Josh Kearns

Dr. Josh Kearns joined the North Carolina State University Environmental Engineering faculty in January as Assistant Professor and core member of the new NC State Global WaSH (Water-Sanitation-Hygiene) faculty cluster.
His research interests include field detection of pollutants and chemical hazards in drinking water sources along with the development of affordable and locally managed mitigation technologies. Josh and colleagues pioneered the use of biochar – a charcoal-like material generated from local biomass – as an adsorbent for use in water treatment to remove chemical toxins such as herbicides, pharmaceuticals, and industrial pollutants. This work involved significant field as well as laboratory research components. Josh has over ten years’ experience working in WaSH development with villages and community based organizations in southeast Asia. He also conducts an ongoing field research and WaSH practitioners’ education program with a community based organization in central Mexico.
Josh holds a BS in Chemistry, with a minor in Environmental Engineering from Clemson University, an MS in Environmental Biogeochemistry from the University of California-Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Josh serves as Director of Science for Aqueous Solutions, a non-profit organization based in Thailand that implements innovative approaches to water supply and treatment in hill tribe villages. Josh is also Director of the WASH-Toxics Working Group, an interdisciplinary initiative advancing innovative, affordable, and sustainable technologies to control toxic chemicals and supply safe water to resource constrained and developing communities.