Associate Professor James Ward

Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering UniSA STEM

Mawson Lakes Campus (P2-35)
tel +61 8 830 23128
fax +61 8 830 25082

email James.Ward@unisa.edu.au

Available for media comment
Research Degree Supervisor

About me

I have a background in water engineering and environmental science, specialising in computer modelling of water and environmental systems. At UniSA, I coordinate two courses relating to hydraulics and environmental engineering, and give various guest lectures in other courses relating to water, environment, limits to growth and sustainability. My research interests include big-picture global sustainability issues such as limits to fossil fuel supplies and other finite resources, and implications for industrial society. However, I am increasingly drawn to studying technology for sustainable living, with an emphasis on urban and peri-urban food production through innovative water recycling and aquaculture. I am supervising four PhD projects, ... Read more

UniSA STEM

Harnessing connections across science, technology, engineering and mathematics, UniSA STEM creates innovative solutions and groundbreaking developments across teaching, learning and research.

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Orcid
Scopus

Research

Research themes

Scarce resources
Transforming societies

Research focus

Environmental Engineering
Environmental Science and Management
Multidisciplinary
Built Environment and Design
Civil Engineering

Highlights

Urban agriculture,Peak oil / fossil fuel depletion,Water recycling and reuse,Renewable energy

Research

Outputs

Research since 2008 is shown below. To see earlier years visit ORCID or Scopus

Open access indicates that an output is open access.

Highlights

Year	Output
2016	Semananda, NP, Ward, JD & Myers, B 2016, 'Evaluating the efficiency of wicking bed irrigation systems for small-scale urban agriculture', Horticulturae, vol. 2, no. 4, article no. 13 pp. 1-18. Open access 8 7 1
2016	Ward, JD, Sutton, PC, Werner, AD, Costanza, R, Mohr, S & Simmons, C 2016, 'Is decoupling GDP growth from environmental impact possible?', PLoS One, vol. 2016, no.10, pp.1-14. Open access 110 97 443
2014	Mohr, S, Wang, J, Ellem, G, Ward, J & Giurco, D 2014, 'Projection of world fossil fuels by country', Fuel: The Science and Technology of Fuel and Energy, vol. 141, pp. 120-135. 201 177 129
2014	Ward, JD, Ward, PJ, Mantzioris, E & Saint, C 2014, 'Optimising diet decisions and urban agriculture using linear programming', Food Security, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 701-718. 7 16 3

Chapters

Year	Output
2018	Beecham, S, Razzaghmanesh, M, Bustami, R & Ward, J 2018, 'The role of green roofs and living walls as WSUD approaches in a dry climate', in AK Sharma, T Gardner & D Begbie (eds), Approaches to water sensitive urban design: potential, design, ecological health, urban greening, economics, policies, and community perceptions, Elsevier, Netherlands, ch. 20, pp. 409-430. 3
2011	Mills, JE, Tran, AL, Smith, EJ & Ward, J 2011, 'Educating engineers for sustainable practice', in P Roetman & C Daniels (eds), Creating sustainable communities in a changing world, Crawford House Publishing, Australia, pp. 233-238. Open access
2010	Simmons, C, Bauer-Gottwein, P, Graf, T, Kinzelback, W, Kooi, H, Li, L, Post, V, Prommer, H, Therrien, R, Voss, C, Ward, JD & Werner, A 2010, 'Variable density groundwater flow: from modelling to applications', in H Wheater (ed.), Groundwater modelling in arid and semi-arid areas, Cambridge University Press, London, ch. 7, pp. 87-118.

