Case Studies: environment

KESS 2 and Tata Steel UK : Postgraduate collaborative research success at USW

As we near the end of the programme, KESS 2 and USW would like to showcase the outstanding research achieved through industry collaboration with our company partner Tata Steel UK with the following case studies. Over a period of 8 years, Tata Steel UK has supported 16 PhD projects and 1 Research Masters project, producing… Read more »

KESS 2 Alumni Case Study : Dr Dyfed Morgan (Video)

Dr Dyfed Morgan : Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainability Champion – a video case study. Dyfed Morgan completed his PhD at Bangor University and works at MSparc science park as a Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainability Champion. Dyfed says, “I decided to do the KESS 2 scholarship after doing a master’s degree at Bangor University. I… Read more »

KESS 2 Alumni Case Study : Dr Abigail Lowe

Dr Abigail Lowe, Biological Sciences : Botanical and Invertebrate Researcher at the National Botanic Garden of Wales Gardens are important habitats for pollinators, providing flowering resources and nest sites. There is a great deal of public support for growing “pollinator-friendly” plants but, although there are lists of plants that are best for pollinators, they are… Read more »

The development of maritime robotics to study the fine-scale movements of aquatic life (Video)

 A 25-minute KESS 2 video case study by Bangor University PhD researcher John Zachary Nash. John Zachary and others involved in this research, including company partner representatives from RS Aqua and H R Wallingford, talk about their exciting fish tracking project which is a cross-disciplinary collaboration in the fields of marine science and electronic engineering.  Subtitles are available in Welsh or English through the video settings and a transcript of the video is available below. (Transcript is… Read more »

KESS 2 Alumni Case Study: Dr Rhiannon Chalmers-Brown, Bio-Refining of Steel Manufacturing Co-Production Gases

DR RHIANNON CHALMERS-BROWN : RICE Research Assistant – Low Carbon Bioprocess Analysis I completed my undergraduate degree in Chemistry at USW, I was then encouraged by my research supervisor, Prof Richard Dinsdale, to apply for the KESS 2 scholarship as I had a keen interest in renewable energy and the environmental sector in general. The… Read more »

Innovations in soil health analysis

Digging an experimental pit

ROB BROWN INNOVATIONS IN SOIL HEALTH ANALYSIS Soil is a finite and non-renewable resource. It is key to providing a wide range of goods and services such as sustainable food production for a growing population and resilience against climate change. However, increasing the intensity at which we are using soil resources is beginning to cause… Read more »

Developing new chemical and genomic technologies for traceability and quality assurance of edible and industrial vegetable oils

Kirstie Goggin

Kirstie Goggin (ESF-funded KESS 2 PhD), was awarded her PhD in an amazing timescale of 3 years 4 months through the KESS 2 Programme, being the first KESS 2 female PhD recipient at USW. KIRSTIE GOGGIN A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE My PhD was about developing new chemical and genetic approaches to improve traceability, transparency and authenticity… Read more »

Welsh scientists are helping to keep our food healthy, safe and sustainable

Kirstie Goggin in the lab

Much of our food in the UK is sourced via often-complex supply chains involving numerous producers and processors from around the world. Unfortunately this can lead to illicit and/or unethical practices as some food ingredients may be contaminated by adulterants or obtained from undesirable sources. Recent examples include the use or horsemeat instead of beef… Read more »

Turning waste gases into renewable products

Rhiannon Chalmers-Brown

Rhiannon Chalmers-Brown has returned to study her PhD at the University of South Wales, having initially studied BSc Chemistry at USW. She was encouraged by her research supervisor Richard Dinsdale to apply for the KESS 2 scholarship, as she has a keen interest in renewable energy and the environmental sector in general. Rhiannon started her… Read more »

Fabrication and modelling of thin-silicon PV cells

Student: Gareth Blayney Company: Pure Wafer International Ltd Academic Supervisor: Dr Owen Guy & Prof Paul Rees Low-cost, Low-carbon and Local! Swansea University, in collaboration with Swansea based Pure Wafer International Limited, have successfully developed a new low-cost solar cell from reclaimed silicon, a by-product of the semiconductor industry. Reclaimed silicon is currently shipped overseas… Read more »