Rate My Professor Geoffrey Barton

Professor Geoffrey Barton is Professor Emeritus in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Sydney. He completed his BE in Chemical Engineering and PhD at the University of Sydney. Prior to returning to academia, he worked for several years in nuclear energy and mineral processing research establishments, including the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. He joined the University of Sydney's Department of Chemical Engineering as a lecturer and advanced to Associate Professor by 1992, later achieving the rank of full Professor before his emeritus status. In 2010, he was recognized as a notable university member for his distinguished contributions.

Barton's teaching and research interests lie primarily in process systems engineering, encompassing process modelling, optimisation, and control with applications to energy and environmental systems. He served as teacher/coordinator for key postgraduate courses, including CHNG5005 Wastewater Engineering, which offers an overview of wastewater treatment technologies such as characterisation, treatment and disposal costs, the Australian regulatory framework, primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment options, solids management, water reuse, process integration, and process simulation software. He also coordinated CHNG5006 Advanced Wastewater Engineering, addressing advanced topics like biological nutrient removal using commercial software, constructed wetlands, wastewater management in food processing, resources, and coal seam gas industries, and emerging research in advanced treatments. His scholarly output includes 'Model Development and Validation: An Iterative Process' (Chemical Engineering Education, 1992), 'The future for electrocoagulation as a localised water treatment technology' (Colloids and Surfaces A, 2005, with P.K. Holt and C.A. Mitchell), 'Development of a CFD Model of Bubble Column Bioreactors: Part One—Review and Validation' (Chemical Engineering & Technology, 2013, with D.D. McClure et al.), and contributions to stability robustness analysis and dynamic optimisation in chemical processes. Barton has participated as Chief Investigator in Australian Research Council projects, including IC140100026 involving collaborations with the University of Lorraine and industry partners.