Welcome from Professor Kirk Semple

About me:

I am a Professor of Environmental Microbiology with over 30 years of research experience and the current Director of International Research at Lancaster University. I have also been recently appointed as the Interim Director of the Centre for Global Eco-innovation. I have a strong interest in international interdisciplinary collaborations through which we can work together to solve global environmental challenges. Most of my international activities have been in Sub-Saharan Africa, where I have supported collaborations with universities and research institutes, private sector organisations and government/policy experts in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Cameroon and Botswana. I have also worked with colleagues in Malaysia, China and Australia.

My main fields of research interest include (i) pollution microbiology in soil, focusing on biodegradation, bioavailability and bioaccessibility of chemicals; (ii) risk assessment and bioremediation of contaminated land. More recently, I have developed interests in the waste/wastewater- sustainable energy production-soil and food security nexus as part of the circular economy paradigm, with a strong focus on sustainable bioenergy production and the use of microorganisms in these processes and the application of resulting by-products as soil amendments or alternatives to conventional fertiliser.