I am a Professor of Sustainability Assessment and Enhancement at Abertay University. I lead the Sustainable Development and Inclusive Living Research Challenge Space, one of four strategic research areas in the university. I am leader of The Transformations in Society and Environmental Policy theme within the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society (SAGES) a Scottish pooling of over 650 of Scotland's top researchers, to ensure that the latest scientific advancements are effectively translated to meet the needs of policymakers, industry, businesses, and other users.
My research focuses on the enhancement of sustainability in the built environment with interests in the fields of sustainability assessment, decision support and public participation in decision making, in particular sustainable service provision. I lead a multidisciplinary team of researchers with an interest in sustainability assessment, enhancement and communication. Drawing on established areas of expertise within university, the work includes developing visualisations and interactive tools to support wiser and inclusive decision-making on a range of projects within local government and the water industry. I am a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
I am a Senior Fellow of the HEA and have over 15 years lecturing experience within Abertay. I am Programme Leader of the MSc Construction Management Programme which is an innovative partnership between Abertay and ESCT in Paris. I lecture on both Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses within the Division of Natural and Built Environment.
My teaching is in the areas of:
• Environmental Management
• Sustainability Assessment
• Project Management
• Construction Management
My research interests are in the fields of sustainability assessment, decision support and public participation in decision making, in particular, on the enhancement of sustainability in the built and natural environment. I have been heavily engaged in research over the last 20 years in the field of sustainable decision making on a range of projects within local government and water industry. Alongside other projects, I have been working with Dundee City Council since 2006 to develop and implement sustainability enhancement framework on a 1 billion transformation of Dundee Waterfront.
The research impacts on local government organisations, the public, water companies and their regulators. The insights that led to the impact include the development and application of an integrated framework for the assessment of sustainability and the communication of the complex data required in this assessment to a wide range of stakeholders. The application of the research has resulted in changes to public policy and services, raised the awareness and understanding of key stakeholders with a resulting increase in the ability of the stakeholders to make informed decisions and has impacted on policy debate on the environment.
2017 –Date Principal Investigator. Informal care and voluntary assistance: Innovation in service delivery in the North Sea Region (In For Care).
2017 –Date Principal Investigator CREW Scotland’s Water Sector Map - Hydro Nation.
2017 –Date Co-investigator CREW A review of investment decisions at small drinking water supply systems with declining water quality issues.
2016 – Date Co-investigator CREW An independent evaluation of the "Integrated Water Resource Management - Southern Malawi" project on behalf of the Scottish Government
2016 – Date Principal Investigator CREW A review of current practice in the provision of water and wastewater services
2015 – 2016 Co-investigator CREW Innovative solutions for drinking water
2013 – 2015 Building Information Models (BIM) and Interactive Visualisation. SFC - (HEFC)
2013 – 2015 Investigating web based game technologies for generating optimized fertilizer and lime maps. SAGES
2013 - 2015 3D visualization for TAYplan strategic land use planning. TayPlan
2013 – 2014 Maximising passive solar gain: A physically based simulation and rendering approach. SFC - (HEFC)
2013 - 2014 Scottish Water Sector Overview Map, CREW, CRW2012/8
2012 - 2014 iAge - e-inclusion in ageing Europe, EU Interreg project
2012 – 2013 Strategic Implications for Land Use: What key changes may occur over the next 20-40 years. TAPLAN
2011 - 2014 Low Carbon Land Use Innovation Network (LoCal -Net). Scottish Government & ERDF
2011 - 2013 Sustainable Coastal Management in Practice. Fife Coastal and Countryside Trust
2011 – 2013 Visualisation of Strategic land use at Dunfermline Western Edge. Fife Council.
2010 -2011 Knowledge Exchange: Improved Community Engagement through Spatial and Visualisation methods (ICE- SAV). AHRC/Connected Communities funding
2010 – 2011 DW04 Alternatives to P for Plumbosolvency Control, for UK Water Industry Research Limited
2010 Green Business Clustering Perth and Kinross, Perth and Kinross Council
2009 – 2011 Sustainability Enhancement and Visualisation of Dundee Waterfront, Scottish Enterprise
2008 – 2011 DC Noise – Demographic Change: New opportunities in shrinking Europe, EU Interreg project
2008 – 2011 ACE Ecopartnerships to provide collective envorinmental solutions. LUPS/ERDF/2008/1/2/0204
2008 – 2011 Phosphates Life Cycle Management, for UK Water Industry Research Limited. Consultants Atkins Ltd
2007 Source Control of Phosphates, for UK Water Industry Research Limited. Consultants Atkins Ltd,
2006 – 2013 Sustainability assessment of Dundee Waterfront Development, for Scottish Enterprise/Dundee City Council
2005 – 2007 Bathing water management in Angus, for Catchment Ltd/SEPA/Angus Council
2005 - 2006 Watersense – Domestic contributions of Phosphates to Sewerage Systems, WWF.
2003 - 2004 An empirical study into exfiltration rates from sewers, for a consortia of UK water Companies
2003 A study into to the impact of loss of knowledge through downsizing, for Scottish Water
1. EPSRC Sustainable Cities Initiative. Sustainable Disposal of Domestic Sanitary Waste (1996 -1999). Dr David Blackwood and Mr Daniel Gilmour, Researchers.
