Assistant Teaching Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
jttrimme@syr.edu
Areas of Expertise:
- Water and sanitation in resource-limited settings
- Resource recovery from sanitation
- Sustainability analysis of water, sanitation, and resource systems
- Social-ecological systems
John Trimmer is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is interested in sustainable water and sanitation in resource-limited settings, as well as the possibilities associated with resource recovery from sanitation systems. He employs an interdisciplinary perspective to explore how these and other resource systems interact with economics, agriculture, ecology, and socio-cultural contexts to impact people and the environment. He has spent several years working on these topics throughout Africa, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda and more recently in Nairobi, Kenya with The Aquaya Institute, a non-profit research organization focused on water, sanitation, and health.
Honors and Awards:
Environmental Science & Technology: Best Paper on Environmental Policy in 2020
Paul V. Roberts/AEESP Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award (2020)
AAEES/AEESP William Brewster Snow Award (2015)
Selected Publications:
Trimmer, J.T., Qureshi, H., Otoo, M., & Delaire, C. (2023). The enabling environment for citywide water service provision: Insights from six successful cities. PLOS Water, 2(6), e0000071.
Trimmer, J.T., Kisiangani, J., Peletz, R., Stuart, K., Antwi-Agyei, P., Albert, J., Khush, R., & Delaire, C. (2022). The Impact of Pro-Poor Sanitation Subsidies in Open Defecation-Free Communities: A Randomized, Controlled Trial in Rural Ghana. Environmental Health Perspectives, 130(6), 067004.
Li, Y., Trimmer, J.T., Hand, S., Zhang, X., Chambers, K.G., Lohman, H.A.C., Shi, R., Byrne, D.M., Cook, S.M., & Guest, J.S. (2022). Quantitative sustainable design (QSD) for the prioritization of research, development, and deployment of technologies: a tutorial and review. Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology, 8, 2439-2465.
Poulin, C., Trimmer, J.T., Press-Williams, J., Yachori, B., Khush, R., Peletz, R., & Delaire, C. (2022). Performance of a novel machine learning-based proxy means test in comparison to other methods for targeting pro-poor water subsidies in Ghana. Development Engineering, 7, 100098.
Echevarria, D., Trimmer, J.T., Cusick, R.D., & Guest, J.S. (2021). Defining Nutrient Colocation Typologies for Human-Derived Supply and Crop Demand to Advance Resource Recovery. Environmental Science & Technology, 55(15), 10704–10713.
Trimmer, J.T., Byrne, D.M., Houser, S.A., Lohman, H.A.C., Jjuuko, F., Katende, D., Zerai, A., Banadda, N., Miller, D.C., & Guest, J.S. (2020). Navigating multidimensional social-ecological system tradeoffs across sanitation alternatives in an urban informal settlement. Environmental Science & Technology, 54(19), 12641-12653.
Trimmer, J.T., Miller, D.C., Byrne, D.M., Lohman, H.A.C., Banadda, N., Baylis, K., Cook, S.M., Cusick, R.D., Jjuuko, F., Margenot, A.J., Zerai, A., & Guest, J.S. (2020). Re-envisioning sanitation as a human-derived resource system. Environmental Science & Technology, 54(17), 10446-10459.
Trimmer, J.T., & Guest, J.S. (2020). GIVE: A framework of assumptions for constructive review feedback. Environmental Science & Technology, 54(19), 11648-11650.
Trimmer, J.T., Miller, D.C., & Guest, J.S. (2019). Resource recovery from sanitation to enhance ecosystem services. Nature Sustainability, 2(8), 681-690.
Trimmer, J.T., Margenot, A.J., Cusick, R.D., & Guest, J.S. (2019). Aligning product chemistry and soil context for agronomic reuse of human-derived resources. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(11), 6501-6510.
Trimmer, J.T., & Guest, J.S. (2018). Recirculation of human-derived nutrients from cities to agriculture across six continents. Nature Sustainability, 1, 427-435.
Trimmer, J.T., Cusick, R.D., & Guest, J.S. (2017). Amplifying progress toward multiple development goals through resource recovery from sanitation. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(18), 10765-10776.
Trimmer, J.T., Nakyanjo, N., Ssekubugu, R., Sklar, M., Mihelcic, J.R., & Ergas, S.J. (2016). Estimation of Ascaris lumbricoides egg inactivation by free ammonia treatment of ash-amended UDDT vault products using stored urine in Uganda. Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 6(2), 259-268.
Trimmer, J.T., Nakyanjo, N., Ssekubugu, R., Sklar, M., Mihelcic, J.R., & Ergas, S.J. (2016). Assessing the promotion of urine-diverting dry toilets through school-based demonstration facilities in Kalisizo, Uganda. Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 6(2), 276-286.
Lohman, H.A.C., Trimmer, J.T., Katende, D., Mubasira, M., Nagirinya, M., Nsereko, F., Banadda, N.E., Cusick, R.D., & Guest, J.S. (2020). Advancing sustainable sanitation and agriculture through investments in human-derived nutrient systems. Environmental Science & Technology, 54(15), 9217-9227.