Meet the Program Lead: Christine Grundy from Biosolids and Resource Recovery
Christine Grundy from Coliban Water has been announced as the new program lead for Biosolids and Resource Recovery, so IWN got down to brass tacks with her and found out what drives the engineer in her professional and personal life.
Can you give us a bit of your personal background?
I am a mum of two boys, married to a mathematician from RMIT. My oldest son is now at Melbourne University studying data science, while the younger boy hated maths and science and is interested in politics. We aren’t sure what went wrong with the second child J
I have several budgies and two dogs. As a hobby I am interested in medieval history and am doing an honours year at Monash University – mainly because they have a campus in Italy.
And what is your professional background?
I have been an engineer for about 16 years and spent most of that time at Yarra Valley Water. My husband and I moved to Bendigo about four years ago as part of our long term plan for a career wind down. At both Yarra Valley Water and Coliban Water I have generally focused on Planning Engineering.
What inspired you to want to become the program lead?
I heard that there was a vacancy and thought it would be a good opportunity to broaden both my knowledge and by networks by getting involved. I’m certainly not an expert in Biosolids but know that I will be surrounded by people of enthusiasm and expertise, some of whom I have already met at the Biosolids Conference.
What IWN project interests you the most?
As the project lead, I had better say Biosolids! But I am also interested in asset optimisation and data analysis.
What are you hoping to get out of your new role?
I am excited to be working with others who are interested in stretching the boundaries of our current practices to grasp the emerging opportunities. I am also hoping to develop an understanding of how research grants work and how best to engage with researchers from universities.
And if anything, what do you want to give back to IWN?
This is an opportunity to pitch in and working with the industry to develop our collective knowledge. I will be happy if as an individual I can contribute to the resolution of some of those more recalcitrant problems that exist in the water industry.