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| about the
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introduction
The Environmental
Technology Centre (ETC) at Murdoch University is the United Nations
Environment Programme International Environmental Technology Centre
(UNEP-IETC) Asia Pacific Cooperation Research Centre.
The ETC's research
program includes projects in the areas of water, food, energy, shelter,
and material resources, with an emphasis on the integration of these
areas to achieve sustainability.
Projects
conducted during 2002/3 includ research into:
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appropriate
sustainable technology for developing countries (eg. Indonesia);
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desalination
by reverse osmosis using solar energy;
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processes
for testing the quality of drinking water;
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removal
of nutrients from sewage effluent;
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water
efficient irrigation techniques;
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production
of high quality art paper by recycling waste paper;
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bush
products and revegetation techniques via ethno-botanical analysis;
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composting
techniques for organic wastes; wastewater recycling systems.
The
research program has two elements: basic research initiated and conducted
at ETC by staff; and research collaboration with industry and other
organisations. The ETC has a strong track record of research and development
collaboration with industry.
Many
of the ETC's industry partners are small to medium sized local companies
who have provided research and development funding and collaborated
to commercialise the results of research projects. A number of these
projects have resulted in new products and services. These include:
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the
SOLARFLOW solar-powered reverse-osmosis desalination unit, now under
manufacture by Solar Energy Systems Ltd;
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an
evapotranspiration wastewater disposal system, now widely used by
remote communities in WA;
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and
an on-site bacteriological water quality test kit, presently being
trialled by communities throughout Australia and the Asia-Pacific
region.
The ETC was established
in 1992, and officially inaugurated in 1994 during the National Conference
on Technology Transfer in Remote Communities. It received a Centre
of Excellence status in 1999 from the Western Australian Centres of
Excellence programme. The ETC became a United nations Environment
Programme International Environmental technology Centre Cooperative
Centre in 2002 having collaborated with them since 1996.
The aim of the
ETC is to research, develop and demonstrate environmental technologies,
conduct education and training, provide consultancy services to industry,
and raise community awareness of environmental technologies. Its facilities
are open to local industries wishing to test and monitor products
within the university infrastructure.
The ETC occupies
a 1.7-hectare site on the Murdoch University campus at which over
forty environmentally sustainable technologies have been combined
to form an integrated operating demonstration system. The technologies
used and researched at the site include climate-sensible buildings,
renewable energy systems for power supply and water pumping, aquaculture
systems, organic waste management, and permaculture. The integrated
approach allows research to be carried out on the important interactions
between different technologies, rather than just the effect of a single
technology. This gives the ETC a considerable advantage over other
research institutions, which focus on single technologies in relative
isolation.
The ETC is able
to offer holistic and flexible solutions to environmental needs. The
ETC's focus is on small-scale environmentally sustainable technologies,
which are cost-effective to produce and establish, robust, efficient,
and easy to operate and maintain. The aim of this is to maximise the
opportunities for user communities to "own" the technology, resulting
in greater and more sustained uptake of the technology, higher levels
of community awareness and involvement, and ultimately a more successful
operation. This approach has been successful in remote areas in Australia,
and is highly applicable to communities in developing countries, as
well as to urban communities worldwide, particularly when applied
in collaboration with industry and government.
The
ETC has a strong track record of research collaboration and consultancy
work with industry and government organisations. It has also established
connections with the international environmental research community
through its association with the United Nations Environmental Programme
(UNEP). The growth and development of the ETC, and the increased value
it can thereby offer to local industry, depend upon consolidating and
extending these international links.
Prof
Valerie Alder, Pro Vice Chancellor (Research), Murdoch University
Prof Yianni Attikiouzel, Executive Dean, Division of Science & Engineering
Dr Steve Halls, Director, UNEP-IETC
Mr Geoff Hill, Venco Ltd
Prof Goen Ho, Chair ETC Board
Prof Richard Hobbs, Chair Environmental Science, Murdoch University
Professor Arthur McComb, Chair, Centre for Organic Waste Management
Dr Joseph Petroni, Department of Industry and Technology, WA State Government
Mrs Mara West, Mahdijungu Consultancy Services
Co-opted
members
Dr Martin Anda, Research Manager ETC
Dr Kuruvilla Mathew, Deputy Director ETC
| the
etc advisory committee
Richard
Shephard, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Training Co.
Katrina O’Mara, ACRE
Greg Elliott, Alternative Energy Development Board
Andrew Abercromby, Apropros Pty Ltd
Elizabeth Karol, Architecture, Curtin University
Gary Baverstock, Baverstock Murphy & Assoc
Mr Campbell Durrant, BioMax
Alan Moore, Education Department
Murray McKinnon, Education Department
Mara West, Mahdijungu Consultancy Services
Phillip Gale, Melville City Council
Trevor Pryor, MUERI
Alan MacGregor, Office of Facilities Management, Murdoch University
Stuart Henry, Plumbing and Painting Industry Skills & Technology
Centre Inc
Anthony Maslin, Solar Energy Systems
Steve Lucks, Solar Engineering Services
Gary Dorn, Thooggoorrbu Trust & Straw Bale Constructions
Geoff Hill, Venco Products/Westwind
Roy Hallam, Water Corporation
Don Harrison, Western Power Corporation
Rob Fimmel, CCD Australia Consulting Engineers
Rusty Christenson, Melville Rotary
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