Dr Helen Rutlidge
Dr. Helen Rutlidge is a lecturer in Chemical Engineering with extensive experience in water quality and organic matter characterisation. Her research focuses on understanding processes that influence water quality in surface water and groundwater, with a particular focus on natural organic matter. Dr Rutlidge has led industry research projects with a range of water-related companies, including Seqwater, WaterNSW, and SEUZ. She has been invited to be a peer reviewer on DPIE water quality reports.
After completing her PhD, Helen started working at UNSW in a role that was a 50/50 split between providing technical support in the Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre (MWAC) and research as part of the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. Her key responsibility was establishing laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) in the MWAC. She then worked in several postdoctoral positions at UNSW including working on the following projects:
- ‘Research to inform the assessment of ecohydrological responses to coal seam gas extraction and coal mining’
- ‘Groundwater organic matter: carbon source or sink?’
- 'Where is all the water?'
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
- City of Parramatta (2025) – "Water Quality Monitoring Technologies"
- WaterNSW (2024) – "Fire & Ash: Understanding Organic Matter Character"
- RAAP NSW co-investment support (2019) – "NCRIS Groundwater Infrastructure Programme"
- RAAP NSW co-investment support (2018) – “Groundwater Infrastructure”
- UNSW Major Equipment grant (2018) – “LGR Portable Gas Analyser”
- AINSE research grant (2014) – “Paleoclimate records in cave speleothems”
My Teaching
I have been involved in teaching several undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various areas including groundwater hydrology, environmental chemistry and geophysics. I am currently teaching CVEN9884 Environmental Chemical and Microbial Processes, CVEN9885 Transformation of Contaminants, and CVEN9630 Groundwater Hydrology.