Researchers Profiles

Aaron Opdyke
Role or Position: Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering
Institution: The University of Sydney
Email: [email protected]
Contact Number : 02 8627 9049
Brief biography (100 words or less): I am a Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney. My research focuses on humanitarian response and disaster risk reduction, strengthening preparedness for and recovery after disaster and conflict through the lens of safe and equitable shelter and settlements. I have worked closely with governments and organisations across the Asia-Pacific region on resilient and sustainable infrastructure to address global development challenges.
Areas of Research: disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, humanitarian response
Key Words: risk, disasters, climate change, housing
City or State: NSW
Link to professional page: https://www.sydney.edu.au/engineering/about/our-people/academic-staff/aaron-opdyke.html
Link to research page : https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tRhsM5AAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Link to personal or Lab page: https://humanitarianfrontierslab.org/

Chris Birzer
Role or Position: Senior Lecturer
Institution: The University of Adelaide
Email: [email protected]
Brief biography (100 words or less): Dr Cris Birzer MIEAust CPEng is a Chartered Professional Mechanical Engineer and Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Energy Engineering and Humanitarian Engineering at the School of Mechanical Engineering. Cris is the Director of the Humanitarian and Development Solutions Initiative (HDSI). He is a former consultant engineer and also member of the Australian Defence Force, having worked in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, and the 2019/2020 Australian Bushfire Response. Cris also deployed to Nepal with the World Food Programme to assist with the 2015 Earthquakes emergency response.
Areas of Research: Renewable Energy, Biomass/biogas/biodigesters, Cookstoves, Humanitarian Technology Implementation
Key Words: Humanitarian Technology
City or State: SA
Link to professional page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cris-birzer/
Link to research page : https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?hl=en&user=IQyF_DMAAAAJ
Link to teaching page : https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/cristian.birzer
Link to personal or Lab page: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/humanitarian/

Dani Barrington
Role or Position: Lecturer in Population and Global Health
Institution: The University of Western Australia
Email: [email protected]
Brief biography (100 words or less): An engineer/health/social scientist hybrid!
Areas of Research: Sanitation, menstrual health, incontinence
Key Words: Sanitation, menstrual health, incontinence
City or State: WA
Link to professional page: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/dani-barrington

Fiona Johnson
Role or Position: Associate Professor
Institution: UNSW
Email: [email protected]
Contact Number : 0293859769
Brief biography: Fiona Johnson is an Associate Professor at University of New South Wales based in the Water Research Centre, in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She has 20 years' experience in hydrology working as a consultant, for government and in academia. Associate Professor Johnson’s areas of research and teaching focus on flooding and extreme events and the use of global climate models for climate change assessments. She has a particular interest in solutions to climate and hydrological challenges faced by communities in the Global South and is currently undertaking research projects in south east Asia, the Pacific and Australia.
Areas of Research: Hydrology, climate change
City or State: New South Wales
Link to professional page: https://research.unsw.edu.au/people/dr-fiona-johnson
Link to research page : https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=PYu5v4YAAAAJ&hl=en
Link to personal or Lab page: https://www.globalwaterinstitute.unsw.edu.au/

Nick Brown
Role or Position: Lecturer - Humanitarian Engineering
Institution: RMIT University
Email: [email protected]
Contact Number : +61399253024
Brief biography (100 words or less): Nick believes that engineering has an important role to play in addressing complex global issues such as poverty, inequality and sustainability. He is passionate about inspiring, equipping and empowering engineers to meet community aspirations and desires both in Australia and overseas. His research work focuses on the application of design, technology and education for social change.
Areas of Research: Humanitarian Engineering Education; Challenging Contexts; non-engineered materials; inclusion; experiential learning
Key Words: Education; Humanitarian Design
City or State: VIC
Link to professional page: https://www.rmit.edu.au/contact/staff-contacts/academic-staff/b/brown-dr-nick
Link to research page : https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nick-Brown-7
Link to personal or Lab page: https://sites.google.com/view/humanitarian-engineering-lab/home