Journal Articles

Year	Output
2020	Csortan, G, Ward, J & Roetman, P 2020, 'Productivity, resource efficiency and financial savings: an investigation of the current capabilities and potential of South Australian home food gardens', PLoS One, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 1-26. Open access 18
2020	Moore, E, Ward, J & Lennard, W 2020, 'End-of-pipe horticultural reuse of recirculating aquaculture system effluent: comparing the hydro-economics of two horticulture systems', Water (Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 5, article no. 1409, pp. 1-27. Open access
2019	Bustami, RA, Brien, C, Ward, J, Beecham, S & Rawlings, R 2019, 'A statistically rigorous approach to experimental design of vertical living walls for green buildings', Urban Science, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 1-15. Open access
2019	Coscieme, L, Mortensen, LF, Anderson, S, Ward, J, Donohue, I & Sutton, P 2019, 'Going beyond Gross Domestic Product as an indicator to bring coherence to the Sustainable Development Goals', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 248, article no. 119232, pp. 1-8. Open access 10 6 6
2019	Lennard, W & Ward, J 2019, 'A comparison of plant growth rates between an NFT hydroponic system and an NFT aquaponic system', Horticulturae, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 1-16. Open access 4 4 1
2019	Rogers, GB, Ward, J, Brown, A & Wesselingh, SL 2019, 'Inclusivity and equity in human microbiome research', The Lancet, vol. 393, Issue 10173, pp. 728-729. 5 4 11
2019	Semananda, NP, Ward, JD & Myers, BR 2019, 'Experimental investigation of wicking bed irrigation using shallow-rooted crops grown under glasshouse conditions', Irrigation Science, online, pp. 1-13.
2018	Ahmed, N, Ward, JD, Thompson, S, Saint, CP & Diana, JS 2018, 'Blue-green water nexus in aquaculture for resilience to climate change', Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture, vol. 26, no.2, pp. 139-154. Open access 1
2018	Bustami, RA, Belusko, M, Ward, J & Beecham, S 2018, 'Vertical greenery systems: A systematic review of research trends', Building and Environment, vol. 146, pp. 226-237. Open access 15 11
2018	Pollard, G, Roetman, P, Ward, J, Chiera, B & Mantzioris, E 2018, 'Beyond productivity: considering the health, social value and happiness of home and community food gardens', Urban Science, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 1-16. Open access 4
2018	Pollard, G, Ward, J & Roetman, P 2018, 'Typically Diverse: The Nature of Urban Agriculture in South Australia', Sustainability, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 1-18. Open access 3 3 13
2018	Pollard, G, Ward, J & Roetman, P 2018, 'Water use efficiency in urban food gardens: insights from a systematic review and case study', Horticulturae, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 1-24. Open access 1 1 8
2018	Semananda, NP, Ward, JD & Myers, BR 2018, 'A semi-systematic review of capillary irrigation: the benefits, limitations, and opportunities', Horticulturae, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 1-15. Open access 2 2 4
2017	Platts, AB, Cameron, DA & Ward, J 2017, 'Validation of a model for two horizontal ground coupled heat exchangers based on field testing', Energy and Buildings, vol. 138, pp. 11-25. 7 6
2017	Pollard, G, Roetman, P & Ward, J 2017, 'The case for citizen science in urban agriculture research', Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 9-20. Open access 9 9
2017	Pollard, G, Ward, JD & Koth, B 2017, 'Aquaponics in urban agriculture: social acceptance and urban food planning', Horticulturae, vol. 3, no. 2, article no. 39, pp. 1-15. Open access 5 6 1
2017	Ward, J & Symons, J 2017, 'Optimising crop selection for small urban food gardens in dry climates', Horticulturae, vol. 3, no. 2, article no. 33, pp. 1-12. Open access 5 5 28
2016	Brown, C, Ward, J & Mirecki, J 2016, 'A revised brackish water aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) site selection index for water resources management', Water Resources Management, vol. 30, no. 7, pp. 2465-2481. 10 9
