Staff
| Personal Information | ||
| Name | Gray, Nicholas Frederick | |
| College Address | School of Natural Science, |
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| Main Department | Botany | |
| College Title | Professor (Civil & Env. Eng) | |
| nfgray@tcd.ie | ||
| College Tel | +353 1 896 1639 | |
| Web | http://irelandswater.com/; http://watertcd.blogspot.ie/; http://ournewclimate.blogspot.ie/ | |
| Notes | Professor Nick Gray is Director of the Water Technology Research group and is based in the Centre for the Environment. Blogs: http://watertcd.blogspot.ie/ ; | |
| Biography | |
| Professor Nick Gray has worked primarily in the area of biological wastewater treatment for thirty years, working mainly on full-scale treatment systems both here and abroad. The prime focus of his work is the design and operation of reactor processes. The work has been published in over 150 scientific publications and in a number of research monographs. For example 'The Biology of Wastewater Treatment' (1989) and 'Activated Sludge: Theory and Practice' (1990) both published by Oxford University Press, contain significant amounts of previously unpublished work including a new operational control alogrithm containing 164 steps in the latter. 'Biology of Wastewater Treatment' became hugely popular in spite of its size (829 pages) and was revised in 1992. A new edition, published by Imperial College Press in London in 2004, expanded the original text to 1420 pages, ‘a remarkable undertaking for a single author’ Nature. Work on river pollution control has always run in parallel to the his work on wastewater treatment. In the 1980’s organic pollution and sewage fungus growths in rivers was a major problem in Ireland. Fundamental work by Professor Gray led to a greater understanding of the formation and control of such microbial communities leading to collaborations with workers as far away as New Zealand. The work, carried out over a five-year period, was brought together in Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society in 1985. His work for the Standing Committee of Analysts (UK) focussed on water quality assessment leading to new standard methods and contributions to new European standards and legislation. This has also included contributions on microbial and chemical water quality testing and assessment. A third Biological Review (1995) dealt with treatability, toxicity and biodegradability test methods. Since 1994 work has focussed on unravelling the problems caused by the abandoned pyrite and copper mines at Avoca in County Wicklow, which has destroyed the River Avoca through the discharge of acid mine drainage. Through a series of papers and refereed reports the Avoca site has become and important benchmark site and is visited by other workers in this field from throughout the world. During the 1990’s he produced a number of new texts including the popular book 'Drinking water quality: problems and solutions' published by John Wiley and Sons in 1994 and translated into Spanish in 1996. This book was expanded and updated in 2008 and published by Cambridge University Press. 'The Coliform index and waterborne disease: problems of microbial drinking water assessment' written with Clara Gleeson published by E. & F.N. Spon, London in 1997 proved highly controversial at the time and heralded subsequent changes in testing protocols. He is also author of the textbook 'Water Technology' (1999) co-published by Arnold and Wiley. Butterworth-Heinemann published a revised version in 2002 with an expanded second edition published in 2005 by Elsevier. This new edition will also be released in Russian in 2009. An expanded third edition is due in 2010. With a strong commitment to both research and training he started a research group in 1982 Water Technology Research. Under this umbrella training workshops were held both in Ireland and Italy. It also fronted an active consultancy service that underpinned his research throughout the 1980’s and to the mid 1990’s. His current interests focus on the microbial reactions in activated sludge with an increasing proportion of his time spent on looking at ways in which society will cope with a post climate change environment. | |
| Professional Qualifications | |
| Qualification | Institution | Class of Degree | Title of Dissertation | Date Conferred |
| M.Sc. | Salford | Robinswood Hill Country Park: Managemnt Plan Review | 1976 | |
| Ph.D. | Sheffield | The comparative ecology and high-rate plastic, conventional mineral and mixed plastic/mineral media in the treatment of domestic sewage in percolating filters | 1979 | |
| D.W.M. | IWPC | Water Management | 1985 | |
| Sc.D. | Dublin | Higher doctorate in science awarded for published work: 1979-1989 | 1991 |
| Representations |
| Details | Date |
| Peer Review Committee on Watershed Analysis Risk Framework Management Modelling (US Environmental Protection Agency and University of Califronia at Berkeley) | 2001 |
| Editorial Board of the Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A: Toxic/Hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering. | 1999 |
| Standing Committee of Analysts, Department of the Environment, London. | 1988 |
| Royal Irish Academy National Committee for Hydrobiology. | 1987 |
| Member of the Soviet Working Group on National Water Protection based at Rostov-on-Don. | 1986 |
| Membership of Professional Institutions, Associations, Societies |
| Details | Date From | Date To |
| F.L.S. (Fellow of the Linnean Society of London) | 1976 | |
| M.I.W.P.C. (Corportae Member of the Institute of Water Pollution Control) | 1976 | |
| M.I.Biol. (Member of the Insitute of Biology) | 1979 | |
| M.I.W.E.S. (Corporate Member of the Institution of Water Engineers and Scientists) | 1981 | |
