Dr Ania Escudero is a Research Fellow in the Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Management. Ania holds a degree in chemical engineering from Syddansk University in Denmark and postgraduate and doctoral degrees in environmental engineering from the University of the Basque Country in Spain. Ania joined GCU from the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development (Neiker-Tecnalia) where she became a leading expert on organic waste removal and anaerobic digestion systems. Her research focused heavily on exploring alternative treatments for the removal of nutrients from livestock waste.
The innovative system she pioneered during her PhD established for the first time the potential of using the microalgae Chlamydomonas acidophila in wastewater treatment systems. This success laid the foundation for the award of a prestigious EU-funded Marie Curie Fellowship in 2015 which brought her to GCU.
She has led the local coordination of the Interreg NWE project Phos4You on phosphorus recovery from wastewater treatment plants, whilst spearheading GCU’s research programme on the use of microalgal technology in treating wastewater.
Currently, as Research Leader Fellow under the Hydro Nation Chair programme, Ania is developing opportunities within the Scottish water sector aimed at minimising waste and promoting the sustainable use of resources derived from wastewater.