Aisling Dominique O'Sullivan is an Irish–New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, specialising in ecological engineering for removal of heavy metals and nutrients from wastewater, in urban and rural environments and as part of mining remediation.

Academic career

O'Sullivan was born and grew up in Ireland. She completed a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

titled ''Constructed wetlands for passive biological treatment of mine tailings water at Tara Mines, Ireland'' at the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

. From 2001 to 2003, O'Sullivan undertook postdoctoral research at the Center for Restoration of Ecosystems and Watersheds of at the Gallogly College of Engineering at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. O'Sullivan then joined the faculty of the University of Canterbury, rising to Professor of Ecological Engineering. O'Sullivan is the leader of the Centre for EcoLogical Technical Solution at Canterbury. O'Sullivan's early research was on removal of

heavy metals upright=1.2, Crystals of lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead Heavy metals is a controversial and ambiguous term for metallic elements with relatively h ...

from contaminated water. Working at former mining sites in both Ireland and Oklahoma, she became aware of the ecological and environmental damage that heavy metals in

mine tailings In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material th ...

can do. O'Sullivan investigates and develops technology for both heavy metal and nutrient reduction in wastewater in urban and rural environments, and has also researched

constructed wetlands A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland to treat sewage, greywater, stormwater runoff or industrial wastewater. It may also be designed for land reclamation after mining, or as a mitigation step for natural areas lost to land developme ...

for water remediation. As part of the Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge, O'Sullivan led a three-year (beginning in 2021) multidisciplinary research project to develop new technology for treating wastewater. The research team aimed to use 3D printing and additive manufacturing to produce biodegradable wastewater treatment filters for nutrient removal. O'Sullivan has also investigated the use of mussel shells as a low-cost natural biodegradable material to clean up heavy metals in roof and mine run-off.

Selected works

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References

External links

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classi ...

Voices programme
' featuring Aisling O'Sullivan, 9 May 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:OSullivan, Aisling New Zealand academics New Zealand women academics New Zealand engineers Irish emigrants to New Zealand Alumni of the National University of Ireland Academic staff of the University of Canterbury Year of birth missing (living people) Living people