Alejandro Gallego Schmid, MEng, PhD, FHEA

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    Personal profile

    Overview

    Dr Alejandro Gallego Schmid works as a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Circular Economy and Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment at the Department of Engineering for Sustainability at the University of Manchester. He is part of Tyndall Manchester - an interdisciplinary team working on relevant research on climate change sustainability, where he works identifying sustainable solutions for industrial, agricultural, textile, construction, water and energy systems on a life cycle and circular economy basis, taking into account economic, environmental and social aspects. Alejandro holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science, a MEng in Environmental Engineering and obtained his PhD in Chemical and Environmental Engineering with First Class (Honours) cum laude.

    Alejandro's research experience, both in industry and academia, has been focus on:

    • Circular economy
    • Life cycle assessment (LCA)
    • Life cycle costing (LCC)
    • Social sustainability assessment
    • Multi-criteria decision analysis 

    His current research is focused on: i) the role of circular economy to tackle climate change and achieve net-zero solutions; ii) the implementation of circular economy in renewable sources of energy; iii) circular economy and the informal waste sector in the Global South; and iv) the nexus between circular economy and digitalization.

    Dr Gallego Schmid has published more than 60 scientific articles (h>26; >2700 citations) in international peer-reviewed journals, has given more than 40 oral presentations in national and international conferences and Universities, has been awarded three research fellowships and participated as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator in 20 national and international scientific projects (total > £7M). He has been part of the scientific committee and session chair in several national and international conferences (e.g.  IX International Conference of Life Cycle Assessment in Latin America).  His research work has been published in high-impact factor journals (Q1) like Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Resource Conservation Recycling, Applied Energy, Water Research among others. Alejandro is a Member of the Editorial Board of Sustainable Horizons (Elsevier) and Circular Economy and Sustainability (Springer). 

    Currently, Alejandro is the University of Manchester Principal Investigator on the EPSRC £1.1M "Environmental impacts of digital services for health and wellbeing in the home". Alejandro leads, as part of Innovate UK project, the quantification of the carbon footprint of a new graphene-enhanced and low-carbon cement. He currently also works on a range of other funded projects including: i) DRES ME: a research partnership with Tesco PLC to study how data analysis can help to scale up textile recycling; ii) a funded research collaboration in Sustainable Urban Technologies with the KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm Universities (Sweden); and iii) ‘Contemporary Crises and Net Zero Transitions: COVID-19, Energy and Ukraine’ project in collaboration with the University of Melbourne and the University of Toronto.

    Previously, he has lead the Royal Academy of Engineering project "Assessing the informal waste sector contribution to Nepal circularity transition" and also worked on a range of other funded projects including: the Supergen Energy Network Hub's "Whole system analysis impact of thermal energy storage technologies in future UK energy networks" and a collaboration with industry partners to understand the life cycle environmental impacts of smart connected packaging tags.  He has had also a major role in several other projects like the "Designing Sustainable Supply Chains" project sponsored by a major retailer and a European Union H2020 project quantifying the environmental sustainability of solar reactors in the cement industry

    Alejandro has been a visiting fellow at the Universities of Girona and Almeria (Spain), is the Lead of the Resourceful Futures Challenge at Sustainable Futures,  Co-Lead of the Tyndall Centre's Reaching Zero Emissions Theme, Member of the Steering Committee of Centre for Crisis Studies and Mitigation, an Associate Member of The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), Elected member of the AMT/10/1/1 “Sustainable Robotics" Committee at the British Standards Institution (BSI), Elected Member of the EPSRC Peer Review College, Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (FHEA), an Associate Member of The United Nations Life Cycle Assessment Initiative, Editor of two Special Issues in Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Co-founder of the LCA for Circular Economy Plastics network, Elected Member of the IChemE Energy Centre Leadership Forum and Leader of the Sustainable Communities and Infrastructure theme group of the Manchester African Research Network at the University of Manchester.

    Research interests

    • Circular economy
    • Life cycle assessment (LCA)
    • Life cycle costing
    • Social sustainability assessment
    • Carbon footprint
    • Multi-criteria decision analysis
    • Material efficiency
    • Renewable energy
    • Climate change
    • Informal sector
    • Digitalization
    • Wastewater treatment
    • Global South

    Opportunities

    Prospective students

    I am always keen to hear from talented, enthusiastic students with interests in life cycle sustainability assessment and circular economy (please consult  Tyndall web for recent and ongoing projects). My current research is focused on: i) the role of circular economy to tackle climate change and achieve net-zero solutions; ii) the implementation of circular economy in renewable sources of energy; iii) circular economy and the informal waste sector in the Global South; and iv) the nexus between circular economy and digitalization. I especially enjoy working with students who have a strong quantitative background, and a passion for understanding the multi-disciplinary economic, environmental and social interactions between water use, industrial and energy production, and the environment and the society in different regions worldwide. If you think that you are a good fit to this description, please get in touch with me to discuss potential project ideas and funding opportunities. In your email, be sure to include a copy of your current CV and a short description of your ideal research project. 

    My research experience, both in industry and academia, has been focus on:

    • Circular economy
    • Life cycle assessment (LCA)
    • Life cycle costing (LCC)
    • Social sustainability assessment
    • Multi-criteria decision analysis 

     

     

    My group

    I am part of Tyndall Centre Manchester - an interdisciplinary team working on relevant research on climate change and sustainability where I work identifying sustainable solutions for industrial and energy systems on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and Circular Economy basis, taking into account economic, environmental and social aspects.

    Units taught

    Alejandro currently teaches on the following units within the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEEN) and of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE):

    • Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Waste Management (CIVIL30262)

    • Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure (CIVIL14022)

    •  Understanding Energy as a system driving modern society (EEEN60411)

    Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

    In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

    • SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
    • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    • SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
    • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
    • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
    • SDG 13 - Climate Action
    • SDG 14 - Life Below Water
    • SDG 15 - Life on Land

    Areas of expertise

    • TP Chemical technology
    • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
    • Circular Economy
    • Life Cycle Costing (LCC)
    • Social Life Cycle Assessment
    • Climate Change
    • Digitalization
    • Informal Economy
    • Renewable Energy
    • Multi-criteria decision analysis

    Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

    • Sustainable Futures
    • Manchester Environmental Research Institute
    • Digital Futures
    • Policy@Manchester
    • Creative Manchester
    • Global inequalities
    • Energy
    • Advanced materials
    • Biotechnology

    Keywords

    • Circular Economy
    • Life cycle assessment (LCA)
    • Life Cycle Costing
    • Social Life Cycle Assessment
    • Multi-criteria decision analysis
    • Carbon footprint
    • Informal Economy
    • Global South
    • Climate Change
    • Digitalization
    • Net zero
    • Renewable Energy
    • Developing countries
    • Sustainability assessment
    • Sustainable Development Goals

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