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Douglas Aitken

Investigador

Universidad del Desarrollo

Santiago, Chile

Líneas de Investigación


The main line of investigation is understanding the environmental impacts of industries and developing technical strategic solutions. Specific lines: Water management, Life cycle analysis, Risk and economic analysis, Bioenergy generation

Educación

  •  Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. Reino Unido, 2009
  •  Sustainability of bioenergy generation, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. Reino Unido, 2014

Experiencia Académica

  •   Postdoctorado Full Time

    Universidad del Desarrollo

    Ingenieria

    Santiago, Chile

    2014 - 2014

  •   Postdoctorado Full Time

    Universidad del Desarrollo

    Ingenieria

    Santiago, Chile

    2014 - 2017

  •   Profesor Part Time

    Universidad del Desarrollo

    Ingenieria

    Santiago, Chile

    2014 - 2017

  •   Teaching assistant Part Time

    UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

    Engineering

    Edinburgh, Reino Unido

    2009 - 2014

  •   Thesis supervisor Part Time

    UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

    Engineering

    Edinburgh, Reino Unido

    2014 - 2014

Experiencia Profesional

  •   Project leader Full Time

    Engineers Without Borders

    Camboya

    2009 - 2009

  •   Student Engineer Full Time

    Jacobs Engineering

    Reino Unido

    2006 - 2006

  •   Student Engineer Full Time

    Jacobs Engineering

    Chile

    2007 - 2007

  •   Student Engineer Full Time

    Jacobs Engineering

    Reino Unido

    2008 - 2008

Formación de Capital Humano


Master's theses:
A Life Cycle Assessment of the Chilean Mining Industry with Emphasis on its Water and Carbon Footprint
Master's supervisor
Mairi Dean, The University of Edinburgh
I co-supervised the thesis of Mairi with a colleague at the University of Edinburgh within the Institute for Infrastructure and the Environment. I helped Mairi to develop life cycle assessment models of the Chilean mining industry to look at water demand and carbon emissions. This has led to further collaborations with the University of Edinburgh and we wish to continue supervising students together.

Analisis del Ciclo de Vida en la Industria de Vinos Premium en Chile
Master's supervisor
Jose Maria Perez Polvorin, Universidad del Desarrollo
I co-supervised the thesis of Jose Maria with Dr Alex Godoy, I guided Jose Maria on the development of his life cycle models and construction of the thesis implementing life cycle assessment to the wine industry in Chile.

Teaching:
Since my arrival in Chile I have been teaching a course entitled: 'Sustainable Development in Industry and Business'. The course is aimed at engineers to enhance their understanding of the environmental impacts of industrial processes, social issues related to industry and the application of good environmental management. The course covers measurement of environmental impacts and general sustainability, investigation of different industries, the application of life cycle assessment and environmental management strategies. Furthermore, within the course, the students develop projects to apply new environmental management strategies in communities, develop produces to tackle environmental issues in the laboratory and generate sustainable strategies for local businesses. I have also provided teaching for various Master's courses on the application of life cycle assessment to various industrial processing systems.

It is my intention to continue teaching the course on sustainable development in the future but to also teach a Master's course specifically on the application of Life Cycle Assessment and its applications to various industries. The students will be expected to develop their own environmental models for particular case studies within the course which will lead to the generation of some Master's theses on the topic of life cycle assessment and environmental management. I will also work with the School of Mining in Univesidad del Desarrollo to teach courses on environmental management within the mining industry to enhance the capabilities of the students within that particular area.

Student projects:
I have developed a number of practical projects with students at the university encompassing environmental engineering. We have developed a prototype for a small scale bioreactor system to produce biogas from organic waste. With this project we won funding from the Ministry of Energy as part of the 'Impacta Energia' scheme to develop renewable energy generation projects in Chile. Students were involved in the design and construction phase of the project and the project will continue to be developed with their input. We have also developed a methodology with the students to design and plant 'bosques nativos' in urban areas of Santiago with Shubhendu Sharma of Afforestt, this project has begun at Universidad del Desarrollo with pilot tests. We intend to grow this idea and expand it throughout Santiago working with municipalities.

I have also developed strong links with the Environmental Management Team of the Municipality of La Pintana. Together with students at the university we have been developing projects focussed on energy generation, wastewater treatment and waste management in La Pintana. The students in engineering and various other faculties have developed strategies to improve the environmental management of the municipality. We will continue to work with the municipality to design strategies and implement new technologies that we develop together.