Richard Corkish
Role or Position: Senior Lecturer in Photovoltaic & Renewable Energy Engineering; COO of Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics
Institution: UNSW Sydney
Email: [email protected]
Contact Number : 02 93854068
Brief biography (100 words or less): I have PhD in electrical engineering (UNSW) and was Head of UNSW School of Photovoltaic & Renewable Energy Engineering 2003 to 2013. In that decade, the School’s budget approximately quintupled, student numbers reached almost 600 and SPREE alumni changed the face of the national and international industries. I'm currently COO of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics and Editor for the IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics. My current research activities are on end-of-life of photovoltaics technologies and environmental impacts and I founded and manage of the UNSWERV project, bringing light, water and power to remote villages in Vanuatu.
Areas of Research: photovoltaics, solar, stand-alone, off-grid, Vanuatu, water supply, geothermal
Key Words: photovoltaics, solar, stand-alone, off-grid, Vanuatu, water supply, geothermal
City or State: NSW
Link to professional page: https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/our-people/richard-corkish
Link to research page : https://www.acap.org.au/
Link to personal or Lab page: https://liudan034.wixsite.com/unswerv

Scott Daniel
Role or Position: Senior Lecturer, Humanitarian Engineering
Institution: University of Technology Sydney
Email: [email protected]
Contact Number : 0295141827
Brief biography: Scott Daniel is Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering. A former high school mathematics and science teacher, he has worked in 10 countries on 5 continents, and as a consultant and facilitator with UNESCO, Australian Volunteers for International Development, Engineers without Borders Australia, Unbound, World Vision, the University of Sydney, the Victorian Department of Education and Training, and the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. His current research focuses on the development of socio-technical thinking and co-design expertise in the context of humanitarian engineering, and humanitarian engineering education and practi
Areas of Research: education, design, practice
City or State: New South Wales
Link to professional page: https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Scott.Daniel
Link to research page : https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=gdJ6C18AAAAJ&hl=en
Link to personal or Lab page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-daniel-he-him-5110447/?originalSubdomain=au

Sergio Guillen Grillo
Role or Position: Researcher and Part-time Faculty
Institution: Texas Tech University-Costa Rica
Email: [email protected]
Contact Number : +1 646 8071191
Brief biography (100 words or less): Energy & environmental policy and public engagement researcher and practitioner with 30 years of experience in renewable energy and 20 years of practice in conflict resolution. I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in Public Policy at the Australian National University. Part-time faculty and researcher in Engineering, Sustainability, and Government at Texas Tech University-Costa Rica. My academic background is in Environmental Security and Peace (M.A.-University for Peace), Mechanical Engineering (B.Eng-Carleton University) and Natural Resource Organization Management (PGCert-University of Michigan). Internationally Certified Mediator since 2002.
Areas of Research: Deliberative Democracy, Peace Engineering, Environmental Policy, Sustainable Tourism, Renewable Energy
Key Words: Peace Engineering, Deliberative Democracy, Environmental Justice, Costa Rica, Latin America, Conflict Resolution, Human Security, Mediation
City or State: ACT
Link to professional page: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/costarica/AcademicsNew/deanandfaculty.php
Link to research page : https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-oPiDkMAAAAJ&hl=en
Link to teaching page : http://sustainability.edu.au/material/profile/777/
Link to personal or Lab page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergioguilleng/

Spyros Schismenos
Role or Position: PhD Fellow / Member of Humanitarian And Development Research Initiative (HADRI)
Institution: Western Sydney University
Email: [email protected]
Brief biography (100 words or less): Spyros Schismenos is currently a PhD Fellow in Humanitarian and Development Studies at the School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University (Australia). He has worked as a research assistant at the Research Center for Soil & Water Resources and Natural Disaster Prevention, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (Taiwan), and the UNESCO Chair for the Conservation and Ecotourism of Riparian & Deltaic Ecosystems, International Hellenic University (Greece). He is a Member of the Youth International Soil Governance Commission of the UN FAO. His work is featured on PreventionWeb (UNDRR).
Areas of Research: Humanitarian Engineering, Prototype Development, Disaster Management, Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Community Engagement, Sustainable Development, Social and Environmental Justice
Key Words: humanitarian engineering, flood management, fire management, CBRNE threats, hydropower, solar power, systems thinking, community engagement, environmental sustainability, occupational health and safety
City or State: NSW
Link to professional page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spyros-schismenos-55a7a1108/
Link to research page : https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Spyros-Schismenos-2