2016	Semananda, NP, Ward, JD & Myers, B 2016, 'Evaluating the efficiency of wicking bed irrigation systems for small-scale urban agriculture', Horticulturae, vol. 2, no. 4, article no. 13 pp. 1-18. Open access 8 7 1
2016	Ward, JD, Sutton, PC, Werner, AD, Costanza, R, Mohr, S & Simmons, C 2016, 'Is decoupling GDP growth from environmental impact possible?', PLoS One, vol. 2016, no.10, pp.1-14. Open access 110 97 443
2015	Platts, AB, Cameron, DA & Ward, J 2015, 'Improving the performance of ground coupled heat exchangers in unsaturated soils', Energy and Buildings, vol. 104, pp. 323-335. 17 15
2015	Ward, J 2015, 'Can urban agriculture usefully improve food resilience? Insights from a linear programming approach', Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 699-711. 4 1
2014	Ahmed, N, Ward, JD & Saint, CP 2014, 'Can integrated aquaculture-agriculture (IAA) produce "more crop per drop"?', Food Security, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 767-779. Open access 19 16 1
2014	Mohr, S & Ward, J 2014, 'Helium production and possible projection', Minerals, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 130-144. Open access 11 9 11
2014	Mohr, S, Giurco, D, Yellishetty, M, Ward, J & Mudd, G 2014, 'Projection of iron ore production', Natural Resources Research, vol.24, no. 3, pp. 317-327. 6 10 21
2014	Mohr, S, Wang, J, Ellem, G, Ward, J & Giurco, D 2014, 'Projection of world fossil fuels by country', Fuel: The Science and Technology of Fuel and Energy, vol. 141, pp. 120-135. 201 177 129
2014	Nel, WP & Ward, JD 2014, 'Towards a rational sustainability framework', Sustainability Science, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 515-520. 3 2 1
2014	Ward, J, Ward, P, Saint, CP & Mantzioris, E 2014, 'The urban agriculture revolution: implications for water use in cities', Water: Journal of the Australian Water Association, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 69-74. Open access
2014	Ward, JD, Ward, PJ, Mantzioris, E & Saint, C 2014, 'Optimising diet decisions and urban agriculture using linear programming', Food Security, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 701-718. 7 16 3
2012	Ward, JD, Mohr, SH, Myers, BR & Nel, WP 2012, 'High estimates of supply constrained emissions scenarios for long-term climate risk assessment', Energy Policy, vol. 51, pp. 598-604. 19 19 4
2011	Ward, J, Werner, A, Nel, W & Beecham, S 2011, 'The influence of constrained fossil fuel emissions scenarios on climate and water resource projections', Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 1879-1893. Open access 10 11
2011	Werner, A, Alcoe, D, Ordens, C, Hutson, J, Ward, JD & Simmons, C 2011, 'Current practice and future challenges in coastal aquifer management: flux-based and trigger-level approaches with application to an Australian case study', Water Resources Management, vol. 25, no. 7, pp. 1831-1853. 37 32
2011	Werner, AD, Ward, JD, Morgan, LK, Simmons, CT, Robinson, N I & Teubner, MD 2011, 'Vulnerability indicators of sea water intrusion', Ground Water, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 48-58. 100 92
2010	Xie, Y, Simmons, C, Werner, A & Ward, JD 2010, 'Effect of transient solute loading on free convection in porous media', Water Resources Research, vol. 46, pp. 1-16. Open access 19 17
2009	Reeuwijk, MV, Mathias, S, Simmons, C & Ward, JD 2009, 'Insights from a pseudospectral approach to the Elder problem', Water Resources Research, vol. 45, no. 4, Paper W04416. Open access 33 29
2009	Ward, JD, Simmons, C, Dillon, P & Pavelic, P 2009, 'Integrated assessment of lateral flow, density effects and dispersion in aquifer storage and recovery', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 370, no. 1-4, pp. 83-99. 41 40
2008	Nield, D, Simmons, C, Kuznetsov, A & Ward, JD 2008, 'On the evolution of salt lakes: Episodic convection beneath an evaporating salt lake', Water Resources Research, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 1-13. Open access 29 21
2008	Ward, JD, Simmons, C & Dillon, P 2008, 'Variable-density modelling of multiple-cycle aquifer storage and recovery (ASR): Importance of anisotropy and layered heterogeneity in brackish aquifers', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 356, no. 1-2, pp. 93-105. 27 25

