The post Meeting SDG6 in the Pacific — Challenges and actions appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>This event will present a summary of the challenges facing Pacific Island Countries and Territories and the concrete actions that must be taken to meet SDG6, as identified at the 6th Pacific Water and Wastewater Ministers Forum (November 2022, Republic of Fiji).
This event will be held online at the following times:
New York: 20 March (Mon) 6-7PM EDT
Fiji: 21 March (Tues) 10-11AM FJT
Sydney: 21 March (Tues) 9-10AM AEDT
Registration and attendance instructions
- Click the ‘register’ link
- Once you have filled out your details and submitted your registration, you will receive an automated confirmation email.
- The day before the event, you will receive your access details to join the virtual session. If you register on the day before the event, this process will be automated and you will receive access details upon submission of your registration.
Speakers
- Hon. Ro Filipe Tuisawau MP, Minister for Ministry of Public Works and Meteorological Services
- Mr. Taitusi Vakadravuyaca, Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Public Works and Meteorological Services
- Ms Pitolau Lusia Sefo Leau, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Water and Wastewater Association
- Mr. Ian Gooden, Chairperson, Pacific Water and Wastewater Association
- Session Host: Mr. Manasa Tusulu, Manager Research Evaluation & Monitoring, Water Authority of Fiji
If you have any inquiries related to the event, please contact Genevieve Poblete
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]]>The post WaterRA students celebrate publication of papers appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>PhD Candidate Edward Tsyrlin (University of Melbourne) has had a third paper from his research published in the Journal of Environmental Management:
Edward’s paper shows that if waterway managers want to use a macroinvertebrate dataset for conservation planning as well as for monitoring of river health, they must use species-level taxonomy rather than family-level taxonomy. Previously, identifying freshwater invertebrates to the species level using DNA analysis was expensive and impractical, but thanks to the efforts of PEARG and others, it is now quick and affordable.
PhD Candidate Kala Senathirajah (University of Newcastle) has been published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials:
“A disaster risk reduction framework for the new global instrument to end plastic pollution”
Kala’s paper explores the implications of framing plastic pollution as a ‘disaster’ in light of the development of the new global instrument to end plastic pollution by aligning the objectives of the United Nations (UN) Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SF) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and thereby also complementing the many climate and non-climate mandates embedded within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
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]]>The post PhD scholarship opportunity appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>If you have an interest in machine learning approaches for quantifying and identifying microorganisms in water and wastewater treatment then click here to read more.
The scholarship package will provide you with professional development benefits such as connections and experience with industry, academia and Water Research Australia members.
Potential candidates must meet the Monash University enrolment criteria. International students must apply before 31 March 2023. Open to Domestic students until the position is filled.
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]]>The post Prestigious Nancy Millis Memorial PhD Award 2023 recipient announced appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>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.
The post Prestigious Nancy Millis Memorial PhD Award 2023 recipient announced appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>The post Water wisdom celebrated at successful Next Water event appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>At this year’s event, held in Sydney on February 22nd and 23rd, discussions were guided by the overarching theme Water Wisdom to Future Flow. Next Water saw attendance from utilities, researchers, health regulators, government, non-government organisations and consultants.
Astronomer Professor Alan Duffy kicked off proceedings, taking delegates on a journey of discovery looking at the search for water beyond Earth. Water expert Professor John Thwaites shared valuable insights on how researchers can better engage with government, and globally renowned researcher Dr Fiona Kerr
Joining the headliners were over 60 top-class speakers from Australia and around the world shared their views on the biggest trends and challenges facing the water industry, including:
- The diversification of water sources;
- Recognising First Nations water wisdom and research;
- Current and emerging challenges;
- Innovating with technology and ingenuity;
- Wastewater in the circular economy;
- Monitoring for human health;
- Planning for resilience;
- Managing our blue-green future; and,
- Net Zero.
The event also incorporated a successful Water Leaders’ Lunch, a tour of Australia’s largest smart blue-green infrastructure R&D project, and a dinner celebrating our Research Leadership Program with the awarding of the 2023 Nancy Millis Award.
“Next Water is a prime example of the commitment, passion and determination of our BIG Team – showcasing how collaboration drives innovation,” WaterRA CEO Karen Rouse said. “Now, more than ever, as challenges we are facing seem to come more frequently and on a global scale, our community’s ability to come together and innovate is what will drive the sector forward.
“Next Water exceeded our most optimistic expectations and the excitement was like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” Rouse said. “The delegates loved being back in person, listening to our fascinating keynotes and discovering all the latest advances in water.
“The event’s success demonstrated how our BIG Team of members, our supporters and our partners all share in our vision to be the leading source of water science and wisdom for healthy communities and healthy planet.”
Next Water 2023 was generously supported by sponsors Global Water Institute at UNSW, Veolia Australia and Melbourne Water.
Click here to view all the action from Next Water and look out for further information, including event presentations, on the Next Water website soon.
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]]>The post Curious to know what water tastes like on the moon? appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>Alan will be joined by other fascinating keynotes, including globally renowned researcher Fiona Kerr and water expert John Thwaites, who will come together with water industry professionals and academics from across Australia, to discuss the next game-changing research.
The program for this two-day event, to be held in Sydney on February 22nd and 23rd features other thought provoking presentations and will allow delegates to discuss focussed questions on our overarching theme Water Wisdom to Future Flow.
This event is supported by sponsors Global Water Institute at UNSW, Veolia and Melbourne Water. Registration is limited to just over 200 participants, to ensure the event is highly interactive, with a strong focus on producing results from each session.
