alone. EPA does not endorse the opinions or positions expressed.