Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES)

Profile

General Information

A Hydrogeochemist by profession, I have been teaching at Portsmouth since 1992 following a 15-year career in the water and environmental consultancy business, working mainly throughout Europe and the Middle-East. I have worked in 25 countries for a number of Governments, Companies and Institutions including projects for the UN, DFID and the World Bank in Korea, Tanzania, Colombia and Poland.

My main expertise is in all aspects of Groundwater Resources – exploration, evaluation, quality, treatment & management, plus all facets of contaminated land and water pollution investigations, treatment and management. I also have experience of membrane-based water treatment engineering and waste management, especially landfill design and both gas and leachate monitoring and management.

I co-founded and managed the Applied Environmental Geoscience degree course at Portsmouth from 1992 - 2002 and co-founded the MSc Contaminated Land course in 1996. I have been the Programme Manager of the Environmental Sciences Programme of courses since 2000 and Pathway Leader of the Environmental Hazards course since its inception in 2001

I am a Chartered Geologist, Chemist and Environmental Scientist and am the University representative of the Institution of Environmental Scientists. See me for Membership.

My activities in Environmental Science

Teaching

I am unit co-ordinator and Principal lecturer for:

• Level 2: Environmental Geochemistry (1GS210)
• Level 2: Hydrology & Hydrogeology (2GS276)
• Level 2: Environmental Fieldwork (2GS284) 
• Level 3: Groundwater Management & Protection (1GS342)
• Level 3: Environmental Pollution & Assessment (2GS317)
• Level 3: The Environmental Programme of Study Tours (2GS359)
• Level M: Groundwater Hydrology (2GS404)
• Level M: Groundwater Protection & Management (1GS435)
• Level M: Environmental Contamination & Pollution (1GS421)

I also contribute to:

• Level 1: Environmental Hazards (1GS144)
• Level 1: Geomaterials Science (2GS139)
• Level 2: Scientific Techniques for Environmental Scientists0 (BGS257)
• Level 3: Contaminated Land (1GS312)
• Level 3: Environmental Projects (BGS349)
• Level M: Fundamentals of Contaminated Land (1GS418)
• Level M: Topics in Applied Geosciences (BGS440)

I also run a number of local field excursions, laboratory and fieldwork skills courses and overseas field study courses (currently to Malta, Tenerife & Cyprus) and am the main staff contact/supervisor for both contamination and water-based projects within the School.

I have participated in a number of SOCRATES-funded teaching module developments in France, Greece, Russia and the Philippines, and am the School's ERASMUS co-ordinator.

Career

• 1991- now: Principal Lecturer, Environmental Sciences Programme Manager and Environmental Business Consultant in SEES. Supervisor of 3 M.Phil and 2 PhD students. External Examiner for Durham University’s Environmental Science Programme of courses, (2003 - 2006).
• 1987-1991: Technical Director, Hydrotechnica Ltd. International water resource and environmental consultancy. Numerous international environmental contamination and groundwater resource projects undertaken and managed throughout the UK, Middle-East and Europe.
• 1986-1987: Independent hydrochemical consultant on a variety of overseas industrial/environmental projects, chiefly in: Gibraltar, Korea, Norway (North Sea), Bahrain and Oman
• 1984-1986: Chief Chemist at the World's (then) largest seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Bahrain for a Japanese engineering company.
• 1980-1984: Hydrogeochemical Engineer with the Wellfields and Rural Supplies Section of the Water Department - Ministry of Electricity and Water, Qatar. Groundwater exploration, development, treatment and supply/ maintenance and quality monitoring and management for both urban, rural and agricultural desert communities.
• 1976-1980: Scientific researcher with the Hydrogeology Department of the British Geological Survey, London. Trace-chemical and isotopic investigations into groundwater ages and origins within the major UK aquifers.

Professional Record

• 2009: Elected to the Council of the Geological Society, London.
• 2005: Chartered Scientist and Chartered Environmentalist certifications
• 1991: Registered Professional Water Chemist – (Royal Society of Chemistry)
• 1991: Fellow of the Institution of Water and Environmental Management
• 1990: Member of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health
• 1989: Member of the European Desalination Association
• 1989: Member (and now Fellow) of the Institute of Environmental Sciences – (Chartered Scientist)
• 1982: Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry – (Chartered Chemist)
• 1979: Fellow of the Geological Society – (Chartered Geologist)
• Member of the ICE Southern Geotechnical Gp committee (1997-2002)
• Member of the Geological Society Hydrogeology Group Committee (2003-2008) 
• Panel member for hydrogeology on QJEGH Journal Editorial Board (2005 -
• External Examiner for the Env. Science Courses – Durham Uni (2003 – 2006)
• Geological Society Conference organiser (Portsmouth, 1996 & 2004)
• Professional CPD Presenter (Univ.of Portsmouth) –many venues across S. England
• I have been an Expert witness for a proposed quarry / landfill Public Inquiry
• I am an active consultant on projects related to my broad environmental expertise.
• ERASMUS Exchange co-ordinator within SEES.

Research

• Palaeoclimate investigations in arid and semi-arid countries using both hydrochemistry and isotope techniques(BGS 1977 – 1980)
• Baseline definition of the hydrochemistry of trace elements in major UK aquifers
• New techniques in the desalination of saline waters (Reverse Osmosis)
• Application of non-destructive analytical techniques to evaluate fouling mechanisms in membrane separation modules
• Contaminated Land – Field investigational & procedural development techniques
• Applications of hydrochemistry to solve both water resource and landfill contamination problems (students currently working in Portsmouth and Greece)
• New techniques for colour removal from textile wastewaters with effluent recycling (PhD student working in India)
• Waste management strategies for islands (PhD student working in Greece)
• Consultancy activities related to all the above fields, applying results of modern research to solve environmental problems.

Recent Publications

More recent publications

Publications Before 2006

I have produced over 100 technical reports for National / International organisations in 25 countries and authored some 24 scientific publications in National / International Journals:

• Nitrate Pollution on the Island of Jersey, Water Quality International (June 2005)
• Environmental Geology in the Urban Environment in : Issues in Environmental Geology. Geol Soc. Sp. Pub(1998),Geol Soc, London
• The Legacy of Contaminated Land in Portsmouth in :Contaminated Land & Groundwater. Geol Soc (Eng Geol) Sp. Pub. No. 14 (1998), Geol Soc – London
• Contaminated Land & Groundwater – Future Directions(Eds : Lerner D and Walton NRG). Geol Soc Sp. Pub. No. 14 (1998) Geological Society – London.
• The unusual co-existence of sulphate-reducing bacteria and algae in a confined groundwater production system. 1997. QJEG 30 155-160.
•  Rising groundwater breaks surface : A case study from the Arabian Gulf. pp273-276 in: Groundwater in the Urban Environment. Ed : Chilton J (1997)  Balkema
• An incidence of massive bio-fouling of sand filters - a biochemical detective story. 1993. Journal of the Institute of Water & Environmental Management 7 (1), 12-17.
• Reverse Osmosis pre-treatment: Injecting a little chemical control and management.  Desalination 82, 281-301 (1991)