Sustainability

Think of a vertical garden and you might picture something like Central Park in Sydney – a multimillion-dollar project where a 150-metre high living wall containing 250 species of plants, flowers and vines marks the entrance to the CBD.

Treating human waste consumes energy and produces greenhouse gas emissions, while being a major expense for councils and water utilities. However, scientist Qilin Wang is working on technology that could turn wastewater treatment plants into carbon-neutral energy generators.

Researchers at UTS Science have worked with numerous industry partners over multiple decades on innovative materials that improve energy efficiency and human comfort in our buildings.

Algae. They’re green (some of the time), aquatic (most of the time) and seemingly unremarkable, except when they’re in the news for clogging up our waterways. But it turns out these unassuming organisms might just spell salvation for the future of our planet.

A unique approach to managing supply and demand during Australia’s worst drought transformed the way Australia thought about its most valuable resource, water.

In November 2016, a high grass pollen count, stormy weather and strong winds conspired to create a deadly thunderstorm asthma event in Melbourne. Nine people died from severe asthma attacks and hundreds more overwhelmed ambulance services and hospital emergency departments.

A multi-disciplinary team bringing together science, sustainable building design and architecture may soon develop the first living algae buildings in Australia.

A partnership between the UTS Advanced Analytics Institute and the NSW Department of Industries (Water) is resulting in more efficient management of water resources through the application of data analytics.