Dr Dick Fenner and Dr Feriha Mukuve (ESD MPhil 10 -11, PhD 12 -15) have been awarded the prestigious Senior Moulton Medal for 2015 by the Institution of Chemical Engineers for their paper "Scale variability of water, land and energy resource interaction and their influence on the food system in Uganda" published in Sustainable Production and Consumption Vol 2 April 2015: 79-95.
The work was an evolution from the wider Foreseer project looking at future resource pathways, and the paper describes a resource analysis in relation to Uganda's 2012 and 2050 agricultural resource demand at national, district and local scales. The results identify where the competing water land and energy resource constraints are and how they vary from local (sub-county), regional, to national scale so that potential policy interventions can be appropriately targeted.
The Senior Moulton medal has been awarded anually since 1929 to the author, or authors of the most meritorious paper published by IChemE during the last year. In the award of the Moulton Medals, IChemE is looking to reward papers that are forward-looking in topic areas and that will be important in the future, as well as papers on more traditional themes that will appeal to readers who are not experts in the subjects covered.
The judges' commented as follows:
"This paper looks at the complex interactions and constraints of variables faced in reducing food insufficiency and achieving food security in Uganda.
The paper is a solid paper showing comprehensive use of data and good analysis of results. The work is forward looking on a very topical issue of sustainability facing many countries. The authors have produced a very well written and clearly presented piece of work making it ideal for others to replicate and use in future work.
It's cumulative merit in terms of the medal criteria of readability/ presentation; originality; novelty; technical content; and the value as a catalyst; was higher than all other candidates and there was consensus amongst the committee members that the papers was a deserving winner of the Senior Moulton medal for 2015."