Rhett Richardson worked for 10 weeks as part of a Water Quality Research Australia summer scholarship at Victoria University's Institute for Sustainability and Innovation. He was supervised by Associate Professor Mikel Duke, Dr. Peter Sanciolo, Dr. Hal Aral, and Paul Atherton on a project assessing drinking water treatment technologies for inland Victoria, focusing on membrane desalination and arsenic removal. Rhett satisfactorily completed the requirements of the placement, including a professional report and presentation on his work. Based on Rhett's diligent work ethic and ability to apply his technical skills to the project's needs and objectives, the supervisor believes Rhett will become a competent chemical engineer.

1. Victoria University
PO Box 14428 Telephone: +61 3 9919 7682 Associate Professor Mikel Duke
Melbourne, Victoria, 8001 Facsimile: +61 3 9919 7696 Principal Research Fellow
Australia Email: mikel.duke@vu.edu.au Institute for Sustainability and Innovation
Web: http://isi.vu.edu.au/
Werribee Campus
Hoppers Lane
Werribee
21 February 2011
Dear Prof Webley,
Re: Reference and statement of placement for Rhett Richardson
Mr Rhett Richardson worked in our group for 10 weeks sponsored by a Water Quality
Research Australia (WQRA) Summer Scholarship. The period of his placement occurred
from 22nd
November 2010 to 11th
February 2011 on a full time basis. I was his primary
supervisor during his experience in our group at the Institute. Rhett was also supervised
by Dr Peter Sanciolo also at our Institute, and also Dr Hal Aral from the CSIRO Minerals
Division and Paul Atherton from GWMWater. Rhett completed the 10 week full time
period to its fulfilment as required by WQRA. The project involved the assessment of
drinking water treatment technologies for inland Victoria, with special focus on
membrane desalination and arsenic.
As part of the placement at our Institute, we require students to complete a professional
report and deliver a presentation that documents the context (i.e. introduction and
literature review), experimental setup, results, discussion and conclusion. Rhett
satisfactorily completed both the report and presentation to our requirements, being a full
account of the work he carried out with us.
I found Rhett to be a diligent hard working student, who applied his technical ability to
the needs of the project. He took the time to plan his work and carry it out without
needing to be motivated by his supervisors. He persisted on many occasions to ensure
the work came together, such as discussion research questions with many group
members, to directly address the original aims and objectives of his project. Based on
my observations of Rhett’s work on chemical and process engineering applied to water
treatment, I am confident Rhett will become a competent chemical engineer.
Yours sincerely,
A/Prof Mikel Duke, PhD (Chem Eng)
Principal Research Fellow and Deputy Director,
Institute for Sustainability and Innovation,
Victoria University