Plenary Speakers
Prof. Jaeweon Cho
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea
Jaeweon Cho is Science Art Writer and Environmental Engineer studying communication signs. He teaches Science Humanities and Environmental Ethics at UNIST. He has directed the Convergence Research Center, named 'Science Walden', supported by National Research Foundation of Korea, with convergence of science and arts being focused, between 2015-2021. He contributed as science consultant for the off-Broadway play, "Science in Theatre Festival" with the theme of feces Standard Money (fSM) in 2022, with the BeeVi toilet. He is one of founding members of North Korea Water Society under the ministry of Unification, Korea, since 2015, to discuss what should be done for Korean re-unification and on potential ways to collaborate to solve water issues in both Koreas, between two Koreas. He has been providing small water purification units being operated without electricity (named ‘OngDalSaem’), to villages in various different countries. He is authors of books, “Honey Money: fSM a new money for a new society” (2020, art.earth, UK), “This is not a toilet” (2021), “Cyborg Thinks Sense Laboratory” (2022), and “Climate Change Humanities” (2015). He wrote columns in Seoul Newspaper, in “Eco-science of Jaeweon Cho” (2022-2023).
"Driving the circular economy of nutrients through demand: the case of phosphorus"
Dana Cordell is a Research Director and Associate Professor at UTS’s Institute for Sustainable Futures, where she leads the Food Systems research group. She works with stakeholders across Australia, South Asia, UK and North America to co-identify how food systems can transform and circularise in response to a range of sustainability risks, from urban sprawl to climate change to the emerging global phosphorus challenge. Since co-founding the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative in 2008, Dana has been passionately dedicated to investigating measures that can ensure long-term availability and accessibility of phosphorus for future food security, while protecting the environment from nutrient pollution. Dana recently joined the UNEP-GEF uPcycle project led by UK CEH, which aims to accelerate the transition to a circular global phosphorus cycle to protect freshwater and coastal ecosystems. She currently co-leads the DFAT-funded PACSAN project which is modelling phosphorus and carbon emissions across Australia and China’s food value chains, and, identifying priority measures to mitigate these together with a network of stakeholders across both countries. As a Chief Investigator in the ARC Research Hub ‘Nutrients in a Circular Economy’, Dana is investigating the governance and market barriers to scaling up circular nutrient value chains in the Australian food system. Dana provides expert advice to the UN and national governments as a global food and phosphorus security expert. Her internationally recognised phosphorus research was awarded one of Australia’s top science prizes – a Eureka Prize.
A/Prof. Dana Cordell
Institute for Sustainable Futures
University of Technology Sydney
Dr. David Bergmann
South-East Water
Appointed as Non-Executive Director of WaterRA in 2020, David is the Research & Development Manager at Melbourne’s South East Water. He has over 20 years’ research and product development experience in highly commercial environments. David has led teams to deliver major business transformations, cost improvements and new product launches. David also works with the major universities engaging in activities such as co-supervision, advisory boards and chairing project steering committees. At South East Water, he shapes the R&D strategy, leads R&D governance, manages the intellectual property portfolio, and works extensively with their commercial subsidiary Iota to bring innovations to a broader market. He also is the Chair of a not-for-profit Board with a portfolio of community initiatives, schools, accommodation and aged care.
Professor Bernadette McCabe is currently Director at the University of Southern Queensland's (UniSQ) Centre for Agricultural Engineering (CAE) and is the Research Program Team Leader for Energy and Bioresource Recycling. Bernadette is Australia's National Team Leader for the International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy program Task 37: Energy from Biogas and is a member of the Australian Research Council (ARC) College of Experts.
Bernadette has a background in agricultural & industrial bioengineering and has more than 25 years’ experience as an academic and researcher. Her research investigates technologies to enable intensive Australian farming and food-processing industries to turn their commercial waste into a valuable commodity. She works with these industries to be more profitable by using organic waste to produce biogas, clean recycled water and biofertiliser. Her research has been applied to the livestock and cropping sectors (both on and off farm) and water utilities.
Bernadette extends her science communication beyond high impact journals by regularly contributing to media outlets to boost public awareness of bioenergy and bioresource recycling and has promoted science in schools since 2007 through CSIRO’s STEM Professionals in schools program.
