We are a (marine) environmental research group within UniSA STEM, based at the Mawson Lakes Campus of the University of South Australia (directions here).

Our goals are to better understand and improve the management of humans on the marine environment, focussing on impacts from our ever increasing global need for energy and resources. We have excellent laboratory facilities at Mawson Lakes – well set up for ecotoxicology testing, chemical analyses and advanced microscopy. We also have a wide range of field sampling equipment for environmental monitoring and a small but very capable ROV that we use for video sampling. Please also have a look at our Research and News pages which outline the sorts of work we currently do, but we are always keen to talk to people about new ways to address environmental and social issues associated with the energy and resources sectors.

Industry Partners

A feature of our group is that we work closely with a range of industry partners, in both our research and teaching. Partly, this is because we have also spent time working outside of academia, but mainly because we like working with others on practical solutions to pressing environmental and social problems. We welcome opportunities to co-develop research projects with industry partners, please contact Craig to discuss.

PhD Students

If you are thinking about doing a PhD, have a strong academic background in marine science or engineering and want to pursue a career in marine environmental (or social) science, then please contact us. Currently, we have several projects we would like to match with PhD students if we can find the right people to join our group:

These projects are associated with ongoing research in our group so we have funding to help support the research but students will need to cover tuition fees and living allowances  etc. (see list below for potential sources for  funding this at UniSA and elsewhere).  Students will need an  excellent academic record to be competitive for this funding.

PhD students at UniSA will normally be assigned a panel of supervisors from across different disciplines, which will often include industry co-supervisors as part of UniSA’s ‘transformed PhD program‘.  There are also some other fantastic schemes at UniSA for PhD students to link with industry, including the Partnership Intern Program.

In terms of funding PhD Student positions – see the UniSA  pages, but some of the opportunities relevant to working with us include

For International Students:

For Australian Students:

MSc Students

For MSc students, we supervise research projects within UniSA’s Masters of Environmental Science, during which students do a 9 point research project in their second year. Many of the projects listed here would also make good M. Env. Sci. projects.

Students undertaking either University College London’s MSc in Global Management of Natural Resources or MSc in Sustainable Energy Systems both do research projects in Adelaide as part of the degrees.  Craig continues to teach in these programmes each year and has supervised a number of projects for these MSc, mainly in the area of Social Licence to Operate. Often, but not always, projects are linked to industry partners.  Craig could also supervise projects in the environmental science space; for example, associated with our project on marine contamination at Port Pirie.

Available scholarships and bursaries for each of these courses are available at respective UCL course websites.

Honours Students

Craig can supervise Honours research projects for students enrolled at UniSA. The most likely degree for this is the Bachelor of Science (Honours) which is an add-on (research focussed) year for people who have a Bachelors degree in Environmental Science, Science or similar; note this fourth year (with a substantial research component) is the normal pre-requisite for entry into a PhD at UniSA.  We have a number of potential Honours projects on offer at the moment, for students starting in either SP2 or SP5 (2021), but Craig is also always willing to discuss other projects if you have something particular in mind.  For South Australian students, the Playford Trust Honours Scholarships might be something you can consider to help support you during Honours.

Undergraduate Students

Most years UniSA runs a Vacation Research Scholarship scheme for undergraduate students, open to undergraduates at the end of their 2nd, 3rd or 4th years, both from UniSA or from other Australian universities. Students nominate to work with a UniSA researcher for up to eight weeks over the summer break (Dec – Feb), receiving a $300 per week stipend. We normally nominate a few projects (largely based on potential Honours projects) – this year there are projects on metal contamination in mangroves, ecotoxicology testing and ROV protocols. The scheme is competitive, but a great chance to come work with us for a short period, particularly for those contemplating doing an Honours year. Students need to discuss potential projects with Craig before putting an application in. Applications this year are due 12 September 2020.

Research Fellows and Industry Mobility Placement

Currently, we do not have any available funding for post-docs.  Of course, we are always happy to talk to people who wish to apply to external agencies to work with us and to help with this however we can.

We can also host researchers from industry who may benefit from working with (and bring something to) our group for a sabbatical break or period of dedicated research. We have excellent facilities and provide an opportunity to reconnect with the academic environment at UniSA.

Our Contact Details

Associate Professor Craig Styan

Room P2-17,

University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus

GPO Box 2471 Adelaide SA 5001

Tel: +61 8 8302 3356   Email:  craig.styan@unisa.edu.au

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