 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
PhD students receive prizes at UKACM conference
Two PhD students from the Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational Engineering have won prizes at the UK Association for Computational Mechanics (UKACM) conference that took place in Durham.
Nathan Ellmer received the Mike Crisfield prize for best presentation for his work "Development of a novel Gradient Enhanced Kriging computational framework for large strain hyper-elastic constitutive models" while Callum Lock received the Laura Annie Wilson prize for the best
presentation by a PhD student for his work “AI Mesh-Informed Techniques for Optimising the Design Process”.
Professor Rubén Sevilla (UKACM president) said: "The success of our conference owes much to the outstanding presentations delivered by our esteemed participants. I am privileged to commend their exemplary efforts and congratulate them on their well-deserved recognition. It is remarkable to see two of the three prizes of our national conference being awarded to Swansea University PhD students."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Europe’s most intact large river delta under threat
Professor of aquatic bioscience Carlos Garcia de Leaniz has contributed to an article published in YaleEnvironment 360 on proposed plans to develop one of the only remaining pristine deltas in Europe.
Albania’s Vjosë River and its lagoon is a haven for rare Dalmatian pelicans, flamingos, spoonbills, loggerhead turtles, frogs, and freshwater birds, but is now under threat as plans for luxury developments, spearheaded by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared
Kushner are moving forward.
If the urbanisation of the delta is successful, the Vjosë River, often called Europe’s last undammed river outside Russia, will be a wildlife wipe-out.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Should we remove the barriers along Britain’s rivers?
Professor of aquatic bioscience Carlos Garcia de Leaniz has contributed to an article in the Guardian on the potential risks and benefits of allowing UK rivers to re-naturalise.
Only 1% of Britain’s rivers are free from artificial barriers, such as dams, weirs and culverts and removing them is hugely beneficial to river-dwelling species, plants, and sediments by allowing them to move along the watercourse. These barriers are also costly to maintain, and researchers argue that managing our rivers and working with the
landscape is the most sensible approach.
However, could removing these barriers create unpredictable water flows in flood-prone regions? Carlos commented: ‘The risk of flooding is always context specific. Weirs and culverts can make flooding worse upstream because they slow the water in the river, collecting it in mini-ponds and stopping it from flowing downstream. It is also quite easy for culverts to be blocked by trees and debris’.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