Prof. Bernadette McCabe
University of Southern Queensland
Prof. Liu Ye
The University of Queensland, Australia
"Revisiting Resource Recovery from Used Water in the Net-Zero Emissions Era"
Prof Liu Ye is the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) research programme leader at The University of Queensland, Australia. Her research activities focus on finding innovative and practical solutions to tackle challenges in achieving net-zero emissions, climate resilience, and sustainability in the urban water sector. She has established national and international leadership in the research field of GHG emissions from urban wastewater systems and has been active in this area for over 15 years. Prof. Ye has led many government- and industry-funded research projects and has over 150 publications in this area. She is also the lead editor of the recently published IWA book “Quantification and Modelling of Fugitive Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Urban Water Systems.” The research outputs from her group not only advance the understanding of fundamental GHG production but are also adopted by water utilities to quantify and reduce GHG emissions in full-scale treatment plants. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and an elected member of the Strategic Council of the International Water Association (IWA) since 2022.
Roch is a key influencer in the water industry, with experience shaping and leading public and private corporations across Asia-Pacific region and Europe. Before joining Sydney Water, Roch was Chief Executive of South Australian Water Corporation (SA Water) where he led the transformation of South Australia’s largest water utility, embedding changes to technology, culture and systems to improve the experience for its 1.6 million customers.
Before joining SA Water, Roch was Chief Executive Officer of SUEZ for South East Asia and SUEZ-Degrémont Australia and New Zealand, Managing Director of United Utilities Asia and Pacific (TRILITY), and Chief Executive and Chair of Tallinn Water in Estonia. Roch holds formal qualifications in engineering and business management, and seeks to champion innovation, diversity and reconciliation in the workplace.
Member of the Safety and Wellbeing, Planning and Infrastructure, and People, Culture and Remuneration, and Economic Regulation committees. Roch is active across the water industry and is currently Chair of Water Services Association of Australia and was previously a member of the Advisory Committee of the Australian Water Partnership. He is also a member of the French-Australian Chamber of Commerce Advisory Council. A dual French and Australian citizen, Roch holds formal qualifications in Engineering and Business Management, and seeks to champion innovation and workplace diversity in the organisations he leads.
Roch Cheroux
Managing Director,
Sydney Water
Keynote Speakers
Prof. Mikel Duke
Professor of Membrane Science at the Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities at Victoria University
Applying the circular economy concept in the conversion of cyanobacterial nuisances into bio-based energy
Dr Mikel C Duke is Professor of Membrane Science at the Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities at Victoria University. His research in the fields of gas separation, water treatment and membrane science have attracted $24.4M of funding and publications have >10,000 citations. He is an Editor of the journal Desalination (IF = 8.8), the former President of the World Association of Membrane Societies (https://www.wa-ms.org/ ) and the founding President of the Membrane Society of Australasia (https://www.membrane-australasia.org/ ).
"Development of Dual Ammonia Removal/Recovery from Sludge Digestate using a Novel Hollow Fiber/Flat Sheet Membrane Distillation"
Dr. Alicia An received her PhD from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). With 20 years in the field of membrane-based water treatment, she has published over 130 papers, achieving an h-index of 42 and an FWCI of 2.48. Her work focuses on emerging technologies such as Membrane Distillation (MD), Forward Osmosis, and hybrid Reverse Osmosis for the removal of emerging pollutants and resource recovery. Dr. An has been recognized among the top 2% of the world's most highly cited scientists in a report by Elsevier and Stanford University since 2020. Dr. Alicia An was awarded the "RGC Research Fellow" title in the Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) by the HKRGC in 2022 and received the CityU Outstanding Research Award in 2023. She has secured over HK$50 million in research grant funding. Additionally, she serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Process Safety and Environmental Protection, and as an Editorial Board member for Desalination and the Journal of Water Process Engineering.
Prof. Alicia An
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, HKSAR
A/Prof. Sungyun Lee
Department of Environmental and Safety Engineering,
Kyungpook National University
"Machine Learning in the Circular Economy: Research Trend and Applications"
Prof. Sungyun Lee is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Safety Engineering at Kyungpook National University, Korea, since 2019. Before embarking on his academic career, he made significant contributions to forward osmosis membrane development as a senior researcher at Toray Chemical Korea. He further enhanced his expertise in membrane process research at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials. His research primarily focuses on membrane processes and water treatment, especially in areas such as forward osmosis, microbial fuel cells, and the analysis of natural organic matter. More recently, he has also explored the use of machine learning to optimize water treatment processes, aiming for water and energy sustainability.
