Since 08/2026 – Research Associate in Resource-Efficient Wastewater Treatment, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Kaiserslautern, Germany

06/2026 – PhD Thesis Defense
Thesis: Treatment Performance and Operational Constraints of Decentralized Zero-Liquid Discharge Sanitation Systems

05/2025 – 06/2026 – Student Research Assistant, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Kaiserslautern, Germany

06/2024 – 01/2025 – Visiting Scientist in Resource-Efficient Wastewater Treatment, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Kaiserslautern, Germany

03/2021 – 06/2026 – PhD in Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Campo Grande, Brazil

01/2020 – 04/2025 – Project Manager, Aguapé Permacultura, Corumbá, Brazil
Development, design, and implementation of decentralized sanitation systems in rural and riverside communities in Mato Grosso do Sul.

01/2017 – 01/2018 – FÖJ Volunteer in Permaculture Ecovillages, Brazil
Voluntary ecological year in different permaculture projects in Brazil (Flor da Vida, Barra Grande, Piauí; Flor da Moringa, Majorlândia, Ceará; Unipermacultura, Alpestre, Rio Grande do Sul), focusing on agroforestry and decentralized wastewater management techniques.

03/2016 – Inter-University Exchange in Food Technology, Hochschule Neubrandenburg, Neubrandenburg, Germany
Scholarship awarded through the Brazilian government's Science Without Borders program. Completed courses in Biogenic Energy Technologies, Process Development, and Efficient Energy Management.

01/2013 – 07/2014 – Undergraduate Research Student, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Contributed to the project Phosphorus Dynamics in Jurujuba Bay. Conducted fieldwork and laboratory analyses of sediment biopolymers and investigated phosphorus dynamics in water samples.

06/2010 – 12/2016 – Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Bachelor's thesis: Hydrogen Stream Purification Routes for Food Industry Applications

• DECIRE-WATER – Decentralized Solutions for a Circular and Efficient Water Management – from Demonstration to the Market
  Horizon Europe research project developing and demonstrating decentralized and circular water and wastewater management solutions in Europe and South Africa. bauing.rptu.de/ags/wir/forschung-projekte/projekte-detailansicht/news/decire-water
• TERRA – Nature-Based Technologies and Digital Solutions for Resilient, Resource-Efficient and Adaptive Urban Water Management
  German-Brazilian research cooperation focusing on nature-based technologies and digital solutions for sustainable and adaptive urban water management.
• LaWiWa – Scenarios for Agricultural and Landscape Change in Grassland Regions Exemplified by the Oberbergischer Kreis Districtbauing.rptu.de/ags/wir/forschung-projekte/projekte-detailansicht/news/lawiwa
• EVEREST – Evaluation of a Nature-Based, Resource-Efficient Process for the Treatment of Household Wastewater Streams
  Research project at the Reinighof site, funded by the Willy Hager Foundation. This is the official English project title used by RPTU. bauing.rptu.de/en/wgs/wir/research-projects/projects-detail/news/everest
• CAPES/DAAD PROBRAL – German-Brazilian Research Cooperation Programme
  Research cooperation programme between Brazil and Germany funded by CAPES and DAAD
• Performance of the Anaerobic Digestion Chamber in an Evapotranspiration Tank (EVAT) Treating Toilet Wastewater

Pinto, V.; Morandi, C.; Sijekula, M.; Basabele, N.; Hamunakwadi, P. (2026): Workshop Closing the Loop: Decentralised Water Solutions in Practice. Pan African City Symposium and Exposition (PACSE), July 2026. Gqeberha, South Africa.

Pinto, V.; Morandi, C.; Steinmetz, H.; Paulo, P. (2025): Performance of a nitrifying constructed wetland under high ammonium loading from urine-derived effluents. 11^th International Conference on Wetland Pollutant Dynamics and Control – WETPOL. Conference Proceedings and Presentation. Gdansk, Poland.

Pinto, V.; Morandi, C.; Steinmetz, H.; Paulo, P. (2025): Performance and Optimization of a decentralized Resource-Oriented Sanitation System. Proceedings of the 7th IWA International Conference on Ecotechnologies for Wastewater Treatment. Stockholm, Sweden.

Pinto, V. (2025): Case Study: Struvite Precipitation and Constructed Wetlands Applied to Urine and Greywater Treatment. Environmental Engineering Week, 21 October 2025, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Campo Grande, Brazil.

Pinto, V.; Morandi, C.; Steinmetz, H.; Paulo, P. (2024): Onsite greywater and blackwater management: nature-based solutions for water and nutrient reuse. IWA Nutrient Removal and Recovery Specialist Conference – NRR. November 2024. Conference Proceedings and Presentation. Brisbane, Australia.

Pinto, V.; Paulo, P. (2023): Resource Oriented Sanitation in riverside communities in the Brazilian Pantanal. 1st IWA Non-Sewered Sanitation Conference, October 2023. Conference Proceedings and Presentation. Johannesburg, Südafrika. 

Pinto, Virginia; Morandi, Carlo; Steinmetz, Heidrun; Paulo, Paula (2026): Operation and clogging mechanisms of a refurbished vertical-flow filter treating urine-derived wastewater. Water Science and Technology. DOI: 10.2166/wst.2026.298

Pinto, V.; Morandi, C.; Steinmetz, H.; Paulo, P. (2025): Performance and Optimization of a decentralized Resource-Oriented Sanitation System. Proceedings of the 7th IWA International Conference on Ecotechnologies for Wastewater Treatment. Sweden. ISBN: 978-91-7485-724-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17603718

Magalhães Filho, F; Moreira, A; Pinto, Virginia; Paulo P (2022): The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: What the Brazilian research has to say. Chapter 15 - Relationship between resource-oriented sanitation and the Nexus approach: water, energy and food perspectives on management and technologies. 1st ed., São Paulo: USP, 2022, v. 1, p. 259-279. DOI: 10.11606/9786588304075