Joaquim Comas Matas
Speaking Sessions
Integrating AI in Urban Water Management: Intelligent Decision Support Systems for the Twin Transition
The development and application of intelligent multicriteria decision support systems (iDSS) for the sustainable management of the urban water cycle has been one of Dr. Joaquim Comas’s core research lines since the beginning of his PhD in 1995. With nearly three decades of experience, he has become a recognized expert in the integration of mathematical modelling, statistical analysis, and artificial intelligence techniques to support planning, design, simulation, and advanced control of urban water infrastructures.
His early research focused on wastewater treatment systems, mainly activated sludge, progressively expanding to address the integrated management of the entire urban water cycle, including supply, collection, treatment, and the interaction with receiving water bodies. He has in-depth expertise in knowledge-based systems, such as rule-based reasoning and case-based reasoning, as well as machine learning techniques. Approximately one third of his journal publications fall within the field of computer science, with a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence applied to environmental systems.
In the mid-2000s, Dr. Comas initiated a pioneering research line on the intelligent control of membrane bioreactors (MBR). This work has since evolved to include the optimisation of cutting-edge membrane technologies, such as integrated MBRs with reverse osmosis or nanofiltration units, forward osmosis systems, and membrane recycling, all aligned with the principles of the circular economy.
Today, his main research activity continues to revolve around the development of intelligent iDSS tools to promote circularity in the urban water cycle, particularly through water reuse and nature-based systems. His work has not only advanced the scientific field but also had practical impact: in 2003, he founded one of the first spin-off companies of the University of Girona, focused on developing intelligent control systems for wastewater treatment plants (nowadays https://www.createch360.com/).
Biography
Dr. Joaquim Comas is Full Professor of the Chemical Engineering Dept. of the University of Girona (UdG), where he is a member of the Laboratory of Chemical and Environmental Engineering research group (lequia-udg.com). He is also Research Professor at the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA, www.icra.cat), leading the Modelling and decision support system research line and co-leading the IT lab (itlab.icra.cat).
Dr. Joaquim Comas has a solid background in the development and application of intelligent decision support systems that integrate mathematical modelling with artificial intelligence techniques for the sustainable management of urban water systems. He is co-author of a highly cited paper on the design and implementation of real environmental decision support systems, which represented a seminal work in this field (doi: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2003.03.007). Currently, his main research activity is focused on the development of tools and technologies to foster the implementation of circular economy in the urban water cycle (for example, enhancing water reuse), mainly through intelligent multicriteria decision support systems, nature-based solutions and membrane technologies.