Conferences

Year	Output
2012	Chileshe, N, Rofe, MW, Rameezdeen, R, Sivam, A, Weber, D, Karuppannan, S, Ward, J & Butland, R 2012, Proceedings of the 6th International conference and workshop on the built environment in developing countries, Casual Productions, Australia.
2011	Ward, JD, Werner, A, Nel, W & Beecham, S 2011, 'Finite fossil fuel resources as an upper constraint to global warming impacts', Escaping Silos - SSEE 2011 International Conference, Society of Sustainability and Environmental Engineering, pp. 1-10.
2008	Mudd, G & Ward, JD 2008, 'Will sustainability constraints caus 'peak minerals'?', Conference on Sustainability Engineering & Science: Blueprints for Sustainable Infrastructure, pp. 1-10.
2008	Ward, JD, Simmons, C & Dillon, P 2008, 'Density considerations in the modelling of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) ', in Lambert, Martin; Daniell, TM; Leonard, Michael, Proceedings of Water Down Under 2008, pp. 853-862.

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Organisation	Country
Australian National University	AUSTRALIA
China University of Petroleum	CHINA
Delft University Of Technology	NETHERLANDS
ETH Zürich	SWITZERLAND
European Environment Agency	DENMARK
Flinders University	AUSTRALIA
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University	GERMANY
Hohai University	CHINA
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine	UNITED KINGDOM
International Water Management Institute	SRI LANKA
Monash University	AUSTRALIA
North Carolina State University - Raleigh	UNITED STATES
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)	AUSTRALIA
Sustainable Concepts	SOUTH AFRICA
United States Army Corps of Engineers	UNITED STATES
University Michigan	UNITED STATES
University of Auckland	NEW ZEALAND
University of Denver	UNITED STATES
University of Dublin	IRELAND
University of Manitoba	CANADA
University of Montreal	CANADA
University of Newcastle	AUSTRALIA
University of North Florida (UNF)	UNITED STATES
University of South Australia	AUSTRALIA
University of Southern Denmark	DENMARK
University of Stellenbosch	SOUTH AFRICA
University of Technology	IRAQ
University of Technology Sydney	AUSTRALIA
University of Warwick	UNITED KINGDOM
US Environmental Protection Agency	UNITED STATES
Victoria University	AUSTRALIA

External engagement & recognition

Engagement/recognition	Year
Lead Author, Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) 6 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)	2018
National President Sustainable Population Australia	2018
Invited speaker Wellbeing Economy Festival, Pretoria	2017
Member Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WE-All)	2017
National President Sustainable Population Australia	2017
Finalist, Science Excellence Awards SA, Peoples Choice Award Department of State Development, Government of South Australia	2015

Teaching & student supervision

Research degree supervision

Supervisions from 2010 shown

Thesis title	Student status
Application and assessment of artificial intelligence in precise automated irrigation systems in greenhouses	Current
Calculating the level of overall and per capita consumption for greater Adelaide that is genuinely sustainable, given a defined set of environmental goals.	Current
Development of a low-tech, low-cost alternative to aquaponics, integrating agriculture and aquaculture	Current
Exploration of optimum mix of soil based and soil-less urban vegetable growing options for farmers in wicking bed irrigation technology using production optimization modeling techniques	Current
Scenario modelling of the ecosystem services of a sustainable and desirable future	Current
Tailoring renewable energy systems to communities, with a focus on retirement living	Current
To be confirmed	Current
A multidisciplinary investigation of living walls for modern Australian buildings	Completed
An enhanced heat transfer system for ground heat exchange in unsaturated soils	Completed
Assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of wicking bed irrigation systems for urban agriculture	Completed
Different kinds of worth: a practical investigation into the productivity, resource efficiency and social value of urban agriculture	Completed

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Associate Professor James Ward

About me

About me

UniSA STEM

About me

Professional Associations

Experience

Qualifications

Research

Research themes

Research focus

Highlights

Projects

Outputs

Highlights

Chapters

Journal Articles

Conferences

Current research & highlights

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Collaborations

External engagement & recognition

Lead Author, Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) 6

National President

Invited speaker

Member

National President

Finalist, Science Excellence Awards SA, Peoples Choice Award

Teaching & student supervision

Courses and programs

Courses I teach and/or co-ordinate

Research degree supervision

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