Working towards a sustainable future

Dr Denys Villa-Gomez will be joining us for today’s podcast. Dr Denys Villa-Gomez is a Lecturer at The University of Queensland's School of Civil Engineering. Dr Denys Villa-Gomez obtained her PhD at the world-leading institute UNESCO-IHE and Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Dr Denys works on the development of sustainable technologies that reduce pollution and recover valuable resources from wastewater and solid waste such as energy and metals, leading projects on the recovery of cobalt and rare earth elements from mine impacted waters and tailings using biological processes. Recovery of these elements is a priority for Australia, due to its low abundance and high demand worldwide, particularly in new technologies combating climate change. She collaborates with international and local researchers as well as with industry and government stakeholders, where she provides technical advice regarding the treatment and management of waste.  At the teaching front, she has a growing influence in the implementation of environmental engineering concepts, updating the civil engineering program to make it more responsive to the big world challenges. Alongside her research interests, she is passionate about creating an impact on others through mentoring and supporting programs, particularly for women in STEM. This episode is hosted by two of The University of Queensland's Women in Engineering student leaders; Yvette (Evie) Gibbon and Sophie Bates.Connect with Dr Denys Villa-Gomes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denys-kristalia-villa-gomez-47594b28/ Connect with Yvette (Evie) Gibbon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvette-gibbon/Connect with Sophie Bates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-bates-7a9a38186/