Professor Andrew Barton
Deputy Dean, Graduate Research
Campus
Biography
Professor Andrew Barton is Deputy Dean for the Graduate Research School (GRS). In this key senior leadership role, Andrew works to develop research strengths and enhance the provision of research training for the University’s Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates and research pathway students. Key elements to his role are leading the school’s team of HDR coordinators, course coordinator and graduate research academics, and developing and delivering partnership programs to advance the University’s research strategy, particularly around co-operative education and industry partnerships.
Prior to Andrew’s role in the GRS, he held various university leadership roles including Head of Engineering and Science and Associate Dean Teaching Quality. He has also held industry-based senior management and technical specialist roles, and has more recently taken on a non-executive director role. This broad base of academic and industry experience, executive and people leadership, and governance make Andrew a truly well-rounded and people-centred academic leader.
Andrew’s substantive position is as a professor in Water Resources Engineering. Andrew received his PhD from the University of Tasmania in the area of experimental fluid mechanics and civil engineering hydraulics. He holds an MEngSc(Research) from Monash University, where he researched fishway hydraulics and computational fluid dynamic modelling techniques. He has since worked for over 25 years in both the water industry and academia, in senior roles, developing a national and international profile in applied water resources engineering and hydraulics.
Fields of research
- Agricultural hydrology
- Water resources engineering
- Hydrodynamics and hydraulic engineering
More about Andrew
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental)(Honours), Deakin University
- Master of Engineering Science (Research), Monash University
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Tasmania
- Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)
- Fellow, Institution of Engineers Australia (FIEAust)
- Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng)
- Executive Engineer (EngExec)
Areas of interest
- Water supply and climate change
- Water resource planning, water sharing, water accounting, entitlement and allocation frameworks
- Hydrographic/hydrometric methods, streamflow gauging, water monitoring and information systems, AI, streamflow forecasting and prediction
- Optimisation of water resource systems, reservoir operations and rules
- Environmental water, ecohydraulics and ecohydrology
- Emerging contaminant, pharmaceuticals, urban water systems, WSUD
- Agricultural water supply, farm dams, irrigation systems
- Biofouling, near-wall flows, experimental fluid mechanics and hydraulics
- Numerical and CFD modelling
Areas of expertise
Andrew's strong research experience in water resources is demonstrated by his PhD supervision, past ARC Linkage projects and other large research grants. He has also published over 140 technical reports and peer-reviewed papers.
Awards
- 2025: VCs award for excellence in research partnerships and impact
Current
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Improving reliability of streamflow and water level forecasting using artificial intelligence techniques'.
- Master's student, Federation University, 'Evaluating the efficiency of two aquatic plant species for nitrogen and phosphorous removal with application for rural water supply systems'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Exploring the use of digital twins to improve asset management and operations in the water industry'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Bioremediation of pharmaceuticals from wastewater streams'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Deep aquifer depressurisation responses: Understanding hydro-mechanical coupling and long-term movement in brown coal batter'.
Past
- PhD student, Federation University, 'System analysis and process modelling of hydrothermal carbonisation of biosolids in a Victorian wastewater treatment plant'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'The detection and characterisation of pharmaceuticals in waterways'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Relationships between pumping costs and water quality in optimal operation of regional multi-quality water distribution systems'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Accurate prediction of sewer network flows and assessment of groundwater infiltration volumes in sewer networks'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Optimising water quality outcomes for complex water resource systems and water grids'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Harvesting stormwater: testing the paradigm by assessing the impacts with an inter-disciplinary case study'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Rainfall predication in Australia: Clusterwise linear regression approach'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'A multi-proxy approach to track ecological change in Gunbower wetlands, Victoria, Australia'.
- PhD student, Federation University, 'Configuring water transfers for ecological benefit: An algal response model for improved water resource operations in the Mackenzie River'.
- PhD student, Victoria University, 'Multi-Objective optimisation of water resource systems: A shared vision'.
- PhD student, Victoria University, 'Catchment scale downscaling of hydroclimatic variables from general circulation model outputs'.
- PhD student, University of Ballarat, 'Hyperbolic smoothing in non-smooth optimisation and applications'.
- Hydraulics and hydrology
- Water resources engineering
- Fluid mechanics
- Water and wastewater treatment
- Environmental engineering
Specialist roles
- Non-executive Director, Wimmera Catchment Management Authority
- Past editor for IWA journals (Journal of Water and Climate Change, Hydrology Research)
Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI)
Future Regions Research Centre (FRRC)
Centre for Smart Analytics (CSA)
- Publications
Characterization of Energy Profile and Load Flexibility in Regional Water Utilities for Cost Reduction and Sustainable Development
- Journals
- DOI reference: 10.3390/su17083364
Insights into bioremediation of pharmaceuticals from wastewater streams: A meta-analysis of build type and organism selection
- Journals
- DOI reference: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127482