UNSW water experts

20 October 2004

The University of New South Wales offers the broadest range of water research in Australia. Through the Centre for Water Waste Research, the Water Research Laboratory and various schools within the university, experts cover everything from water policy and urban water systems to coastal, ground, estuarine and inland water, preventing and managing contaminants and organisational factors affecting sustainable water development.

Professor Nick Ashbolt
Professor Ashbolt advises on water quality management at a global level. A member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council group that worked on recycling water for our cities, he drafted the WHO's recreational water guidelines for microbiology and has provided position papers for their emerging guidelines for wastewater recycling and drinking water. He sits on expert microbiological panels for the National Health and Medical Research Council, leads European projects on microbial risk management and is a key player in pathogen-related research for the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment. An expert in pathogens in the water supply and sustainable water systems. He is working on innovative urban water systems in Sweden and in Australia. He speaks regularly in the media.
Contact: 02 9385 5946; n.ashbolt@unsw.edu.au

Associate Professor Greg Leslie
Associate Professor Leslie, of the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology at UNSW, is an expert on water reuse. Before joining the UNESCO centre, Leslie worked on two of the world's largest urban water recycling projects - California's groundwater replenishment system and Singapore's NEWater scheme - developed in response to dwindling water resources. He is well versed on matters such as public perception on water reuse. He is an experienced media commentator and has authored several published opinion pieces.
Contact: 02 9385 6092, 0414 234 345; g.leslie@unsw.edu.au

Professor Tony Fane
Professor Fane is director of the UNESCO Centre for Membrance Science and Technology. He can speak with authority about the differences between desalination and water reuse, including the cost of each.
Contact: ph 0419 525 592.

Dr Roya Sheikholeslami
Dr Sheikholeslami is with the School of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry. She is an expert on desalination, especially in certain industrial uses. She has spoken several times in the media on the issue of desalination.
Contact: ph 02 9385 54345 r.sheikholeslami@unsw.edu.au

Professor David Waite
Professor Waite is Director of the Centre for Water Waste Research in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is a leading environmental chemist who specialises in water and wastewater treatment processes, photochemistry in aquatic systems; and the fate and effects of chemical pollutants. He has overseen studies on the most efficient systems and can speak on issues such as desalination versus water reuse. He has published many leading papers, including one that has implications for the management of coastal development in the world's tropical regions. He has been interviewed for local and international media.
Contact: ph 02 9385 5060, 0414 385 162; d.waite@unsw.edu.au

Professor Deo Prasad
Professor Prasad runs the Centre for a Sustainable Built Environment at UNSW. He is a world expert on sustainable living and housing and has built his own award-winning sustainable house which includes a rainwater and greywater system. He is an excellent media commentator.
Contact: ph 02 9385 4868, 0414 385 486.

Contact details: Mary O'Malley, UNSW Media unit, ph 02 9385 2873, 043 888 1124, email m.omalley@unsw.edu.au

Date Issued: October 18, 2004