Dr Amit Chanan is an experienced senior executive with a career spanning over two decades within the international water industry and infrastructure services. Amit is currently appointed as the Chief Executive Officer for the Water Authority of Fiji (WAF). Prior to this role, Amit was the Director City Projects and Property with The City of Sydney, Australia. He led the City’s centre of excellence in infrastructure delivery, responsible for developing and delivering major infrastructure projects to realise the Council’s strategic intent. Amit was also responsible for ensuring the sustainable performance of the City’s multi-billion dollar property portfolio, balancing return on investment with community and social objectives. Before that, Amit was the Chief Operating Officer of the New South Wales State Water Corporation. In this role, Amit represented the state of New South Wales on the River Murray Water Committee, an inter-jurisdictional entity comprising Commonwealth and State Governments to manage operational aspects of the Murray-Darling Basin. Amit is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Engineers. With a PhD in Engineering, Amit has strong academic interests and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology Sydney. He has published several academic papers and book chapters on topics of water management and environmental engineering. He is a member of the Editorial Board of UK’s Institute of Civil Engineers’ Journal of Municipal Engineering.
Amit is a Member of the Advisory Board to UNESCO, under its International Hydrological Program. He is also the Vice Chairman of the International Water Association’s Specialist Group on Water Security and Safety Management. Amit is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the WaterLinks, a Philippines based NGO focussed on water sector capacity building through collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region. Amit have chaired, led, and participated in numerous national and international conferences and symposia. Competition in water, efficiency of water services, and its interface with Smart Cities of the future are his particular areas of interest where he has published and spoken extensively both within Australia and globally.
Dr. Amit Chanan
Chief Executive Officer
Water Authority of Fiji (WAF)
Thomas Gao
The Chief Scientist office of NSW
"Tackling Climate and Environment Challenges with Science and Technology – The Approach by NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Office"
Thomas Gao serves as a Policy Manager at the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Office, an central agency that spearheads the state’s innovation policies and programs.
Thomas is a chemical engineer, certified project manager, and seasoned policy expert with over ten years of experience in leading strategies, grants program and expert advice services in the government and research sectors. He has played an instrumental role in advancing NSW’s clean economy through his leadership in Power-to-X initiatives, Decarbonisation Innovation Studies, and the Decarbonisation Innovation Hub.
Thomas holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with First Class Honors from the University of New South Wales, a master’s degree in Sustainable Energy from the University of Queensland, and a Diploma in Leadership and Management from the Australian Institute of Management.
Putting the economy in “circular economy”
Liana Downey is a recognised thought-leader in the areas of the energy transition, education and evidence-based policy-development. Downey’s experience includes commercial advisory roles in renewables and agri-tech, interim CEO at Blueprint, and Deputy Secretary for NSW Department of Education. She co-led the sustainability and public sector practices at McKinsey & Company, led a national policy climate research project (Common Ground on Climate), developed Australia’s first Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve and led a boutique government strategic advisory firm with offices in Sydney and New York.
Downey, GAICD, holds an MBA from Stanford University (Arjay Miller Scholar). Downey is the author of a numerous articles and papers and a book Publisher’s Weekly called a “must-read”, Mission Control: How Nonprofits and Governments can Focus, Achieve More and Change the World, was a former special advisor to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, taught public policy at New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Policy and is an experienced Board Director.
Liana Downey
CEO, Blueprint Institute
Prof Chia-hung Hou
National Taiwan University
Capacitive Deionization for Water Reclamation and Resource Recovery: Current Perspectives Aiming for Strategic Futures
Dr. Chia-Hung Hou is a professor in the Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University. His research focuses on electrochemical and membrane separation, water reuse and desalination. He has held positions in the committee members of the International Working Group for CDI&E and the IWA Membrane Technology Specialist Group.
"How the City of Sydney meet its bold water targets"
Mufid has over 26 years of experience in water and wastewater treatment. During his career, Mufid worked on the design, development of new technologies and products, construction and operation and maintenance of various water treatment applications.
Mufid has a wealth of experience in biological treatment, membrane application and water reuse.
Mufid worked in multiple countries, for small, large and government organisations.
Mufid has a degree in chemical engineering, business management, project management, asset management, innovation, and design thinking.
In his current role as a Water Systems manager, Mufid manages the City of Sydney's water strategy and drives the implementation plan, Mufid also manages multiple water recycling schemes as part of his role.
