University of Melbourne PhD candidate, Angel Chyi En We, has been awarded Water Research Australia’s 2023 Nancy Millis Memorial Award.

The award, presented annually, is for a student who has demonstrated initiative, has exceptional qualities and a passion for research. It honours Nancy Millis who was a microbiologist of international repute who made enormous contributions in agriculture, environmental protection, medicine, and engineering.

Water utilities are required to manage the release of chemical contaminants from their sewage treatment plants. Particularly, it is expected that some of these chemicals will be regulated to an extent that industry will be required to implement additional barriers, with consequent increase in the costs to customers. Angel is working together with Melbourne Water and Greater Western Water, on her project Novel electrochemical treatment for mineralisation of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) for wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) end products.

Her work has identified a possible route for low-cost removal and destruction of organic chemicals of emerging concern in sewage treatment plants and the project will prove the concept for this route, which is based on foam fractionation and electrochemical destruction.

Angel commenced her PhD in June 2022, supervised by Dr Stefano Freguia at the University of Melbourne. Angel received her MPhil and BTech from the University of Technology Malaysia and Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur. She has been working with water and wastewater treatment research topics since 2015, including aerobic granulation for sewage treatment and biosorbents for the removal of pollutants from palm oil mill effluent. Angel hopes to use her knowledge she has gained to support water sustainability.

The Nancy Mills Award presents a wonderful opportunity for early career scientists like Angel to develop complementary skills and develop networks with other industry professionals.

The late Emeritus Professor Nancy Millis AC MBE was appointed Chair of the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment (CRCWQT) from 1995 until 2008 and subsequently maintained her involvement through the Education Program and on the Scientific Advisory Committee following the inception of Water Research Australia.

To find out more about the late Professor Nancy Millis, her extraordinary life, and successful career as a leading female researcher click here.

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Minh Duc Nguyen’s research is a collaborative project between Water Research Australia, Deakin University and Barwon Water to develop innovative technologies to reuse and manage water treatment sludge.  Minh Duc was awarded the 2020 Nancy Millis Memorial PhD Award, an Australia Award in 2013 and most recently awarded International Student of the Year (Regional) at the 2021-22 Victorian International Education Awards.

Another congratulations to Melbourne Water, University of Queensland, University of Melbourne and Ektimo for taking out the R&D Excellence Award at the AWA’s Victorian Water Awards with their project: Real Greenhouse Gas Emission Measurement and Reporting for Real Reductions As We Move Toward Net Zero.

Led by WaterRA Graduate Peter Wardrop, Melbourne Water’s greenhouse gas measurement program establishes validated methods to accurately measure and quantify emissions from sewage treatment, significantly improving industry knowledge and reporting methodologies. Accurate emission measurement is critical to assess mitigation strategy effectiveness as we move towards a net-zero carbon future, ensuring our efforts focus on real reductions.

As leaders in collaborative water research, WaterRA supports innovation in the sector through long-term sponsorship of both the national and state-based Research and Development Excellence Awards offered by the Australian Water Association.

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A collaborative partnership, the One Basin CRC, led by the University of Melbourne, will develop and commercialise opportunities for Australia’s irrigated agriculture and rural water industries.

One Basin CRC will create and assess new sustainable water and agricultural technologies and drive their adoption by water managers and farmers to increase agricultural production while ensuring environmental resilience and sustainability. First Nations inclusion, recognition and respect will also be a core element of the initiative.

University of Melbourne Professor Mike Stewardson, leading the One Basin CRC as interim CEO, said the One Basin CRC is shaped by industry and will pave the way to transform irrigation regions across Australia and internationally.

“By 2037, an estimated $4.3 billion of economic impact will be generated by innovation in water, agriculture and energy technology, enhanced forecasting and decision-making capacity, with a focus on sustainability and resilience in the face of climate change,” Professor Stewardson said in a statement.

“Australia’s irrigation regions are the powerhouse of Australia’s agricultural sector producing 50 per cent of Australia’s agricultural profits, with the Murray-Darling Basin being the focus of two thirds of that irrigated agriculture.”

Water Research Australia supported the One Basic CRC funding bid will play a role in the collaborative partnership on behalf of our members. General Manager Research Services Jacqueline Frizenschaf said WaterRA’s focus will be in the areas of knowledge transfer.

“We will impart outreach and knowledge transfer efforts for the benefit of our members, primarily through our Research Leadership Program and the Australian Water School,” Frizenschaf said.

“With Reconciliation Action Plans of our water utilities now actively progressing to include traditional owners in their business, WaterRA is ready to offer to our industry members additional opportunities to increase research for and with traditional owners in the Murray Darling Basin.”

Over its ten-year term, One Basin CRC’s activities will be concentrated across four regional Basin hubs located at Loxton, Mildura, Griffith and Goondiwindi, working directly with industry, businesses, First Nations, community and government.

For more information contact Jacqueline Frizenschaf or visit the One Basin CRC website.

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