2. EPSRC The Water Infrastructure and Treatment Engineering Programme: (1998 – 2001) A multi-criteria analysis/Risk management tool to assess the relative sustainability of water systems. EPSRC grant Ref. GR/M15545. Dr David Blackwood, Co-Investigator, Mr D Gilmour, Research Officer.
3. EPSRC SUE Programme: Water Cycle Management for New Developments WAND. Led by Imperial College (2004 – 2007). Dr David Blackwood, Co-Investigator, Mr D Gilmour, Research Officer
4. EPSRC STEPPING UP project. Led by University of Manchester. EPSRC Research Grant EP/N00583X/1. Dr Ruth Falconer Co-Investigator, Dr D Gilmour, Contributor.
Professional Memberships:
Member of The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (MCIWEM),
Chartered Water and Environmental Manager (C.WEM),
Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv)
Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
External Appointments:
External Examiner, BSc Environmental Management, Glasgow Caledonian University
Project Evaluator UK Sub Committee for the EU North Sea programme
External Panel Member Enhancement-Led Internal Subject Review, Glasgow Caledonian University, March 2016
External Panel Member Programme Review, BSc Environmental Management, MSc Energy and Environmental Management, MSc Water Resources Engineering and Management, Glasgow Caledonian University, March 2016
Member Tay Estuary Forum Steering Group 2001 to present
Member Dundee Waterfront Monitoring and Evaluation Group 2009 to present
Member Dundee Waterfront Implementation Group 2009 to present
Member Dundee City Council Recycling Group 2009 to present
Invited Speaker/Chair:
Gray Matter Conference Vlissingen, Netherlands 2009
Knowledge Retention in Local Authorities 2 day workshop (workshop leader), Vennesla Municipality, Norway 2010
Connect Communities, Lancaster, May, 2012
Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Perth, May 2012
SUSCOD Interreg IVB project, St Andrews, October 2012
Scottish Government Indicators, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, Feb 2013
TAYplan sustainability indicators, TAYplan Feb 2013
Decision Making workshop, University of Adger, Norway March 2013
Session Chair, Tay Estuary Forum Conference, April 2013
E health week, University of Agder, Norway, June 2014
Session Chair, Tay Estuary Forum Conference, April 2014
Session Chair, Tay Estuary Forum Conference, April 2015
Session Chair, Tay Estuary Forum Conference, April 2016
Session Chair, Tay Estuary Forum Conference, April 2017
University committee membership and postgraduate supervision since 2008:
School Academic Committee (SAC)
University Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee (RKEC)
Supervised 20+ MSc Environmental Programme projects,
Supervised 20+ MSc Construction Management projects
RA 2003-2004 (Andrew Staines)
RA 2009-2012 (John Isaacs)
RA 2012 -2014 (Santiago Martinez)
RA 2014- 2015 (Gavin Hales)
PhD Student Completed 2015 (2nd supervisor Mohanad Halawani)
PhD Student Completed 2015 (2nd supervisor Amit Singh)
PhD Student 2014 – Date (Principal Supervisor Samesa Igirigi)
2016 Beach litter assessment methodology, Catchment Ltd
2014 - 2015 Catchment Public Interface Risk Assessment, Catchment Ltd
2009 - 2010 Technical Risk Assessment on the use of Cyclone and Filter Ash as a construction material, Dundee City Council
2009 - 2010 Catchment Tay Pipline Survey, Catchment Tay Limited
2008 Risk Assessment on the use of Cyclone and Filter Ash as a construction material, Dundee City Council
2008 Catchment Tay Pumping Station Schematics, Catchment Tay Limited
2006 Risk Assessment on the use of Bottom Ash as a replacement Binder, Dundee City Council
2009 Perth Royal Infirmary Flow Survey, NHS Tayside
2009 Ninewells Hospital Flow Survey, NHS Tayside
2008 Keilda Water Distribiton Chamber investigation, Keilda Water
2008 Riverside Flow and Lad Survey, United Utilities
2007 - 2010 Scottish Water Equipment, Training and Support, SW Invergowrie
2007 14 Flow and Load Surveys (£118,000), SW Invergowrie
2004 Levenmouth Flow and Load Survey, SW Invergowrie
2004 Glasgow Airport Flow and Load Survey, BAA Glasgow
The SAVE group visualization has been used in a number of public engagement activities such as Dundee Science Festival and Fife Science Festival, Cafe Science and other public arenas.
I lead the Royal Academy of Engieering- Ingenious Public Engagement Grant: On the Right Track - Engineering Education For All project.
Using the exciting backdrop of Dundee City's £1 billion Waterfront Regeneration project, On the Right
Track: Engineering and Education for All, will bring engineers from research, industry and academia
together with school children, teachers and the wider community. Focussing on the rebuilding of
Dundee Railway Station, the project will provide the audience with an opportunity to understand the
science and technology behind engineering the build in a real life context - literally from the ground up.
The programme will provide training for the professional engineers, giving them valuable experience in
public communication of their work.
a.minto@abertay.ac.uk
+44 (0)1382 30 8768