jenni liddicoat
For the past two years I was in the Department of Metals and Materials at the University of British Columbia studying Hydrometallurgy with Professor David Dreisinger. I had always been interested in applying my knowledge and skills to investigate environmental issues and seemed to have landed in the middle between industry and the environment.
My first job after leaving Sydney University was as a shift chemist for Intec Copper at their demonstration plant in St Peters, Sydney. This is where I developed an interest in hydrometallurgy, especially as it was promoted as an environmentally friendly alternative to smelting for copper recovery. I was responsible for analysis of plant samples and reporting to the Engineers, and sometimes worked out in the plant alongside them. I also became an Environmental Officer for the company.
After a year and a half they closed the demonstration plant down and I then went to work in the metals section of a commercial environmental laboratory. Here I was responsible for the analysis of metals in environmental soils, paints, trade waste and drinking waters using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). I was also responsible for the preparation of contaminated site QC reports. This was a very interesting experience and provided me with a good background to go into environmental consulting.
I did eventually find an opening in environmental consulting and went to work with a company in Canberra. I conducted various types of environmental investigations (including contaminated site and indoor air quality assessments), developed Environmental Management Systems, and undertook National Pollutant Inventory reporting for an industrial site. This job was great because the company was fairly small and this meant I was involved with jobs from start to finish, including client liaison and writing proposals; managing contractors; hiring instruments; site work and sample collection; analysis of results and writing final reports. Having a background in chemistry is very important if you are interested in understanding pollutants in the environment.
I then travelled to Canada for a year on a work-travel visa seeking adventure in the snow, and I lived in Vancouver for five of those months. It was during this time that I looked into graduate study at the University of British Columbia, and I literally walked off the street and visited Professor Dreisinger. He had a project that matched my background experience very well and most importantly industry funding.
So that’s my story about how I ended up doing my masters in Canada. I am now on my way back to Australia and am interested in pursuing a job that involves investigating and solving environmental concerns in industry, i.e. pollution control, sustainable technologies, waste management (reuse and recycling).