Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan

Biography

Dr. Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan is a recognized global leader in tackling complex environmental problems that have significant societal relevance and a positive impact in the world. His research interests are in the areas of wastewater treatment and solid waste management. Dr. Kurniawan is an outstanding all-around scholar. He has produced more than 160 peer-reviewed publications in ISI-rated journals, 26 conference proceedings, including 9 book chapters and 6 monographs in waste to energy and wastewater treatment. Five of his papers, published in the top-tier Journal of Hazardous Materials and Chemical Engineering Journal respectively, are acclaimed as being among the top 25 most cited articles during the period 2003 to date.

Dr. Kurniawan pioneered the fields by using digital technology in water treatment and waste recycling. His impactful and visionary work has contributed to the field of study in recent decades. He also has shaped the research agenda by providing insights on how to transform unused waste into composites as low-cost adsorbents in tackling water pollution. His pivotal research in the 2000s included how bacteria transform unused wastewater into electricity while treating contaminated water. His work not only provided rigor and relevance to build capacity through his authoritative insights, inspiration, and leadership in the fields of study but also effectively bridged the gap between academia and industrial practices in water treatment.

Dr. Kurniawan’s academic brilliance has earned him a number of international and national awards.  received the 2010 Green Talent Award from German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the 2013 Young Scientist Award from the World Economy Forum (WEF) (Switzerland), and the 2014 Scope-Zhongyu (France) for his outstanding research contribution to the fields of study. His influential breakthrough work on sustainable wastewater reuse using digitalization have augmented water recycling and provided eco-friendly options for wastewater treatment. Through the development of inexpensive functional materials, he has made critical contributions to photocatalytic technologies to treat contaminated water laden with recalcitrant pollutants. This research direction has inspired global water industry to apply novel technologies for environmental remediation.

In 2011, the Institute for Scientific Information-Thompson Reuters has identified him among the top 1% of highly cited researchers in the field of Engineering according to the Essential Science Indicators. Just recently, the Elsevier publisher and Stanford University (US) has listed him among the top 2% of highly cited scientists in the field of Environmental Sciences. Dr. Kurniawan has a distinguished record in securing external research grants. With research experiences spanning 25 years, over Euro 1 million has been awarded to him as the principal investigator by European Commission (Brussels), Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS), Asian Development Bank, Academy of Sciences for Developing World (Italy), and Kurita Water and Environment Foundation (Japan).

His focus on sustained scientific research is evident from more than 160 articles in refereed journals, 25 articles in conference proceedings, six monographs, and 9 book chapters. To date, Kurniawan is the first author of 25% of the works with an h–index of 43 and citations of over 11,100 counts (Scopus), while being the corresponding author of one third of the same works. The scientific contributions are tangible manifestations of his competence and research impact in the discipline.