ISF’s higher degree research program gives students undertaking Masters or Doctoral degrees exposure to a transdisciplinary approach to sustainability challenges and an opportunity to work in a dynamic research centre with a diversity of projects being delivered at any one time.
2019 graduates
Introducing two ISF researchers who were awarded a doctorate last year:
Dr Chris Dunstan is a Research Director at ISF, with more than 20 years’ experience in energy policy, strategic management and sustainability. Between 1997 and 2004, Chris led strategic planning and policy development at the Sustainable Energy Development Authority of NSW (SEDA). He was a Project Leader for the CSIRO Intelligent Grid Research Cluster program and regularly advises Government and business clients on sustainable energy issues. Chris is currently the Interim Chief Research Officer of the Reliable Affordable Clean Energy for 2030 Cooperative Research Centre (RACE for 2030).
Chris’ thesis, In the Balance: Electricity, Sustainability and Least Cost Competition, proposes that reforms taking a ‘least cost competition’ approach can help to reduce Australia’s electricity costs and environmental impact. His thesis was recognised for its quality and impact on the Chancellor’s List for 2019.
Dr Rachael Wakefield-Rann is a social scientist with a background in Human Ecology and International Relations, who is a Senior Research Consultant at ISF. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the interlinked health and sustainability issues associated with addressing pollutants in product supply chains and the built environment, product stewardship, and the circular economy. Her current research is focused on the design of industry and government strategies to ensure future resource use is circular, sustainable and promotes human health.
Rachael’s thesis, Redefining hygiene in practice: addressing emerging health risks in home microecologies, investigated how dominant definitions and practices of hygiene in Australia can be updated to account for emerging indoor health risks at the micro-scale. These risks are associated with the introduction of industrial chemicals in everyday products and building materials and how the changing nature of building design, cleaning practices and urban life has altered the microbiomes of homes, contributing to a rise in various health conditions and antibiotic resistance.