Congratulations to the following AWMC staff who have been successful in the recent highly regarded Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award and Discovery round:
Dr Stefano Freguia - Enhancement of light-driven electricity generation by cyanobacteria: en route to biosolar panels
Project Summary: Some species of naturally occurring cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) exhibit a special metabolic feature, which enables them to convert sunlight into electricity. This project will unveil the chemical and biological secrets behind this process and will lead to the creation of the first entirely biological solar panel.
Dr Bing-jie Ni - Novel biotreatment for micropollutant removal from contaminated water
Project Summary: Micropollutants in contaminated water create major environmental challenges to water resource management in Australia. This project will use a novel biological process to remove micropollutants from water resources sustainably and ensure clean drinking water for Australians.
Dr Jianhua Guo - A novel autotrophic biological nitrogen removal process driven by ammonia-oxidising archaea and anammox bacteria
Project Summary: This project will provide fundamental support to the development of more sustainable nitrogen removal processes. This would bring considerable benefits to the Australian wastewater industry and could potentially influence the way that biological nutrient removal plants are designed and operated.
Dr Bing-jie Ni with Dr Yang Mu (University of Science and Technology, China) - Micro-managed biofilm - next generation environmental biotechnologies
Project Summary: Eutrophication in waterways due to the presence of nitrogen creates major environmental challenges in inland Australia. This project will develop novel biological nitrogen removal technology, through management of microbial composition to achieve sustainable high-level nitrogen removal from wastewaters and beneficial reuse of the water.