We hope you find something that interests you in the program and that you join us for Next Water 2023. Visit the event website to register now!
The post Curious to know what water tastes like on the moon? appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>The post See Australia’s largest smart blue-green infrastructure R&D project in action appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>Located in Bicentennial Park in a 40 hectare, fully irrigated parkland in Sydney Olympic Park, the SIMPaCT project – Smart Irrigation Management for Cool Parks and Towns – is working to reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect by maximising the transpiration cooling provided by plants. The project uses smart sensing technology and artificial intelligence to optimise irrigation of the entire parkland.
The technology is designed to create an autonomous natural urban air conditioning system that knows when it will be hot and how to adjust water management throughout a complex landscape to cool the area inside and around the park.
Led by Western Sydney University, SIMPaCT is funded by the Digital Restart Fund of the NSW Government and Sydney Water, and brings together universities, government agencies and industry.
Next Water, Australia’s leading scientific and technical conference on research and innovation, will be held in Sydney on February 22nd and 23rd. The event will bring together water industry professionals and academics from across Australia.
Register now for Next Water to take advantage of this exclusive opportunity and join the lunch hour walking tour where SIMPaCT project partners will demonstrate how science and industry are working together to deliver innovative and effective urban cooling solutions.
The tour is strictly limited to 50 delegates to ensure maximum participation. If you have already registered for Next Water please email Jessica Burgess to add the walking tour to your ticket, free of charge.
The post See Australia’s largest smart blue-green infrastructure R&D project in action appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>The post Data Science for Water Professionals courses to return in 2023 appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>Water and data science specialist Dr Peter Prevos will once again guide participants through tailored workshops, designed to equip learners with the basics of data science using the R language to analyse water management problems. The skills learned will be fully transferable to other data science languages, such as Python or Julia.
Participants will have the opportunity for a hands-on approach to using practical examples of water quality, customer experience, and smart metering from the water industry to help develop and demonstrate skills to undertake complex data analysis and visualisation.
The workshop has been designed in two stages, Level 1 for beginners who want to understand the foundations of practical data science; and Level 2 will build upon and expand skills to create value from data. All workshop sessions consist of theory, examples, and a real-world case study from a water utility.
The Data Science for Water Professionals workshops consist of two live and interactive 3-hour sessions, one week apart.
Dates
Level 1: 7th and 14th March
Level 2: 21st and 28th March
Time
1 – 4 PM Sydney Time
Location
Online
Registrations for Level 1 and Level 2 will open on Wednesday February 1st, 2023. For further enquiries please contact WaterRA’s Research Capability Manager Carolyn Bellamy.
The post Data Science for Water Professionals courses to return in 2023 appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>The post Next Water ’23 | Early bird ticket offer ends soon! appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>The early bird offer enables delegates to save $210 on a full conference registration, which includes access to all conference sessions and workshops.
Water Research Australia also added even more to the preliminary program for this two-day event, to be held in Sydney on February 22nd and 23rd. The line-up features fascinating keynotes, thought provoking presentations, and will allow delegates to discuss focussed questions on our overarching theme Water Wisdom to Future Flow.
Our keynotes include astrophysicist Prof Alan Duffy, globally renowned researcher Fiona Kerr and water expert John Thwaites. There will also be guest appearances from AquaWatch Australia Mission Lead, Dr Alex Held, and anthropology & global health expert Assoc Prof Sera Young.
Next Water will bring together water industry professionals and academics from across Australia and the world to explore and discuss:
- Diversification of water sources
- Planning for a resilient water sector
- Technology and innovation for treatment and source applications
- Emerging challenges for human and environmental health
- And more…
This event is supported by sponsors Global Water Institute at UNSW, Veolia and Melbourne Water. Registration is limited to just over 200 participants, to ensure the event is highly interactive, with a strong focus on producing results from each session.
We hope you find something that interests you in the program and that you join us for Water Wisdom to Future Flow in February 2023. You can register here and now enjoy early bird rates until close of business January 31st.
The post Next Water ’23 | Early bird ticket offer ends soon! appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>The post Our NEXT keynote speaker is out of this world 🚀 appeared first on Water Research Australia.
]]>A professional astrophysicist, Alan creates model universes within supercomputers to study the growth of galaxies, from the Big Bang to the present day. As well as learning how galaxies form, these simulations let him uncover the nature of the invisible Universe; made up of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Alan then uses his passion for science communications to explain these discoveries to general audiences. He is a regular on TV and radio, such as The Project TV, ABC, Triple J and more.
Join us for this two-day event to be held in Sydney on February 22nd and 23rd, to discover more from Alan about the world of astronomy and his passion for science. The line-up features other fascinating speakers, including globally renowned researcher Fiona Kerr and water expert John Thwaites, as well as thought provoking presentations, and will allow delegates to discuss focussed questions on our overarching theme Water Wisdom to Future Flow. View the preliminary program to see what else is in store.
During January our special early bird ticket offer for Next Water ’23 continues! Join us at Australia’s leading scientific and technical conference on research and innovation, together with other water industry professionals and academics from across Australia, to discuss the next game-changing research. The early bird offer enables delegates to save $210 on a full conference registration, which includes access to all conference sessions and workshops.
This event is supported by sponsors Global Water Institute at UNSW, Veolia and Melbourne Water. Registration is limited to just over 200 participants, to ensure the event is highly interactive, with a strong focus on producing results from each session. Register here to join us in Sydney.
The post Our NEXT keynote speaker is out of this world 🚀 appeared first on Water Research Australia.
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