About me

I’m a PhD candidate at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. My current work consists in developing a model to simulate the uptake of nature-based solutions for stormwater treatment and harvesting in cities. The simulations are carried out with an agent-based model that aims to replicate decision-making and interactions of the main actors in the urban water management system. The model is developed within DynaMind toolbox and also uses results from UrbanBEATS simulations.

For my MSc thesis at Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, I looked into the ecosystem services, resilience and adaptive capacity of communities making a living from rice terraces in Banaue, in the Philippines.

I’m also an avid user of R and always on the lookout for new widgets and ways to produce beautiful data visualisations.

Education

2015-Present

Ph.D. Candidate in Civil Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Thesis title: Modelling the adoption of nature-based solutions for stormwater management: An agent-based approach
Supervisors: Prof. Ana Deletic, Dr. Christian Urich and Dr. Md Sayed Iftekhar

2011-2014

M.Sc. Environmental Management, CAU University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Thesis title: Assessment of resilience and adaptability of social-ecological systems - a case study of the Banaue rice terraces.
Supervisors: Prof. Felix Muller and PD Benjamin Burkhard

2004-07

B.A. International Relations, University Laval, Quebec, Canada

Contract employment

2015-2016

Research Officer
Collaborative Research Center for Water Sensitive Cities, Clayton, Australia.
Provide a diagnostic and best practice knowledge to guide investment programs linked with the Asian Development Bank operations and private sector partners in developing cities of the Asia-Pacific region. Apply the Water Sensitive Cities Index in Mandalay (Myanmar) and Suva (Fiji).

2013

Intern
Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, Canada
Internship on the contribution to the GBO-4. The information gathered in the literature review was summarized and published in the GBO-4 in 2014. Review literature on Aichi Targets 6 (fisheries) and 9 (invasive alien species).

2013

Collaborative research fellow
German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Los Banos, Philippines.
Research stay for master’s thesis at the Crop and Environmental Science Division of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The research was part of the LEGATO Project and was funded by the Advisory Service on Agricultural Research for Development (BEAF) of GIZ.

Publications

2018

• Castonguay, A.C., Iftekhar, M.S., Urich, C., Bach, P.M., Deletic, A. 2018. Integrated modelling of stormwater treatment systems uptake. Water Research 142, 301-312. DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.05.037

• Castonguay, A.C., Urich, C., Iftekhar, M.S., Deletic, A. 2018. Modelling urban transition: a case of rainwater harvesting. Environmental modelling & Software 105, 270-285. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.05.001

2017

• Barron, N.J., Kuller, M., Yasmin, T., Castonguay, A.C., Copa, V., Duncan-Horner, E., Gimelli, F.M., Jamali, B., Nielsen, J.S., Ng, K., Novalia, W., Shen, P.F., Conn, R.J., Brown, R.R., Deletic, A. 2017. Towards water sensitive cities in Asia: an interdisciplinary journey. Water Science & Technology 76(5-6), 1150-1157 DOI: 10.2166/wst.2017.287
  
  

2016

• Castonguay, A.C., Burkhard, B., Muller, F., Horgan, F., Settele, J. 2016. Resilience and adaptability of rice terrace social-ecological systems: a case study of a local community’s perception in Banaue, Philippines. Ecology and Society 21(2):15. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-08348-210215 (PDF)

2016

• Castonguay, A.C., Urich, C., Iftekhar, M.S., Deletic, A. 2016. Modelling urban transition: a case of rainwater harvesting. In: Sauvage, S., Sanchez-Perez, J.M., Rizzoli, A.E. (Eds.), 2016. Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software, July 10-14, Toulouse, France. (ISBN: 978-8890357459)(PDF)

Awards and scholarships

2018

Postgraduate Publications Award, Monash University

2015

Monash Residential Services Postgraduate Merit Scholarship, Monash University

2015 – 2018

Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship, Monash University

2013

Master’s thesis grant, Advisory Service on Agricultural Research for Development (BEAF) of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ)

Selected courses and training

2012

Erasmus Intensive Programme
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland.
Ecological state of the lake during restoration measures

2009

Summer exchange program
Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima, Peru.
Introduction to business administration in Latin America

2008

Summer exchange program
Nankai University, Tianjin, China
Chinese language and culture course

• adam.castonguay@outlook.com
• adam.castonguay@outlook.com
• 74P Scenic Bld, Monash University, VIC, 3800, Australia