Head and shoulders photo of Dr Donavan Marney

Dr Donavan Marney:improving efficiencies within Australia's urban water networks

Dr Donavan Marney: improving efficiencies within Australia's urban water networks

Dr Donavan Marney leads the Intelligent Networks Research Stream, a research effort aimed at improving efficiencies within Australia’s urban water networks through improved utilisation of emerging sensor network technologies.

  • 24 June 2011 | Updated 14 October 2011

Current activities

Dr Donavan Marney is a Research Scientist and is responsible for leading a research progams and projects within CSIRO. He has recently developed the Intelligent Networks Research Stream within the Urban Water Theme of CSIRO's Water for a Healthy Country Flagship. The Stream encompases a research effort aimed at improving efficiencies within Australia’s urban water networks through improved utilisation of emerging sensor network technologies, by addressing the following objectives:

  • Develop sensor systems and decision support technologies that provide greater real time control of water quality in drinking and recycled water networks.
  • Develop sensor systems to enhance predictive control of network infrastructure degradation and risk of asset failure to assist in optimising asset management practices and infrastructure investments.
  • Develop low cost sensor systems that enable greater consumer understanding and control of water end use, and provide the data flows for reliable city wide measurement and forecasting of end-use consumption patterns.

In addition to his Stream Leader role, Donavan is leading collaborative projects on understanding the lifetime and performance of Polymer Wrap for Buried Ductile Iron Water Pipes  [external link], and Buried Steel Pipes  [external link] with the USA Water Research Foundation [external link], which are a part of CSIRO's Sustainable Asset Management Stream, led by Dr David Marlow; and the development of new material composites for high performance electrical cable insulation with Olex  [external link].

Background

Donavan has been with CSIRO since 2002, and his experience has been mainly with projects in the area of materials flammability with a strong commercial focus, including:

Dr Donavan Marney's research has largely been in the area of materials degradation by fire.
  • The ongoing development of multi-core fire worthy ceramifiable electrical cables with Olex Australia
  • Articulating the physico-chemical mechanisms between a halogenated fire retardant and a light stabiliser (HALS) with the CRC for Polymers
  • Consideration of fire retardant and preservative systems for exposed timber (in the context of the bushfire hazard).

Donavan has worked in the bulk pharmaceutical industry scaling up the synthesis of opiate derived compounds, as well as the water industry as an analytical chemist. His Masters degree was in synthetic organic chemistry while his Doctorate was on the pyrolysis of low rank coal.

Donavan’s research has largely been in the area of materials degradation covering synthetic polymers, timber and polymeric composites, and his research topics of special interest have included:

  • Understanding the lifetime and performance of buried pipe assets within the urban environment  - approximately 80 per cent of water utility's assets are buried; in Australia this amounts to around A$70-80 billion.
  • Countering materials flammability (understanding of combustion and pyrolysis processes) by development of a holistic understanding of the issues surrounding combustion and fire in terms of the chemistry and physical dynamics, as well as characterization of these phenomena

Academic qualifications

Donavan has been awarded a:

  • Bachelor of Applied Science (majoring in mathematics and chemistry) from Chisholm Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1986
  • Master of Applied Science (majoring in free radical chemistry of carbohydrates) from Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1994
  • Doctor of Philosophy (on the topic of pyrolysis of low rank coal) from the Faculty of Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2003

Achievements

Donavan is the author and/or co-author of 16 journal articles, more than 20 reports, a book chapter and a number of conference papers. 

He is the research mentor and co-supervisor with Assoc. Prof. Peter Ashman [external link] to a doctoral student (Ann Philcox, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide [external link], South Australia).

Donavan is the co-developer of the current generation Ceramifiable® [external link] or Infit® [external link] polymer for single and multi-core fire-rated power cable insulation, which generates significant income for Olex Australia [external link] - a Nexans Company [external link].

Donavan is a member of the American Chemical Society.

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