Inspiring Science

We have launched a new lecture series this academic year entitled 'Inspiring Science'. This series features high-profile speakers from inside and outside of the University delivering open lectures on their research and careers in their respective scientific field, including Inaugural lectures and Athena SWAN lectures.

All are welcome to attend and there is no need to register for any of these events.

Next lectures:

Smart Water Metering and Residential End Use Analysis: Recent Findings from Australia

Professor Rodney Stewart, Griffith University, Australia

23 May 2012, 2pm

Harrison Building, Room 004

Smart metering trials and water end use studies are becoming more commonplace internationally in the quest to better understand urban water consumption generally and to ascertain the effectiveness of demand management strategies. Smart metering technology is rapidly developing in both the water and energy sectors and is rapidly becoming cost effective for widespread application. Without knowing precisely when and where water is being used in a home or business, how can you manage its demand and encourage relevant water conservation strategies?

The recent drought in Australia necessitated better management of water resources through evidence-based planning. The South-east Queensland Residential End Use Study (SEQREUS) has recently been finalised and provides a range of important findings relevant to researchers, practitioners and government officers in the United Kingdom seeking better knowledge on residential water consumption determinants. 

Findings presented cover multiple residential end use summaries across a two year period, end use diurnal demand patterns, end use predictors of peak demand, energy related implications of water conservation, socio-demographic and stock efficiency determinants of residential consumption, to name a few.

Associate Professor Rodney Stewart is the Director of the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Management (CIEM) based at Griffith University, Gold Coast City, Queensland Australia. He is a specialist in engineering and environmental management research, particularly related to smart water metering and end use analysis. He is currently leading our completed water end use studies covering potable-only water supply schemes, dual supply schemes and internally plumbed rain tank schemes.

He was appointed as a National Water Commission Fellow in 2011 to verify the end use potable water savings achievable from a range of contemporary water supply schemes. More recently, his work is exploring the residential end use water-energy nexus as well as the development of intelligent algorithms for managing distributed battery storages in smart electricity grid networks.

For more information, please see Water Save - A Network on Water Conservation and Recycling.

Past lectures

  • 25 January 2012, 5.30pm, Harrison 004 -Applications of Geometry and Topology, Professor Mitchell Berger, Lecturer in Mathematics, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences