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    Dr Katrina O'Mara

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Dr Katrina O’Mara

Senior Lecturer

Staff Member Details
Mobile: 0414 360 286
Email: k.omara@ecu.edu.au
Campus: Joondalup  
Room: JO19.330  
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2679-4932

Kat is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management and Sustainability in the School of Science.

Current Teaching

  • SCI2108 Environmental Management and Sustainability
  • SCI5170 Sustainability Assessment and Reporting
  • SCI6103 Environmental Management Systems

Background

Kat is one of Australia's most experienced infrastructure sustainability practitioners, bringing together a combination of experience in resource management, particularly energy and materials, along with her extensive community and stakeholder engagement experience. These experiences, spanning more than 20 years, provide her with a detailed understanding of both environmental and social aspects of sustainability throughout Australia and New Zealand. Her areas of speciality is in providing advisory services for governments, companies and non-government organisations in the renewable energy, carbon management, climate change, environmental management and stakeholder engagement areas.

Kat is also a skilled science and environmental communicator with more than 25 years’ experience working with the general public, technical audiences and children across live, broadcast and print media platforms - usually under the guise as Commander Kat.

In addition to her role at ECU, Kat continues to provide environmental and sustainability consulting services to several nationally and state significant infrastructure projects. She is also a Verifier for projects seeking Infrastructure Sustainability ratings, is the Deputy Chair of the scheme’s Technical Advisory Panel and has led the development of online and face to face training associated with the scheme and sustainability.

Professional Memberships

  • Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia: Accredited Professional, Verifier and Trainer
  • Green Building Council of Australia
  • Environmental Consultants Association of WA
  • Australian Science Communicators

Awards and Recognition

National and International Awards

  • 2014 - Inaugural winner - Leadership in Infrastructure Sustainability Award
  • 2011 - Winner – 40under40 Awards, WA Business News
  • 2007 - Finalist – Science Communication outside the Classroom Awards, Premier’s Science Awards
  • 2000 - State (WA) Winner – Young Australian of the Year Awards
  • 2000 - Winner: Science and Technology Achiever– Young Australian of the Year Awards
  • 2000 - Finalist Environment Achiever   – Young Australian of the Year Awards
  • 2000 - Winner – WA Office of Energy: Energy Achiever of the Year Awards

National and International Research Positions

  • Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Renewable Energy
    • Project Leader (2000 – 2003)
    • Project Officer (1997 – 2000)
  • Research Institute for Sustainable Energy
    • Project Leader (2003 – 2006)

Research Areas and Interests

  • Sustainability assessments, particularly for infrastructure and communities
  • Sustainability in environmental impact assessments
  • Renewable and sustainable energy
  • Science communication

Qualifications

  • Graduate Diploma in Education Tertiary and Adult, Murdoch University, 2008.
  • Doctor of Philosophy -Science Communication, Murdoch University, 2007.
  • Bachelor of Science with Honours, Murdoch University, 1997.
  • Bachelor of Science, Murdoch University, 1995.

Research Outputs

2011

Book Chapters

  • McHenry, M., Schultz, M., O'Mara, K. (2011). Wholesale electricity markets and electricity networks: balancing supply reliability, technical governance, and market trading in the context of Western Australian energy disaggregation and marketization.. Advances in Energy Research, Volume 5 (311-329). Nova Science Publisher.

2003

Books

  • Jennings, I., O'Mara, K., Jennings, P., Dubey, O., Van Der Merwe, D. (2003). Energy Savings in Cities. United Nations Environment Programme.

Book Chapters

  • O'Mara, K. (2003). Energy Savings in Commerce. Energy Savings in Cities (55-68). United Nations Environment Programme.
  • O'Mara, K. (2003). Energy Savings in Industry. Energy Savings in Cities (83-102). United Nations Environment Programme.

Conference Publications

  • Dubey, O., O'Mara, K., Jennings, P., Dawson, I., Paskulich, J., Gray, E. (2003). Renewable energy roadshow – A training project in renewable energy power systems for remote areas of Western Australia. Proceedings from Destination Renewables: from research to market (555-559). Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society.

2001

Journal Articles

Conference Publications

  • O'Mara, K., Jennings, P., Vann, V. (2001). Community views on renewable energy and global warming. Solar World Congress Proceedings (257-262). International Solar Energy Societ.

Research Student Supervision

Current Supervisions

Principal Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Understanding effective regulatory approaches towards environmentally responsible lead acid battery recycling in Nigeria

Completed Supervisions

Associate Supervisor

  • Doctor of Philosophy: Integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation options into farms in the Southwest of Western Australia
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