Eric Laurenson Medal awarded to Peter Bach

Peter Bach, a recent PhD graduate and now Research Fellow in the Civil Engineering Department of Monash University, has been awarded the second annual Eric Laurenson Medal.

Peter’s PhD and current research includes integrated modelling, urban planning, stormwater quality, and urban liveability. During his PhD he worked on an interdisciplinary research project that led to the development of the planning-support model Urban Biophysical Environments and Technologies Simulator (UrbanBEATS).

He has developed close collaborations with leading overseas institutions, quickly gaining recognition here and overseas, being awarded membership of the management committee for the International Water Association’s Working Group on Modelling Integrated Urban Water Systems and the Organising Committee for the 10th Urban Drainage conference in Canada, 2015.

The Eric Laurenson medal is awarded each year to a recently graduated PhD candidate from Monash University who has demonstrated excellence in areas such as the quality of their PhD thesis; potential of their research to seed change in practice in water science, engineering and management; and the recipient’s role in communicating their research findings to industry.

Eric Laurenson, a former Chair of Civil Engineering (Water Resources) at Monash, was an influential figure in engineering hydrology in Australia. He made major contributions to many areas of flood estimation research including frequency analysis, dam safety, design losses, flood routing, and joint probability of factors affecting runoff generation and flow.