Attachment 1 - List of Topics for Sustainable Development ...



Attachment 1 - List of Topics for Sustainable Development Summer Scholarships

|NO |RESEARCH TOPIC |FOCUS AREA |POSSIBLE FACULTIES |POSSIBLE ACADEMIC |

| | | | |SUPERVISORS |

|2 |TRI-GENERATION |Energy |FECM | |

| |Tri-generation is the simultaneous production of electricity, heating and cooling | | | |

| |using generators and absorption chillers. In the peak of summer, demand for | | | |

| |cooling and the corresponding demand for electricity, is at its highest. Given | | | |

| |UWA’s chilled water network is at capacity, an upgrade is required to meet this | | | |

| |demand for cooling. Research into tri-generation as a possible means of | | | |

| |alternative energy production for Crawley is required. | | | |

|3 |SUSTAINABLE BUILDING SKINS |Built Form |FAVLA | |

| |There exists technologies currently available or in development in sustainable | |FECM | |

| |building skins or envelopes, which could harness or reduce energy used in | | | |

| |buildings. Examples include solar roof tiles, building integrated photovoltaics | | | |

| |and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene. Research into several of the more practical | | | |

| |technologies could assist in the understanding and possible application of these | | | |

| |technologies in existing and future UWA buildings. | | | |

|4 |NATURAL VENTILATION |Energy / Built |FECM | |

| |A large portion of energy used in buildings is due to the air conditioning of the |Form |FALVA | |

| |buildings throughout the year. Natural ventilation may provide comfortable working| | | |

| |conditions during some parts of the year at minimal energy cost and it may also | | | |

| |improve indoor environment quality due to the introduction of outside air. UWA | | | |

| |would like a pilot study of applying natural ventilation to supplement the | | | |

| |air-conditioning system of the Civil / Mech Engineering building, which is | | | |

| |currently a combination of split units and chilled water system. Considerations | | | |

| |include the times of the year when it could be implemented, any constraints and | | | |

| |any building and mechanical works required. | | | |

|5 |ZERO WASTE |Recycling |ALVA | |

| |UWA currently recycles over 50% of its waste (e.g., plastics, glass, aluminium and| |FAHSS | |

| |paper). In order to achieve 100% recycling (Zero Waste), the university would need| |FECM | |

| |to determine a method to recycle its general waste (e.g., food, green waste, | |Business School | |

| |plastic bags and polystyrene). Research into the technologies and options | | | |

| |currently available in industry that deal with the recycling of general waste | | | |

| |would help guide the University in its waste policies and management. | | | |

|6 |TAXONOMIC GARDENS |Landscape / Water |FNAS | |

| |There is an opportunity to integrate natural ecological processes with water | | | |

| |filtration for irrigation or for other uses, such that it becomes a closed or | | | |

| |partially closed ecosystem. An example of this would be to utilise the ecological | | | |

| |processes inherent in the Taxonomic Gardens to filter water for irrigation of | | | |

| |plants in the adjacent glasshouses. The research proposal uses the Glasshouses and| | | |

| |Taxonomic Garden irrigation as a case study methodology to design a water capture | | | |

| |and recycle system . | | | |

|7 |ENERGY EFFECIENT MUSEUMS |Built Form / |ALVA | |

| |Museums and art galleries are inherently energy inefficient buildings due to the |Energy |FECM | |

| |need to maintain strict environmental conditions, such as constant temperature and| | | |

| |humidity levels. Research into methods of delivering the required environmental | | | |

| |controls more energy efficiently is required. | | | |

|8 |IMROVING GREENSTAR RATINGS FOR HERITAGE BUILDINGS |Built Form |FALVA | |

| |UWA has several heritage listed buildings on campus. These buildings require more | | | |

| |considered planning and design when refurbishing. A pilot study to determine the | | | |

| |current ‘sustainability rating’ of the Geography / Geology Building, as measured | | | |

| |by the GBCA’s Greenstar Office As-built ratings tool will be used to determine | | | |

| |design guidelines required to improve heritage building Greenstar ratings. | | | |

|9 |WINDOW INSULATION FILM |Energy / Built |FECM | |

| |There exist several commercial options for insulation film that reduces heat |Form |FALVA | |

| |transmittance through glazing. In order to assist the University determine if this| |Business School | |

