Science
Katherina Petrou (00:08):
As I see it, science has and always will be essential for addressing the challenges of the complex global situations that we have and issues that we have facing humanity. Whether it's the existential threat of climate change, it's pollution - really all the investigation science does to develop, to bring discoveries and new knowledge are key for understanding the problems and then also finding appropriate solutions to those problems. From that, we can get policy development and things that are based on evidence, based on science, and that's a really key aspect, I think, to science's role in sustainability.
Kate Egan (00:47):
The research that's coming out of sustainable science at the moment, things like green chemistry, our tolerance ranges for our plants and animals are most important when developing strategies to accommodate the changes and variations in climate that we're experiencing at the moment.
Katherina Petrou (01:04):
Here at UTS we also have a large research group that investigates the role of algae and how they could be used for biofuels and various other resources instead of utilising our forests and fossil fuels. So it's really about trying to find sustainable ways to keep society going in the way that we're accustomed to.
Kate Egan (01:25):
So when I'm graduating, I'm hoping to go into conservation work and consultancy. So what this means is possibly working with local councils and state governments on consulting on their projects to ensure environmental priorities are in place and that their strategies are sustainable going forth. The study at UTS that I've done is preparing me for my career. I'm able to accumulate a large range of field assessments and practical work. Spending time in the lab here at UTS is a big part of my degree, and using those skills going forth is going to prepare me to have a career in conservation.
Science is at the core of sustainability and many courses within the faculty examine different elements of sustainability. Specialist subjects include Biodiversity Conservation, Environmental Protection and Management, Ecohydrology and Climate Change , Environmental Protection and Management, Ecology, Energy Science and Technology, and Australian Wildlife Management.
Key sustainability staff include:
- Professor David Booth is a marine ecologist who lectures in coral reef ecosystems and ecological modelling
- Professor Peter Ralph who lectures in coastal marine and tropical reef ecosystems
- Associate Professor Andrea Leigh is a plant ecologist who lectures in semi-arid ecology and biocomplexity
- Associate Professor Brad Murray is an ecologist with research and teaching interests in terrestrial plant and animal ecology, evolution and biodiversity conservation
- Associate Professor Daniel Ramp is a conservation biologist with interests in behavioural ecology and wildlife-human interactions
- Professor Jonathan Webb is a wildlife ecologist with interests in conservation biology, wildlife management and animal behaviour
- Associate Professor Fraser Torpy is an environmental microbiologist who researches the effects of indoor plants on greenhouse gasses and indoor air quality
For more information contact the faculty or general course enquiries phone 1300 275 887.