Physical Geography lecturers win
Macquarie University Innovation Awards
November 1, 2007.
Dr. Kirstie Fryirs, "Innovation in Research" category.
Researchers who developed tools to help environmental managers better understand and rehabilitate rivers, are among the winners of the 4th Annual Macquarie University Innovation Awards held last night.
Geomorphologist Dr Kirstie Fryers and Associate Professor Gary Brierley developed the River Styles® framework at Macquarie University (see www.riverstyles.com) so that non-scientists could better understand the wide variety of river types, and make more informed decisions about their day-to-day management.
A book has been written on the framework and its applications and the River Styles Short Course has run annually. The framework has now been applied throughout NSW, and in parts of Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia - as well as in the United States and Alaska.
http://www.mq.edu.au/innovationawards/Movies/2007/winners.htm
Associate Professor Damian Gore - Highly Commended 2007.
Waste plastic sorting and contaminant characterisation
There are large stockpiles of waste plastic in the world awaiting recycling but heavy metal contamination in the plastic is preventing its re-use. New legislation (RoHS), presently covering one-third of the world, constrains the use of heavy metals in plastics.
We have developed a system which can sort plastics into different types and simultaneously quantify heavy metal content. We envisage the development of an automated system which sorts the plastics and rejects contaminated material, helping to automate waste recycling facilities.
http://www.mq.edu.au/innovationawards/Movies/2007/highly-commended.htm