Josh Kearns

Josh Kearns is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at NC State University and a member of the Global WaSH faculty cluster.

His goals for the WaSH include employing state-of-the-art chemical analytical techniques combined with laboratory- and field- based research methods to solve the most pressing environmental health issues affecting communities in resource poor settings worldwide.

The Kearns lab develops field and laboratory methods for detection of pollutants in drinking water sources along with affordable and locally managed treatment technologies. Josh pioneered the use of biochar – a charcoal material generated from local biomass – as an adsorbent to remove chemical toxins such as herbicides, pharmaceuticals, and industrial pollutants in low cost water treatment.

Josh has over twelve years’ experience working in WaSH development with villages and community based organizations in southeast Asia. The Kearns lab also conducts ongoing field research with Caminos de Agua, a WaSH nonprofit in central Mexico.