The ARC Training Centre for The Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids partnered with the Australian & New Zealand Biosolids Partnership (ANZBP) to present its 2nd Annual Symposium hosted by UNSW as a hybrid event from the 5-7th September 2022.
The Transforming Biosolids Training Centre is focused around three main themes relating to the future use and management of biosolids:
The Centre has four university partners (RMIT, UNSW, UQ and UWA) and more than 25 industry partners. The annual Symposiums are a valuable opportunity to bring together all those involved in the ten research projects based over the 3 main themes. The 2022 symposium held at UNSW over three days had over 250 attendees from academia and industry.
Highlights included updates on the current progress of the three research themes, with outstanding presentations from many of the current HDR researchers and postdocs.
Industry speakers included Paul Higham (Sydney Water), Dr Jen Martin (Arcadis Australia Pacific), Craig Bagnall (SEATA group), Richard Lancaster (Atkins Global UK), Lauren Randall (Hunter Water), as well as Rob Tinholt (Watercare New Zealand).
Other highlights were the End-user and Producer Panel and the Industry Legends Panel where industry members discussed current issues and future opportunities of biosolids.
Training the next generation of researchers is a key outcome of the Transforming Biosolids Centre. Therefore, creating opportunities for students to showcase their work, as well as developing links with industry partners and each other is a key outcome of the Symposium.
WRC PhD student Marilyn Braine was awarded with the most professional presentation for a HDR video. Marilyn’s research topic is A Comprehensive Management Framework For Biosolids Management. See her video here:
WRC PhD student Jingwen Luo, whose topic is Sustainability assessment of biosolids management options, received an award for the best visual presentation. See more about Jingwen’s research here.
For Lisha Liu, a PhD student at WRC, the symposium was ‘a special opportunity for me to have a great insight of biosolids history by meeting biosolid legends, present my research to industry, build strong networking with industries and other PhD students in the Centre.’ Lisha’s PhD is looking at Odour Emission Modelling From Wastewater Treatment Systems. See Lisha’s HDR video here.
‘The Symposium was a success!’ said Thais Guerrero, PhD student from WRC. ‘The Symposium was a great chance to finally meet face-to-face with the other ITTC PhD students, post-docs and researchers, and the industry partners. We have been meeting online for the past year, and it was great to discuss our research and outcomes in person for the first time. I really enjoyed the conversations I had and the interest from the industry partners in my research. I am looking forward to the collaborations that will emerge from this event’. Thais’ PhD is on Land application of biosolids and odour emissions: Understanding impacts and opportunities for beneficial re-use. See Thais’ video here.
Dr Calvin He, a WRC Research Associate reflected, ‘As someone new to the field of biosolids, the Transforming Biosolids Symposium was an excellent opportunity to quickly get up to speed on the breadth of exciting research happening in all the projects of the Training Centre. It was interesting to discuss all the challenges faced by each sector of the biosolids industry, and to build connections aimed at solving those problems together. The highlight of the event for me was being able to freely converse with all the participants, from experienced industry leaders to students working on cutting-edge research. I can’t wait for the next one!” See more about Calvin’s research here.