| C. Biol. (Chartered Biologist) | 1984 | |
| More Memberships>>> | ||
| Awards and Honours | |
| Award | Date |
| Who's Who in Science | 2001-present |
| Who's Who in the World | 1999-present |
| Sc.D. (Higher Doctorate in Science for published work 1979-89) | 1991 |
| F.T.C.D. (Elected to Fellowship of Trinity College, Dublin) | 1985 |
| Research Institutes / Centres / Groups | |
| Research Institutes / Centres / Groups | Description of Role | Date From | Date To |
| Centre for the Environment | Researcher/ Director | 20-OCT-79 | 20-NOV-11 |
| Employment Details | |
| Position Held | Job Description | Where | Date From | Date To |
| Consultant | Professor Gray has worked extensively as a consultant and advisor to industry, semi-state bodies and governments. | Ireland, UK |
| Description of Research Interests |
| Professor Nick Gray has worked primarily in the area of biological wastewater treatment for thirty years, working mainly on full-scale treatment systems both here and abroad. The prime focus of his work is the design and operation of reactor processes. The work has been published in over 150 scientific publications and in a number of research monographs principally 'The Biology of Wastewater Treatment' (1989, 1991, 2004) and 'Activated Sludge: Theory and Practice' (1990) both published by Oxford University Press. Key areas include: optimisation of percolating filters, bulking and foaming control in activated sludge systems, aerobic digestion, treatment of pharmaceutical wastewaters, the use of the micro-biota in operational management, and the decontamination and disposal of sewage sludge. Work on river pollution control has always run in parallel to his work on wastewater treatment. Key areas include: biological monitoring of rivers pollution impact analysis; sewage fungus control; sediment processes and acid mine drainage. With a strong commitment to both research and training he started a research group in 1982 Water Technology Research. Under this umbrella training workshops were held both in Ireland and Italy. It also fronted an active consultancy service that underpinned his research throughout the 1980’s and to the mid 1990’s. During the 1990’s he produced a number of new texts including the popular book 'Drinking water quality: problems and solutions' published by John Wiley and Sons in 1994 and translated into Spanish in 1996. 'The Coliform index and waterborne disease: problems of microbial drinking water assessment' written with Clara Gleeson published by E. & F.N. Spon, London in 1997 proved highly controversial at the time and heralded subsequent changes in testing protocols. He is also author of the textbook 'Water Technology' (1999) co-published by Arnold and Wiley in the US. Butterworth-Heinemann published a revised version in 2002 with an expanded second edition published in 2005 by Elsevier. "I am afraid I have not doggedly followed a set path of research, restricting myself to a single concept or set of inter-related hypotheses. I have been unashamedly self-indulgent following the routes that have interested me the most. I have worked in many other areas of environmental sciences including agriculture, countryside management, catchment management, transportation, nematophagous fungi etc. So although I am primarily an environmental engineer, I am also an active environmental scientist." His current interests focus on the microbial reactions in activated sludge with an increasing proportion of his time spent on looking at ways in which society will cope with a post climate change environment. |
| Research Interests | |||
| ACTIVATED SLUDGE | Acid mine drainage | Carbon footprinting | Drinking water quality |
| Environmental Engineering | Environmental Impacts | Environmental Indicators, Monitoring, Risk Assessment | Environmental biotechnology |
| Environmental planning and sustainable development | FOAMS | Greenhouse gas emission assessment | METALS |
| MINE MANAGEMENT | Microbial ecology | PHARMACEUTICAL WASTEWATER | PHARMACEUTICAL WASTEWATERS |
| Percolating (trickling) filters | Process Engineering | REED-BED | RIVER SUBSTRATE |
| River pollution | SEWAGE SLUDGE | SEWAGE-TREATMENT PLANTS | SLUDGE STABILISATION |
| SMALL SEWAGE-TREATMENT WORKS | SUBSTANCES | Sanitary Engineering | Sanitary Engineering, Environmental Impacts |
| Sewage sludge | TOXICANTS | Unit Operations Engineering | WATER |
| WETLANDS | Waste Water Treatment | Waste water treatment | Water Monitoring, Quality, Treatment |
| Water Quality | Water Supply | Water Treatment | Water engineering |
| Publications and Other Research Outputs |
| Peer Reviewed |
| Gray, N.F., Water Technology: an Introduction for Environmental Scientists and Engineers, 3rd edition, Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010, 1 - 747pp Alt. Url | |
| Gray, N.F. and Delaney, E., Measuring community response of bentic macroinvertebrates in an erosional river impacted by acid mine drainage by use of a simple model., Ecological Indicators, 10, (3), 2010, p668 - 675 DOI |
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| Kenny, T. and Gray, N.F., Comparative performance of six carbon footprint models for use in Ireland. , Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 29, (1), 2009, p1 - 6 DOI |
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| Kenny, T and Gray, N.F., A preliminary survey of household and personal carbon dioxide emissions in Ireland., Environment International, 35, (2), 2009, p259 - 272 Notes: [PubMed ID: 18718663] DOI |
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| Gray, N.F., Drinking Water Quality: Problems and Solutions., Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2008, 1 - 570pp | |
| More Publications and Other Research Outputs >>> | |
| ; |
Last updated 16 July 2009 .