Dr. Arun Krishna Vuppaladadiyam is a lecturer at the School
of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, Australia. He
obtained his PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering from Tsinghua
University in 2019. His expertise mainly focuses on improving safety and
effectiveness in the field of environmental engineering. Dr. Vuppaladadiyam’s
technical skills range from ASPEN Plus Process Modelling to thermochemical and
biochemical conversions, waste-to-energy processes, wastewater treatment,
biochar synthesis and applications, and disturbed mine site rehabilitation.
Dr. Ibrahim Gbolahan Hakeem is a postdoctoral research
assistant in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department, School of
Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. He holds an MSc in
Sustainable Chemical Engineering from the University of Bath, UK, and a PhD
from RMIT University, which he obtained in 2023. Dr. Hakeem has strong
fundamentals in chemical engineering which he consistently employs in
designing new processes for waste valorisation and resource recovery. He has
established a strong research collaboration with the Australian water sector and
received prominent industry awards, including the Student Water Prize Award and
Paul Darvodelsky Biosolids Scholarship Award for his PhD work. He has research interests in resource recovery from wastewater and biosolids streams, thermal treatments of organic wastes, energy and environmental applications of smart carbon materials, among others.
Dr. Aravind Surapaneni is a Senior Research and Planning Scientist at South East Water and a Deputy Director (Industry) at the ARC Training Centre for the Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource, based at the RMIT Bundoora campus. He holds a Diploma in Project Management from Swinburne University. In addition, Dr. Aravind Surapaneni is a Program Manager for IWN’s Biosolids and Resource Recovery Program. He is also the Principal Scientist of Soils, Biosolids, and Groundwater at South East Water, where his role is to drive recycled water, biosolid, waste management, soil, and groundwater programs that will contribute to the understanding and management of product risks. He is responsible for leading water industry and academic research programs and collaborations at the state and national levels.
Prof. Kalpit Shah received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Curtin University of Technology in 2011 and is currently a Professor, Acting Assistant Associate Dean, and Group Leader for the innovative Resource and Waste Conversion Technologies (iRWT) research group in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering department of the School of Engineering at RMIT University, Melbourne. He is also a Deputy Director (Academic) at the ARC Training Centre for the Transformation of Biosolids. His current research projects and career interests include fundamental and applied research in chemical engineering and science, particularly in the areas of the sustainable management of waste and its conversion into high-value products.
