NOVEMBER NEWS 2010

A recently finished project (2007-2010) funded through

A recently finished project (2007-2010) funded through the "Development of Partnerships in Higher Education" (DelPHE) programme of the British Council and Department for International Development that Dr Mike Templeton co-lead with colleagues from the Nepal Engineering College and Preston University, Pakistan - has been specially highlighted as a success story in a recently released report: http://www.britishcouncil.org/delphe-case-studies-2010.pdf.  The project's primary aim was to build research and teaching capacity in the area of water and sanitation engineering at the Nepal Engineering College, to develop the future engineering leaders in this field in Nepal, and it also involved a research project in which we implemented and evaluated the success of low-cost and appropriate water and sanitation solutions for four poor communities in Nepal (three rural and one urban slum). The project is case study number 6 in the report.

Professor Nigel Graham was an invited participant at a UK-China Forum on Nanostructures/Nanotechnologies for Water, hosted by the University of Hong Kong during the 10th-13th November 2010. The aims of the forum were to: i) clarify recent advances in nanotechnologies for water treatment; ii) identify key technical/practical challenges in nanotechnologies for sustainable water supply; and iii) to build sustainable collaborative research and training schemes between China and the UK in this field. The event was supported by the UK Government (FCO/BIS) through the Science Innovation Network and the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and University College London. It was part of a series of discussion and exchange events since 2005 in nano- and materials science, in Dalian, Shenyang, Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai, Manchester, London, Cambridge, Oxford, etc., which have laid the foundation for several UK-China collaborative research projects funded by the RCUK and Chinese funding partners, with a total value over tens of millions of pounds. Professor Graham gave a presentation entitled, ‘Background and opportunities for nanotechnology in water treatment and supply'

Dr Geoff Fowler has been awarded the highly prestigious Lampitt Medal by the Society of Chemical Industry. This medal is only awarded to Members of the Society who have offered their own extraordinary gifts of time, leadership, vision and enthusiasm. Only those who have contributed to a variety of aspects of the Society are eligible to receive the award

Dr Costas Velis and Dr Chris Cheeseman were invited to provide the opening / wrapping up article in a recent publication from the specialist press organisation NEWZEYE, covering the “New and Emerging Technologies in Sustainable Resource Management”. In their article, titled “Waste in - Products out”, they review key challenges associated with the transition of the waste management industry to resource management. Focus is on added value created by waste processing technologies, such as waste-to-energy and mechanical-biological treatment. The publishers aim at a potential readership of “16,000 focused decision makers and influencers within waste and resource management companies”, to whom electronic or printed copies are going to be delivered. An electronic version (pdf) of the publication can be downloaded for free from the relevant NEWZEYE web-page (see the “How to order” section).