The CRCWSC team is growing

We’ve recently welcomed some new faces to the CRCWSC. We’re grateful for the great mix of highly qualified and dedicated people we have on our team.

Malcolm Eadie recently moved his family from Queensland to Melbourne to take up his new role as CRCWSC’s Commercial Manager. Malcolm offers 25 years of experience as a consulting engineer in the water resources sector with a focus on integrated urban water management. He’s worked throughout Australia and internationally for multinational firms and, more recently, as managing director of smaller niche consultancies providing specialist advisory and design services in the water sensitive urban design and integrated water cycle management space.

Malcolm will help us to build market awareness of our research findings and market capacity to apply our research derived tools and products. If you’d like to chat to Malcolm, you can contact him at malcolm.eadie@monash.edu.

We said goodbye to Nora Foley, our Research Portfolio Manager, in August. Nora took up a continuing position at the Office of Sponsored Research at the University of Queensland, and we wish her all the very best. Stepping into Nora’s role is Samantha Lemons.

Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Samantha has a Master of Conservation Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies. During her studies, Samantha worked with world-class physics researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems at the University of Queensland, and earlier as a lab assistant at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTARR) at the University of Colorado. Her research focused on the interactions between natural organic matter and trace elements, and the influence on water quality in pristine and polluted environments.

As part of Jurg Keller’s team, Samantha will coordinate the CRCWSC’s research program delivery with multiple stakeholders across Australia, to develop highly effective collaborative relationships and initiatives, and to create and maintain business and communications processes that effectively meet stakeholder needs. You can contact Samantha at sam.lemons@crcwsc.com.au.

Within the research programs, we have four new members joining our IRP2 team:

• Dr Maksym Polyakov, a Senior Research Fellow at UWA, whose interests focus on the integration of economics and environment. Maksym worked for the CRCWSC during tranche 1 on non-market values of rainwater tanks, urban living stream improvement, and optimal strategies to reduce non-point source pollution in an urban catchment.   His role on IRP2 includes several of the economic evaluation case studies to test the integrated economic evaluation framework (WP5).

• Dr Abbie Rogers, a Research Fellow at UWA, who has worked extensively in the field of non-market valuation. Abbie will contribute to all work packages in IRP2 and is currently working on the Guidelines for the INFFEWS Value tool (WP2) and undertaking an assessment of community preferences for improving the heritage-listed Main Outfall Sewer reserve in Melbourne (WP5.1).

• Louise Blackmore, a Research Associate, provides research support to all work packages, including the economic evaluation case studies (WP5). Working closely with Dr Sayed Iftekhar and Dr Maksym Polyskov, Louise is currently undertaking an economic valuation of land use scenarios and funding options for the Subiaco Strategic Water Resource Precincts (WP5.2).

• Alemken Jegnie, a recently enrolled PhD student, is undertaking studies in the area of urban water management under the supervision of IRP2 Project Leaders, Dr Sayed Iftekhar and Dr James Fogarty. Alemken recently completed a Master of Environmental Science (Environmental Management) at the University of Western Australia.

Please join us in warmly welcoming all our new team members. We look forward to continuing our great work together.