University researcher wins bronze at STEM for BRITAIN competition

University of Brighton researcher, Julia Meister, won the “Bronze Sustainability award” out of over 150 finalists in the STEM for BRITAIN competition in the House of Commons.  

The Parliamentary & Scientific Committee’s STEM for BRITAIN 2023 took place in the Houses of Parliament on March 6th, during British Science Week. This annual poster competition supports and promotes Britain’s early-career research scientists and engineers. 

Decarbonising the NHS

Julia is studying for a PhD in Computing in the School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering. Her submission was a poster setting out her ground-breaking research to drive down healthcare waste and help the healthcare sector reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Julia has been working with the NHS and international healthcare providers to develop a new carbon emissions framework for hospital equipment.  

The NHS is committed to reaching zero carbon emissions by 2040, and net zero within its supply chain by 2045. To help achieve this, the NHS requires a substantial shift to sustainable, circular approaches. Single-use medical devices contribute to the most waste.  

Sustainable procurement case study

Julia’s poster displays a case study of the methods she helped develop to help lower emissions. It focuses on electrophysiology devices which surgically restore healthy heart rhythms and are used to treat 20,000 UK patients per year. These are safe to remanufacture, however these devices are typically only used once. The analysis shows that up to 66,000kg CO2 could be saved annually with the most sustainable remanufactured electrophysiology devices. 

Congratulations to all the winners involved.