INVITED SPEAKERS
PLENARY SPEAKERS
Dr. Ian Ross Ph.D., FRSC
Global PFAS Practice Lead, CDM Smith
Ian has >33 years’ experience in the environmental impact of xenobiotics and has focused solely on PFAS management for the last 12 years in a global role, after first evaluating solutions to manage PFOS in 2005 after the Buncefield fire near London, then started developing PFOS destruction technologies whilst working on a PFAS project for Guernsey airport from 2007. He has written over 100 articles, academic publications, and book chapters on PFAS, including the 204-page chapter on PFAS in the Emerging Contaminants Handbook.
Ian is a biochemist by training and works as a technical expert for assessment of contaminated land sites and PFAS decontamination. He was the first to commercialize the total oxidizable precursor (TOP) assay and apply this at several sites in Scandinavia from 2014 and has applied high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to characterize PFAS. He has acted as expert witness for governments managing PFAS and is currently working on 5 SERDP projects investigating PFAS supramolecular assemblies.
Dr Ian Ross will be presenting "The Sting in the Tail: How Nature Reacts to PFASs".
Professor Craig Simmons
Pro Vice-Chancellor, College of Engineering, Science and Environment
Professor Craig T. Simmons FAA FTSE is a leading groundwater scientist, recognized for contributions to groundwater science, science leadership, education, and policy reform, working across the public and private sectors. He is the Chief Scientist for South Australia. Craig is Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Engineering, Science and Environment at the University of Newcastle.
Craig was Foundation Director of the ARC National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research at Flinders University, and Executive Director for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences at ARC.
Craig is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and American Geophysical Union.
He has received awards including the Australian Academy of Science Anton Hales Medal for distinguished contributions to research in the Earth Sciences, South Australian Scientist of the Year, Australian Water Professional of the Year, and International Association of Hydrogeologists Presidents’ Award. He is a lead author of the United Nations World Water Development Report “Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible” and coauthor of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report.
Professor Craig Simmons will be presenting "Groundwater Contamination and Remediation: Approaches, Challenges, and Opportunities".