Mufid Noufal
Water Systems manager
City of Sydney
Sanjay Kumarasingham
NSW Manager for GANDEN Engineers & Project Managers
"Reflections on leadership to value water"
Sanjay is a recognised people manager and a result focussed charted professional engineer. He has held various senior roles within the private and public water utility sectors in Australia and New Zealand, leading teams of technical experts to meet project and operational goals. He specialises in transition phases of utilities, mergers, and has proven track record in operating large and medium scale resource recovery plants. His knowledge and skills include advanced wastewater treatment operation, process engineering, project management, plant management, and environmental management. His career developed at the largest advanced water reclamation facility, Mangere (390 MLD plant) where he was part of the operations team during a $500 million upgrade, Project Manukau.
Areas of expertise includes Process Engineering within advanced wastewater reclamation facilities, Operations Management of decentralised wastewater plants and recycling water plants. Projects include BNR, Anaerobic Digestion, Energy recovery through Co-generation, UV Disinfection studies. A published author and invited presenter on national radio and web portals for schools.
He adds value to teams that he leads and has extensive experience in high-value complex operations management and creating and developing teams that are inclusive and diverse. His contribution to the profession includes mentoring, communicating through technical publications, presenting to audit groups, and being a guest panel member at many industry events. He utilises his strategic leadership skills within many registered charities for causes such as preventing youth suicide, fair trade, governance, and achieving the sustainable development goals.
Medal-winners in the Olympics of urine technologies
Stefano is an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering – University of Melbourne and the Deputy Director of the ARC Hub for Nutrients in a Circular Economy. He obtained his PhD in 2008 from the University of Queensland, and later received a fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to undertake his post-doctoral studies at Kyoto University (2008-10). From 2010 to 2019 he was a researcher at the Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology at the University of Queensland. Stefano’s research focuses on the development of novel bio-electrochemical and hybrid biological/membrane processes to transform wastewater into a resource, to promote a circular economy of water and nutrients and to improve society’s water efficiency through technology. His key current research areas include urine separation and processing into fertilisers, tackling the issue of PFAS in sewage, and developing an understanding of electrochemical diversity of bacteria in nature.
A/Prof. Stefano Freguia
The University of Melbourne
Dr Dharma hagare
Senior Lecturer, Western Sydney University
Upcycling of Food Waste
Dr. Dharma Hagare, is a Senior Lecturer and researcher in the area of Sustainability Engineering at Western Sydney University. He is the leader of the Nutrient, Energy, Water and Materials Recycling Group (NEWMARG), which is focused on Circular Economy applications related to waste materials recycling. He has over 170 publications in international journals, conferences and book chapters. He has received over $3.4 million in research funding. Over the years, he has successfully supervised 14 PhD and 6 MPhil students to graduation. He has led as well as currently leading, several research projects which are funded by industries. His recent industry collaborators include Food Recycle, Global Renewables, Austral Bricks, several City Councils and other organisations. His pioneering work in food waste recycling has resulted in commercialisation opportunities for the industry partner. The technology that was concept tested is being implemented both nationally and internationally. Also, he is leading the research activities related to Recycled Water for Irrigation (RWI). Towards this end, he has established a research group involving several researchers from Australia, India and USA.
He is also a co-leader and co-founder of the Australia India Water Centre (AIWC). AIWC is a consortium of 10 Australian and 15 Indian Universities and Government Departments. As part of AIWC activities, he is leading several research projects in spring rejuvenation and wastewater recycling. In addition, he is leading several capacity-building activities between Australian and Indian Universities.
Introduction and Future Plans of the Green Desalination Research Lab
: A Crucial Step Towards Circular Economy
Dr. June-Seok Choi is a Research fellow of Department of Environment Research at Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) in Republic of Korea and Representative Professor of KICT School at University of Science and Technology (UST) in Republic of Korea. He has (co)authored over 50 peer-reviewed international journal publications, primarily focusing on desalination technology.
Prof June-Seok Choi
Representative Professor of KICT School at University of Science and Technology (UST) in Republic of Korea
Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Mining Wastewater using Functionalised Nanomaterials: a solution towards circular economy
Prof. S. Vigneswaran is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and Research Professor at Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Prior to it, he was Distinguished Professor and Professor for 30 years. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Water Association (IWA).
Emeritus Prof Saravanamuth Vigneswaran
Emeritus Professor, University of technology Sydney