| |technology is suitable for use as a window treatment which can reduce the energy | | | |

| |used for air conditioning, research into the various commercial options is | | | |

| |required. This may include laboratory testing and/or market research to determine | | | |

| |the best option for UWA. | | | |

|10 |ON SITE BIO-GAS FACILITY |Energy / Recycling|FECM | |

| |UWA produces a large amount of organic waste material, e.g., green waste, kitchen | | | |

| |waste, etc. Research is required into the viability of utilising the waste | | | |

| |material in an on-site bio-gas facility, and the opportunities of harvesting the | | | |

| |energy output. . There may be an opportunity to integrate a bio-gas facility with | | | |

| |a tri-generation facility (Refer No. 2 above). | | | |

|11 |UWA FLEET VEHICLES |Energy / |Business School | |

| |At UWA, fleet vehicles are managed on a Faculty by Faculty or School by School |Procurement |FMDHS | |

| |basis. Centralisation of the purchase and management of fleet vehicles may lead to| | | |

| |economies of scale and/or environmental benefits. With the introduction of the | | | |

| |Federal Government ‘s Clean Energy Future Plan and the NGER Scope 3 reporting the| | | |

| |University will need to address carbon emissions from fleet vehicles. In order | | | |

| |to assist with decision making regarding fleet vehicles, a cost / benefit analysis| | | |

| |study of the centralisation of fleet vehicles at UWA and a recommendation on the | | | |

| |types of vehicles (e.g., gas, electric, hybrid) based on environmental and | | | |

| |financial evaluations are required. | | | |

|12 |WASTE WATER AT SHENTON PARK |Landscape / Water |FNAS | |

| |The McGillivray Oval at the Shenton Park campus utilises treated waste water from | | | |

| |the adjacent Watercorp waste water treatment plant for its irrigation, at little | | | |

| |cost. This arrangement has been in place for approximately 10 years and is deemed | | | |

| |to have saved approximately 83,000kL of water per year. Research into the effects | | | |

| |of using this waste water, e.g., on lawn health, soil chemistry, etc. should be | | | |

| |carried out in order to assist with recommendations for future care and | | | |

| |maintenance of the Oval. | | | |

|13 |THERMAL HEATING OR COOLING |Energy |ALVA | |

| |There are many alternative forms of heating and cooling that may be applicable to | |FECM | |

| |supplement the existing air-conditioning systems in buildings on campus. Examples | | | |

| |of this include sub-soil heating, roof space systems, etc. A study of the | | | |

| |available systems and how they may be practically applied may help to reduce the | | | |

| |energy used in buildings. The research will use a case study methodology to | | | |

| |develop options for the UWA Crawley site. | | | |

|14 |WIND TURBINES |Energy |FECM | |

| |UWA Operations would like to research the feasibility of generating renewable | |FLPS | |

| |energy via wind turbines. Various options would need to be explored, for example, | | | |

| |small scale turbines on-site or large scale turbines off-site. The preferred | | | |

| |recommendation should include an estimate of ballpark capital and operating costs.| | | |

|15 |MCGILLIVRAY TUARTS |Landscape |FNAS | |

| |It has been observed that the Tuart trees on the McGillivray Sports Complex are | | | |

| |susceptible to attack by a new species of lerps. The health of the trees requires | | | |

| |examination. Proposal of a method to prevent further attack would be beneficial. | | | |

|16 |VACUUM WASTE |Water |FECM | |

| |A vacuum waste system in toilets is an innovation that has the potential to save | |FALVA | |

| |water as well as reduce the ceiling space required for the installation of | | | |

| |services. In order to assess its suitability for installation in new buildings, | | | |

| |research into the vacuum waste systems is required. | | | |

|17 |HUMAN POWER |Energy |FALVA | |

| |Human kinetic energy used to pedal a bicycle may also be used to generate | |FECM | |

| |electricity. UWA would like to explore the feasibility of implementing human | | | |

| |powered technologies to generate electricity at the Sports and Recreation Centre. | | | |

|18 |CLIMATE CHANGE MODELLING |Landscape |FNAS | |

| |Located in close proximity to the Swan River, The UWA Crawley campus could be at |Water | | |

| |risk in the event of sea level rise or a high rainfall event. Research modelling | | | |

| |the consequences and risk of inundation, and mitigation strategies is required. | | | |

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