Paul Bates

1
Paul Bates

• UoB water research in the non-medical faculties

2
Overview

• 40 Academic staff in 12 non-medical Departments
  are engaged in water research
• Archaeology and Anthropology
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Continuing Education
• Earth Sciences
• Engineering Management Group
• Food Refrigeration and Process Engineering
  Research Centre
• Geographical Sciences
• Law
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Policy Studies
• Science, Engineering, Social Science and Law and
  Arts faculties are all represented
• Nationally (and perhaps Internationally)
  significant capacity

3
A small sample of those involved ..

• Professor Malcolm Anderson, School of
  Geographical Sciences
• Professor Paul Bates, School of Geographical
  Sciences
• Professor Tony Davis, School of Chemistry
• Professor Richard Evershed, School of Chemistry
• Professor David Gordon, School for Policy Studies
• Dr Stephen Gundry, Engineering Management Group
• Dr Dawei Han, Department of Civil Engineering
• Dr Andrew Hogg, School of Mathematics
• Professor Kenneth Ogugua Iwugo, Department of
  Civil Engineering
• Mr Steve James, Refrigeration Process
  Engineering Research Centre
• Dr Rich Pancost, Department of Chemistry
• Dr John Loveless, Department of Civil Engineering
• Dr Katerina Michaelides, School of Geographical
  Sciences
• Professor Bronwen Morgan, School of Law
• Professor Colin Prentice, Department of Earth
  Sciences
• Professor Vala Ragnarsdottir, Department of Earth
  Sciences
• Dr Hind Saidani-Scott, Department of Mechanical
  Engineering
• Professor David M. Sherman, Department of Earth
  Sciences
• Professor Peter Smart, School of Geographical
  Sciences

4
Strengths

• Cluster analysis of research interests identified
  3 broad themes to this effort
• Hazards and Impacts
• Water and Health
• Water Governance
• Note strong synergy between themes
• Combination is unique

5
Related work

• Other strong clusters of research in related
  areas
• Climate change impacts (e.g. QUEST and Bridge)
• Risk and uncertainty (e.g. SuSTaIn and the recent
  bid for a EPSRC/Defra risk Centre)
• Complexity science (e.g. BCCS)

6
Key project FRMRC

• Flood Risk Management Research Consortium
• Focussed on improving UK resilience to flood
  hazards
• 14M funding from EPSRC/Defra
• Bristol is science lead (via Ian Cluckie) and
  receives 2M of total funding

7
Key project AQUATEST

• Aims to develop a low-cost test for microbial
  contamination of water sources in developing
  countries.
• Major funding (to Stephen Gundry) from the EU and
  the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Prompted the University to create a Water and
  Health Research centre

8
Future research interests

• Hazards and Impacts
• Real-time flood forecasting
• Predicting extreme hydrological events and
  natural disaster management
• 3-D Weather modelling for hydrological hazard
  prediction
• Modelling/mitigating natural hazards in
  developing countries
• Quantifying and modelling paleo water cycles for
  climate change baseline studies
• Handling risk and uncertainty
• Using remote sensing to improve hydrological
  hazard models
• Modelling the impacts of climate change on soil
  erosion
• Understanding water as driver of soil erosion
  function
• Whole-city flood risk analysis
• Coastal zone management and defence against surge
  tides
• Harnessing wave energy to protect coastal erosion
• Renewable energy generation
• Understanding the interactions and feedbacks
  between the water cycle and climate change
• Seismic impacts on water supply systems
• Real-time control of drainage systems
• Remote measurement of river discharge

• Water and Health
• Low cost household water treatment
• Purifying water using solar energy
• Nature and distribution of unsafe water in
  developing countries
• Sensors for water pollution detection
• Linking catchment, water-borne infectious
  diseases and geographic models
• Study and development of local purification
  systems
• Impact of water quality interventions on health
• Development of water purification technology for
  disaster management teams
• Cost effective water-recycling systems
• Recycling grey water
• Water quality monitoring techniques
• Rainwater harvesting and management
• Decentralised water access and management
• Water taste and consumer preference
• Agricultural pollution
• Desalination for developing countries
• Waste and water treatment

9
Future research interests (continued)

• Water Governance
• Water sustainability
• Researching the commoditization of water
• The economics of water resource development
• Policy implications for sustainable environmental
  management
• Water implications of fair trade issues
• Understanding waters role as generator of
  regional conflict
• Social barriers to water access in third world
  countries
• The politics of water redistribution.
• The political environment for water (management,
  use, access, etc.)
• Water cycle impacts on biodiversity
• Population and health issues in the developing
  world

10
Summary

• Significant clusters of water-related research
  across the non-medical faculties
• Considerable synergies that could be exploited
• Particular focii are (1) the use of novel
  technologies to solve water-related problems in
  the developing world and (2) the study of systems
  of water governance that provide the context in
  which such solutions are deployed.
• This focus is distinctive, and is not addressed
  by any competitor institute elsewhere.