AQMRC leading on the Environmental Technologies iNet

AQMRC is playing a leading role in a major new initiative to support the low carbon high skills future of the South West economy. The Environmental Technologies iNet, led by UWE, is a three-year, £2 million project assisting environmental goods and services businesses in the South West to innovate their products and services faster, improve their competitiveness and market awareness, and engage with a range of routes to market. ERDF will fund c£1 million, the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) will provide c. £500,000 match funding, with a further £500,000 match coming from the delivery partners: UWE, University of Bristol, University of Exeter, RegenSW and Bristol City Council. The project will target 250 high growth potential environmental technology and services SMEs and provide them each with a customised programme of business assistance, primarily focusing on four subsectors of renewable energy, waste management, sustainable transport and sustainable construction. The iNet will address many of the disconnects hampering the development of these subsectors including the fragmented relationships between the companies, agencies and universities; the inefficiencies in knowledge and technology transfer; the slow sharing of best practice and business intelligence and the poor connection to international markets for investors, customers and partners. The iNet will create a focal point for the sector, directly supporting businesses, facilitating the linkages between ideas, technology, expertise and commercialisation, and improving international connectivity. Prof Jim Longhurst led the Environmental iNet bid and is the UWE project manager, and Dr Enda Hayes has been seconded on a part-time basis to the iNet as the Business Support Manager.

Mo attends GIS training in Germany

Mofoluso recently visited Infoterra, located in Immenstaad, Germany. The visit provided opportunity for hands-on experience with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Satellite Image Processing and Applications, with specific emphasis on applications to emissions monitoring and inventorying. High resolution TerraSAR-X images were used to identify point, line and area sources of air pollutants within the Niger Delta. Emission stacks were also identified from the satellite images. The techniques of estimating stack heights from TerraSAR-X was demonstrated. This is particularly useful for data gathering over cloudy and inaccessible regions. The experience will form an invaluable asset to his PhD research, especially in the area of data gathering, identifying sources of emissions for emissions inventorying, and estimating stack heights useful for dispersion modelling. Click here to access Mo’s research page.

Dotun’s PhD graduation ceremony

Congratulations to Dotun Olowoporoku who received his PhD award at the UWE 2010 Award Ceremony on 17th November 2010 held in Bristol Cathedral. Dotun was also the 2010 recipient of the Dr Nurul Leksmono Prize for the most outstanding international PhD thesis on the subject of air quality, carbon management or environmental management. The Prize was instituted for UWE international students in memory of former AQMRC Research Fellow, the late Dr Nurul Leksmono. Dotun is pictured here reflecting wistfully on his three year studentship. Click here to access Dotun’s research page.

Rhondda bid success

AQMRC have recently been awarded a 15-month contract with Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council to undertake a Detailed and Further Assessment at Glyncoch, near Pontypridd. AQMRC is pleased to collaborate with Enviro Technology Ltd and Advance Environmental to assist RCTCBC with the monitoring, modelling and source apportionment of PM10 in this prestigious project. Jo Barnes will project manage this exciting new activity of AQMRC.

IIT Visit

AQMRC were delighted to welcome esteemed colleagues from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi and Madras. Professor Mukesh Khare (IITD) and Dr Shiva Nagendra (IITM) met with AQMRC’s Jo Barnes and Dr Dotun Olowoporoku (pictured) to discuss development of an air quality management framework for cities in India. Professor Longhurst said “This is a very exciting opportunity to progress our links with colleagues in India and to share our experiences gained of managing air quality in the UK.” This project builds upon a long standing cooperation between AQMRC and IITD and will see AQMRC staff attend a seminar in Delhi in February 2011.

AQMRC CPD training success continues

Following the success of this year’s Air Quality and Carbon Management CPD courses, AQMRC is pleased to announce that the training opportunities will continue into 2011. The next session will be Introduction to Local Air Quality Management on 14th January followed by Introduction to Carbon Management on 8th February. The full schedule of courses is available on the AQMRC website and you can book your place online. Book three or more courses to receive 15% discount!