Ingenieros con Impacto:
In 2017 I have iniciated a group called 'Ingenieros con Impacto' which is aimed at engineering students and students from other disciplines with particular interest in the iniciative. The aim of the group is to develop knowledge and experience regarding sustainable practical engineering solutions that can be developed to improve the living standards of local communities and society in general. The group will be largely organised by the students themselves with my guidance and expertise from my colleagues in the faculty of engineering. The students will develop projects working with local communities to identify and develop sustainable solutions to problems identified through collaboration with the communities. The group will host workshops to develop and teach about new technologies and strategies. Regular meetings will be held to report progress and discuss project strategies.


Difusión y Transferencia


Environmental management in mining:
Journal articles investigating the issue of water management and solutions for the mining industry have been published to provide analysis on the the most cost-effective solutions to tackle low water availability
The research has been presented in a number of international conferences in Chile and internationally
Meetings have taken place with mining companies to discuss the implications of the results with their environmental management respresentatives

Engineering solutions:
The small scale modular bioreactor design that I developed won funding from the Ministry of Energy to develop a prototype. Following the 'Impacta Energia' bootcamp, we have started developing the technology with the Municipality of La Pintana to test the system as part of a 'real life' scenario. We have also developed partnerships with sustainability centres in different regions of Chile to test the prototype using organic waste for their local partners. We have also discussed collaboration with several recycling companies based in Santiago to provide a waste management service for organic waste.
Students from the School of Engineering are now working on research projects with the Municipality of La Pintana to improve environmental management systems, the project results will be tested within the municipality and implemented if proven successful.


Premios y Distinciones

  •   Best paper and presentation at IWA Conference

    International Water Association

    Reino Unido, 2010

    At the International Water Association Young Water Professionals Conference I presented a paper on the use of algal biomass for wastewater treatment and energy generation. The paper and presentation won the first prize.

  •   Water Engineering Award 2010

    The Worshipful Company of Engineers

    Chile, 2010

    The Worshipful Company of Engineers, a philanthropic group of the United Kingdom presented me with the Water Engineering Award of 2010 for contributions to Water Engineering in the United Kingdom.

  •   Student Scholarship 2004-2009

    Jacobs Engineering Student Scholarship

    Chile, 2004

    During my undergraduate programme at the University of Edinburgh I was awarded a Scholarship by Jacobs Engineering company due to high grades achieved at secondary school and for high potential as an engineer.

  •   JM Lessels Scholarship

    The Royal Society of Edinburgh

    Reino Unido, 2011

    I won a scholarship from the Royal Society of Edinburgh to develop research in collaboration with international universities. I worked at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology on wastewater management and energy recovery, and with Universidad Andres Bello on bioenergy generation from macroalgal feedstock.


 

Article (4)

Water Scarcity and the Impact of the Mining and Agricultural Sectors in Chile
Life cycle assessment of macroalgae cultivation and processing for biofuel production
Stormwater quality performance of a macro-pervious pavement car park installation equipped with channel drain based oil and silt retention devices
Achieving a Green Solution: Limitations and Focus Points for Sustainable Algal Fuels

BookSection (3)

Socio-environmental issues related to mineral exploitation in the Andes
Environmental-Microbial Biotechnology Inside Mining Operations from an Engineering Viewpoint Based on LCA
Sustainable Fuel from Algae: Challenges and New Directions

ConferencePaper (4)

Addressing decreasing water availability for the mining industry using cost-benefit analysis.
Cost-Effectiveness of Strategies to Reduce Water Consumption in the Copper Mining Industry
Do Pervious Pavements Really Need Pervious Surfaces? The Concept of Macro-pervious Pavement as a SuDS Device
Algae: A solution to wastewater treatment, greenhouse gas emissions and biofuel production?
11
Douglas Aitken

Investigador

Ingenieria Civil

Universidad del Desarrollo

Santiago, Chile

2
Alex Godoy

Director

Facultad de Ingeniería

Universidad del Desarrollo

Santiago, Chile

1
DIEGO RIVERA

Full Professor

Universidad del Desarrollo

Las Condes, Chile

1
Eduardo Holzapfel

Profesor Titula/Emerito

Recursos Hidricos

Universidad de Concepcion

Chillan, Chile

1
Cristian Bulboa

Profesor Asociado

Ecología y Biodiversidad

Universidad Andrés Bello

Santiago, Chile