PhD graduates show breadth of water research

Twenty-three students have graduated with PhDs in water-related research in the first UNSW graduation ceremony of 2017.

Graduation took place from 13 June to 23 June at the Kensington Campus, and the number of PhDs awarded spanning water-related topics asserts the increasing urgency of advancing knowledge in this domain.

Water management is now about so much more than traditional engineering

Prof Mark Hoffman, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering

However, it is the incredible breadth of research on display which is truly extraordinary –providing a snapshot of the vast expertise in the faculties of Science and Engineering available through UNSW Global Water Institute (UNSW-GWI).

Professor Emma Johnston, Dean of the Faculty of Science, said “We know that integrated approaches are essential for solving the world’s water issues, and the diverse array of expertise available at UNSW-GWI solidifies us as a leader in the space of interdisciplinary water research and sustainable solutions.”

The recent PhD graduates span the Schools of Microbiology, Geology, Geography, Climate Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Chemical Engineering, with theses examining, artificial reefs, rainfall estimation, membrane bioreactors, tsunami dynamics and much more.

“Water management is now about so much more than traditional engineering,” said Prof Mark Hoffman, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

“We’re proud to be attracting some of the best new minds in all disciplines encompassing water, and our capability in this arena only continues to grow.”

RECENT GRADUATES

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering:

Mohammad Mihadi Hasan - Radar rainfall estimation: consideration of input and structural uncertainty

Ke He - Numerical modelling of cracking in embankment dams

Mohammad Zaved Khan - Modelling seasonal rainfall forecasts forced with improved predictive ocean surface temperature

Jingwan Li - Correcting model bias to allow assessment of climate change impact on design rainfalls

Bushra Naseem - Ecohydrological modelling for streamflow prediction

Eytan Rocheta - On low-frequency rainfall variability bias in climate model simulations

Arvin Saket - Breaking for 2D and 3D gravity wave groups in deep and transitional water

Kai Wang - Extracellular electron transfer by marine and freshwater Phytoplankton:  implications to iron transformations and oxidant production

Anna Chi Ying Yeung - The role of iron in regulation of the freshwater cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii

Jeffrey Huijie Yu - Immobilized AgCl photocatalysts and biomimetic high valent iron-oxo catalysts:  preparation, characterisation and evaluation towards contaminants degradation

School of Chemical Engineering

Vita Wonoputri - Development of copper based material systems for generating nitric oxide to control nitrifying bacterial biofilms

Amos Daniel Branch - Validation of membrane bioreactors for water recycling

School of Science

Budoor Mohammed Alqarni - Mechanisms of carbon starvation induced biofilm dispersal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Yan Liao - Genetics and proteomics of haloarchaea from Deep Lake, Antarctica

Pejhman Keshvardoust - The role of ammonia oxidising bacteria in mixed-species biofilm formation and chloramine decay

Damon Kai Bolton - Multiple abiotic and biotic factors influence predation pressure by fish on sessile hard substrate assemblages

Sally Anne Bracewell - Mechanisms of coexistence and community assembly in marine sessile invertebrates over a latitudinal gradient

Krystle Keller - Sydney’s designed artificial reef:  the recreational fishery and movements of fish

Acacia Sarah Pepler - The influences on Australian east coast lows in present and future climates

Christie Webster - Evapotranspiration, wildfire, and catchment water balance in south-east Australia

Claire Louise Kain - Understanding the dynamics of tsunamis from signatures in the landscape

Simone Birrer - Microbes, contaminants, and molecular biomonitoring: Structural and functional sediment community responses to multiple stressors

Chris Setio - Evaluating the stock enhancement of eastern king prawns into a south-east Australian estuary