Katherine Pond

Dr. Katherine Pond is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sustainability, Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Surrey, UK. She serves as Programme Lead and Admissions Officer for the MSc in Water and Environmental Engineering, and is a member of the Athena Swan SAT committee. Her academic career began at the Robens Centre for Public and Environmental Health in 1996, followed by a 2-year secondment at the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health in Rome. She is the University's lead contact for the WHO Collaborating Centre for Water Quality and Human Health.

Research Interests: Pond’s work focuses on improving drinking-water quality in small supplies (e.g., boreholes, springs) globally, with emphasis on resilience to environmental stressors. Her research supports the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality and addresses challenges in low/high-income countries. Recent projects include developing a satellite-based Water Quality Analysis Tool (WQAT) and evaluating risk assessment tools for small supplies in Uganda, Iceland, and Malawi. She also investigates energy-efficient swimming pool design and citizen science applications for sanitary inspections.

Grants & Collaborations: Notable projects include a £48k 2021 study on water safety planning in Uganda/Rwanda, and a Sprint-funded WQAT project with the University of Leicester. Collaborators include WHO, Defra, BGS, and universities in Uganda, Iceland, and Malawi. Current research explores infrastructure resilience in Sierra Leone and bathing water quality in England.

Teaching & Leadership: Module leader for Global Challenges in Water and Health and Nature-Based Solutions to Environmental Engineering. Supervises PhD students focusing on water safety plans, sensor development, and supply chain resilience. Advocates for data-driven policy and cross-sector collaboration to achieve SDG 6.