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Event details
Discover how emerging Curtin researchers are helping to make steps towards a more sustainable future.
From climate change to circular economy, our PhD students are tackling today’s most pressing sustainability challenges with bold ideas and innovative solutions.
Explore the future of sustainability and be inspired by their vision and commitment to a better tomorrow.
As part of the event, we will also showcase research projects from Curtin PhD students in sustainability-related fields. Don’t miss the opportunity to engage and learn about their work.
This event is brought to you in conjunction with the Graduate Research School.
If you can’t make it in person, you can join us online. Please note a link to stream the event will be sent to you via email closer to the date.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Presenters and Topics
- Daniela Rivas Aybar on ‘Sustainable Construction Opportunities in Hemp Based Materials’
- Mohammad Raquibul Hasan on ‘Sustainable Manufacturing And 3D Printing Using Recycled Plastic Wastes’
- Faz Ikram on ‘Urban Design and Financial Analysis for Envision Tomorrow – A Practical Policy Tool Net Zero Precinct Framework’
- Constanze Meier on ‘Supporting Low-and Middle-Income Countries in the West Pacific Region to Achieve Sustainable Urban Development: Developing Evidence-based Tools and Guidelines for Climate Change Health Impact Assessment’
- Mary O’Halloran on ‘Volunteering and Essential Service Delivery in Rural Communities: An Investigation into The Sustainability of Volunteer Bushfire Brigades in Western Australia’
- Keegan Robertson on ‘Three Essays on The Economics of Climate Change and Political Behaviour’
- Brad Smart on ‘Managing the Sun: A South-West Australian Perspective on Integrating High Levels of Solar PV And Other Distributed Energy Resources into Modern Power Grids’
Date
Tuesday 18 March 2025
Time
12.00pm – 12.30pm: Registration & light refreshments
12.30pm – 2.00pm: Formal proceedings
2.00pm – 2.30pm: Networking & light refreshments
Location
The Lantern, Level 7
T.L. Robertson Library, Building 105
Curtin University
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Or online
Presenters
Daniela Rivas Aybar
Daniela Rivas-Aybar is an international sustainability specialist with over 13 years work experience in responsible sourcing, environmental and social safeguards, and addressing sustainability and climate topics in agriculture, forestry, fishing, water, and community development projects with NGOs, government, and the private sector.
Daniela is currently researching the life cycle assessment of hemp-based materials in Australia as a part of her PhD candidacy at the Sustainable Engineering Group at Curtin University. Daniela holds a BSc in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the Panamerican School of Agriculture and a Masters of Agricommerce from Massey University.
Mohammad Raquibul Hasan
Mohammad Raquibul Hasan is a PhD researcher at Curtin University, focusing on sustainable materials for additive manufacturing. His research examines the feasibility of using household polylactic acid (recycled PLA) waste in 3D printing, assessing their printability, mechanical properties and environmental impact. With a background in mechanical engineering, he has published multiple journal articles and has experience in academia and industry. His work supports circular economy principles by promoting material reuse and waste reduction in 3D printing, contributing to more sustainable manufacturing practices.
Faz Ikram
Faz Ikram is a qualified corporate finance and sustainability professional with over 18 years of experience across Australia, Japan, Estonia and Malaysia. Faz holds an MBA and Bachelor of Legal Studies, and multiple top-tier professional designations, including Fellow Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) and CPA Australia.
Constanze Meier
Constanze Meier has more than ten years of healthcare experience working internationally in Germany, Austria, Canada, Dubai, Singapore, and Australia. She specialises in climate-related health impacts and ESG in the healthcare industry. She has obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from IMC FH Krems (Austria), a Graduate Diploma in Environment and Climate Emergency from Curtin University (Australia).
She is pursuing her PhD with the World Health Organization Collaborative Centre (WHOCC) for Climate Change and Health Impact Assessment at Curtin University, specialising in climate change-induced health impact in lower and middle-income countries.
Mary O’Halloran
Mary O’Halloran is completing a PhD examining volunteer bushfire brigades in Western Australia, with a focus on the impact of social, economic, and environmental factors, as well as the experiences of stress and fatigue among brigade members. Having spent much of her life living in a country town as part of a farming family, Mary is passionate about furthering research that is centred on rural issues. A priority of Mary’s work is undertaking research that has tangible outcomes, helping to ensure that rural communities are able to retain their resilience and sustainability going forward.
Keegan Robertson
Keegan Robertson is a PhD candidate in Economics, examining the link between climate change and political behaviour. He has contributed to research on climate policy, education, and behavioural studies, including supporting climate commitments across the Indo-Pacific region. He is leading interdisciplinary research and has engaged with the UN, the media, and an Australian Senate inquiry on greenwashing.
Keegan was awarded an Associate Fellowship by Advance HE, UK, for his teaching and is a former member of Curtin’s Sustainability in Business and Law Steering Group, providing strategic input on sustainability initiatives within the Faculty of Business and Law.
Brad Smart
Brad Smart is a dedicated energy policy professional with over 15 years of industry experience. He is focused on policy development for distributed renewable resources, such as rooftop solar PV, batteries and EVs, viewing these as an essential and central part of future two-way power systems. He has worked in developing policy around technical, consumer, market and regulatory aspects.
Brad has worked on key projects including the Western Australian Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap and its award-winning multi-year virtual power plant pilot, Project Symphony. He is currently involved with the development of Project Jupiter which will scale up virtual power plants in Western Australia.
Professor Gretchen Benedix
Professor Gretchen Benedix is the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research at Curtin University. She is a cosmic mineralogist and astro-geologist in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, using the chemistry, mineralogy, spectroscopy, and petrology of meteorites to understand the formation and evolution of asteroids and other planets.
Access
We are committed to making our events as accessible and inclusive as possible. Refer to our Access and Inclusion Guide for more information.