R. J. (Dick) Haynes
The University of Queensland, Australia

 

Biography: Professor Haynes works in the areas of soil and environmental science. His present research interests are in the use and recycling of industrial, agricultural and municipal wastes and minimising their effects on the environment. He has extensive experience having worked as both an applied research scientist and as a university professor and has worked in New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. He has published over 170 original research papers in international journals, over 20 review papers in international volumes as well as many conference and extension papers and contract reports. He has been an invited keynote speaker at 7 international conferences and has served on the editorial board of 4 international research journals. He has acted as principal supervisor and co-supervisor of PhD, MSc and honours students in both South Africa and Australia. Professor Haynes has carried out research in commercial horticultural, pastoral, arable and forestry production as well as in small-holder semi subsistence agriculture. He has also worked on bioremediation of soils contaminated with organic pollutants, rehabilitation of mined sites, application of organic and inorganic wastes to soils and the effects of heavy metal contaminants on soil processes. His research has been mainly in the areas of applied soil chemistry and soil microbiology/biology with links to soil physical properties and to pollution of air and water. He has specialised in working on applied problems and maintains strong links with industry. Major areas of research have included the role of grazing animals in the fertility of pastoral soils, N cycling and gaseous and leaching losses from arable and pastoral systems, soil quality and soil degradation under agricultural land use, effects of soil contaminants on soil processes, rehabilitation and remediation of contaminated, degraded and mined sites and use of wastes as soil amendments

 

 

Sunil Herat
Griffith University, Australia
Program Director of the Master of Environmental Engineering and Pollution Control

 

Biography: Sunil Herat is an Associate Professor in Waste Management and Circular Economy at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. He is the Program Director of the Master of Environmental Engineering and Pollution Control. He is a member of the Expert Subsidiary Group of Regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum of Asia and Pacific, managed by the United Nations Centre for Regional Development. A/Prof Herat has over 20 years' experience in waste management, particularly on issues and challenges related to developing economies. He is an expert on training programs in municipal solid waste management, hazardous waste management and cleaner production and eco-efficiency, and circular economy and has extensive experience in training waste management professionals within Australia and around the world. He has conducted training and capacity building programs in Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Thailand, and Pacific Islands (Fiji). His latest training programs involve tackling marine pollution issues through plastic waste management and waste to energy for Indonesia's government officials. He is also actively engaged in the revision of environmental regulations in Vietnam.

A/Prof Herat has an active research interest in solid and hazardous waste management, especially in developing countries. He is an adviser to the United Nations on issues related to managing electronic waste (E-waste) in developing countries with a particular focus on policy development and regulatory aspects. He is also researching issues associated with implementing 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) activities in developing countries primarily related to E-waste and plastic waste regarding policy aspects such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). He is also a contributor to the United Nations publication GEO 6.

 

 

Yu Hong
Beijing Forestry University, China

Biography: Hong Yu, Professor, obtained her bachelor degree from Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2003, and doctorate from Tsinghua University in 2008. She was a visiting scholar with the CSC fund to conduct academic research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2015-2016). Her main research directions include microalgae-based wastewater treatment into resources and carbon emission reduction, environmental functional materials, environmental risk substance toxicity assessment. She has presided over several national-level and provincial S&T projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Beijing Science and Technology Star Program. So far, more than 80 academic papers have been published, including 52 SCI papers, and obtained 14 national invention patents. She successively undertakes the Youth Working Committee of Algae Branch of the China Algae Industry Association, the Water Treatment and Reuse Committee of the Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences, a member of the Youth Working Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society, and some academic journals’ reviewers, etc. She has won the Beijing Science and Technology Nova Star, the China Environmental Science Society Youth S&T Award, the Water Treatment and Reuse Annual National Excellent Journal Paper Award, the leader 5000 The top paper awards of China's fine S&T journals, outstanding doctoral thesis of Tsinghua University, etc.