Joshua Cantone

Joshua Cantone

Fulbright Postgraduate Award in Science and Engineering sponsored by BHP Billiton        

Media Profile

Joshua has won the 2005 Fulbright Postgraduate Award in Science and Engineering sponsored by BHP Billiton. Joshua is a First Class Honours graduate in Civil Engineering from the University of Adelaide and is currently working as a Civil Engineer with Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR). Joshua has won a wide variety of awards including the Frank Bull Scholarship sponsored by KBR, for excellence and leadership.

Joshua is researching the pioneering aspects of stormwater and wastewater management. His exposure to the current development of Stormwater Management Practices and Wastewater Treatment processing in the U.S. will allow him to gain greater knowledge of the sustainable practices used in water sensitive urban design. These practices contain essential elements that can be tempered to work with the research of leading Australian scholars. It is envisaged that Joshua’s research will have a positive impact in the sustainable development of water, the world’s rarest commodity.

Water is Australia’s most valuable asset. Excluding Antarctica, Australia is the world’s driest continent. This fact places water management high on the political agenda and is gaining momentum as a critical global issue. The key questions being asked are: ‘how can we better catch the water provided to us naturally’ and ‘how can water be used more efficiently.’

Joshua is planning to work with Professor Arthur Schmidt from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana as a research assistant in addition to completing a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering. Joshua’s research will focus on Chicago’s ambitious Tunnel and Reservoir Project (TARP), a project designed to manage the area’s combined sewer overflow, minimise pollution of surrounding waterways and reduce street and basement flooding after heavy rains. Primarily Joshua will be investigating ways to control this enormous system and best utilise its capabilities. The outcomes of this project could pave the way for the development of similar systems worldwide. This would be a significant step in the global to push to better capture, convey, treat and reuse water.

During Joshua’s employment at KBR he has played a critical role in the development of the Urban Stormwater Master Plan for Victor Harbour in South Australia. The plan assesses the effectiveness and adequacy of existing storm water infrastructures before identifying remedial measures and better methods of management. Joshua’s goal is to explore the tried and tested practices in the U.S. as well as emerging technologies that could have a positive long-term result for Australia.