Calender 2008

Chapter 4 – Academic and research focus

University Research Strengths – Environmental sustainability

This information is current as at January 2008. The latest information is available from UTS Research.

This group includes the following strengths, each of which undertakes research that contributes to the study of sustainability and natural resources including water, energy, building materials and consumables.

Centre for Built Infrastructure Research
Institute for Sustainable Futures
Institute for Water and Environmental Resource Management

Centre for Built Infrastructure Research

The Centre's mission is to develop, at UTS, Australia's leading Centre for Built Infrastructure Research. It aims to do this by:

  • linking researchers from the faculties of Engineering; Science; and Design, Architecture and Building to form a multidisciplinary team with a comprehensive range of expertise and research facilities to tackle projects of national importance
  • undertaking collaborative research and development projects with industry, and forming collaborative partnerships with leading Australian and international research organisations
  • expanding the opportunities for UTS researchers to participate in leading-edge research related to new technologies and management practices aimed at developing and sustaining built infrastructure assets
  • creating an environment conducive to training the highest calibre of research students engaged in research areas of national and international significance
  • attracting funding through research contracts, high-level consultancy and competitive internal and external grants and presenting the outcome of research through reputable conferences and leading engineering journals
  • commercialising some of the Centre's research outcomes to increase the pool of funds available for further research and development and to make the research outcomes and benefits available to the wider community.

    • The main objective of the Centre is to become a centre of excellence, capable of responding to evolving needs of industry and the community in a discipline area with major impact on the nation's economy and welfare. In addition to raising the profile of built infrastructure research at UTS, the Centre aims to become the first choice provider of research and development services to industry.

    The current and proposed research projects to be undertaken by the Centre show that both fundamental and needs-driven research, related to infrastructure issues, rely on multidisciplinary approaches. One of the guiding principles that underpins the work of the Centre is that high-quality research which targets substantive issues must incorporate the relevant breadth of intellectual competencies and research experience. Further, as experimental and laboratory-based investigations play a pivotal role in infrastructure-related research, it is essential to have access to research facilities which mirror the multidisciplinary nature of such work.

    The Centre enables researchers to have access to a comprehensive network of complementary laboratory and research facilities. Many of these facilities have unique features which are second to none, not only in Australia but also in the Asia–Pacific region.

    Inquiries

    Professor Bijan Samali
    Director, Centre for Built Infrastructure Research
    CB02.5.114, City campus
    telephone +61 2 9514 2023
    fax +61 2 9514 2868
    email Bijan.Samali@uts.edu.au

    Institute for Sustainable Futures

    Information about the Institute for Sustainable Futures is available under Institutes.

    Institute for Water and Environmental Resource Management

    The Institute for Water and Environmental Resource Management (IWERM) is a transdisciplinary institute for collaborative research and consultancy within the field of environmental resource management. Both biotic and abiotic components of the landscape, and their interactions, are encompassed.

    The Institute is engaged in research and consultancies in the following key areas:

  • groundwater, vegetation and salinity interactions
  • plant and animal ecology
  • groundwater modelling
  • ecotoxicology
  • water resource management in rural and urban landscapes
  • wastewater engineering.

    • IWERM is engaged in research aimed at improving our understanding of, and management options for, water and ecosystem resource management. In addition, IWERM provides transdisciplinary capabilities to consultancies for industry and government agencies.

    Collaborative teams underpin the Institute's activities. Research teams of ecotoxicologists interact with groundwater modellers. Teams of ecologists and ecophysiologists pursue collaborative research projects with hydrologists. This allows the Institute to tackle real-world problems in environmental science and resource management.

    The research institutes of UTS provide a unique opportunity for the assembly of the critical mass of expertise required to tackle key research issues within environmental and resource management. IWERM is committed to contributing to the resolution of the conflict that arises between consumptive use, sustainable yield, resource mining and conservation of environmental resources in the landscape.

    Inquiries

    Professor Tally Palmer
    Director, Institute for Water and Environmental Resource Management
    CB04.5.50J, City campus
    email Tally.Palmer@uts.edu.au
    http://www.iwerm.uts.edu.au

     

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