Victor Ibeanusi, Ph.D., professor and founding chair of the College’s environmental science and studies department, has a heartfelt vision to make the possibility of sustainable watersheds and access to safe drinking water a global reality. Ibeanusi will be the keynote speaker at Greening Youth's third annual Green Carpet event, "Water is Life," on Saturday, March 19.
The event, hosted by the Greening Youth Foundation, the brainchild of Spelman alumna Angelou Ezeilo, will also address international environmental issues and our connection to the global community
Professor and Chair, Environmental Science
& Studies Program
Can the thirst for knowledge ever be quenched? Not if you’re Professor Victor Ibeanusi and the topic of study is water and the environment.
Ibeanusi, professor and founding chair of the environmental science and studies program at Spelman College, has a heartfelt vision in making the possibility of sustainable watersheds and access to safe drinking water becomes a global reality. Professor Ibeanusi’s commitment to water quality and sustainable watersheds spans over 25 years and has continued with a renewed vision rooted in rural communities.
Professor Ibeanusi believes that restoring watersheds, groundwater, and sources of drinking water are the biggest challenges facing the global community. With increasing impacts of climate change on watersheds, increasing populations, global conflicts, and natural disasters—such as the tsunami and hurricane Katrina, many rural and urban communities of the world are facing larger problems than even a year ago.
Through his research, professor Ibeanusi has developed a US patented bioremediation system for treating toxic metals and volatile organic compounds in wastewater. Ibeanusi’s bioremediation research endeavors have been demonstrated to be effective in treating some of the water sources in jeopardy, and forums such as the International Conferences on Safe Water, which Professor Ibeanusi chairs, provides global awareness of the seriousness of contamination problems and, more importantly, the exploration for practical solutions.
Professor Ibeanusi is a recipient of the Senior Fulbright Fellow designed to support curricular and institutional planning at academic institutions in 140 countries, and an AT&T Foundation Industrial Ecology Fellow.
In 2005, then Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and the city of Atlanta honored Professor Ibeanusi as an “African-American Pioneer in Water & Environmental Sciences” for his significant contributions to the water and wastewater industries and environmental sciences.
The award recognized pioneers from yesterday whose inventions established the foundation for processes currently used in the management or recreational use of water and the environment; outstanding men and women who are making creative contributions in the field today and young people who are embarked on a path of creating a better environment for the future.
Professor Ibeanusi holds doctorate and masters degrees from Atlanta University with a focused research in environmental microbiology, and molecular biology, respectively. He has also conducted collaborative research and training at US Governmental National Laboratories, such as the US Department of Energy Savannah River Site, Aiken SC, Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge Tennessee, Space and Naval Warfare Systems, San Diego CA, USEPA National Exposure Research Lab, Athens GA and Research Triangle Park, NC. Some of the agencies that have funded Professor Ibeanusi’s research and programs include the Department of Energy, US Army Research Office, USEPA, Office of Surface Mining, Rockefeller Foundation, Exxon Mobile, and AT&T Foundation.
