The Research Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA), of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), coordinates the LIFE+ Albufera Project as beneficiary leader, and it is one of the reference academic institutions in artificial wetlands.
It was created in 2001 as a new framework to more efficiently manage research activities carried out by several groups of the UPV. It comprises nine Research Areas related to water. There are various research lines developed by IIAMA that relate to the project: water treatment and waste water treatment stations optimisation, water treatment with artificial wetlands, water chemistry and microbiology, aquatic ecosystems and coastal waters study, modelling and surface and groundwater resources management, physical and mathematical modelling of fluids and transport processes.
IIAMA has four fully equipped and operational laboratories on water chemistry and microbiology. The follow-up tasks for this project will be carried out in the water quality laboratory.
There is also a river engineering and hydraulic works laboratory. The Institute has wide experience in technological transfer and cooperation with official bodies and private businesses.
The team presented by IIAMA develops its activities in the fields of water quality in the natural environment, water quality modelling and surface hydrology. The head of the team is Professor Miguel Martín Monerris, Doctor in Chemical Sciences by the University of Valencia (1998). Since 1989 he has collaborated in several studies related to water quality, the use of artificial wetlands and the development, calibration and simulation of models for the simulation of pollutants transportation in surface water. His areas of expertise include coastal zones, reservoirs in the Valencia Region and L’Albufera of Valencia.
About Us
The Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering was founded in 2001 and was recognised as a Research Organisation by the governing body of the Polytechnic University of Valencia on 26th July of the same year. The R&D work that the Institute had been carrying out for over 30 years in the fields of Hydraulic Engineering and the Environment at that time required new premises and new equipment to improve results and efficiency.
IIAMA consists of eight research groups within the Polytechnic University of Valencia. All the groups have wide experience, acquired in the course of the last 30 years in fields related to Water and the Environment, including research and consulting. There is also a high degree of inter-group cooperation.
In 2005 IIAMA was recognised as a University Research Institute and acquired new offices and laboratories in the Polytechnic City of Innovation, where its central office is located.
The Institute is very much aware of the existence of the needs of society, the public administration and industry for the services it can provide and also of the possibilities of improving industrial processes and competitiveness through the development of technology and innovation. The need to respond to the new challenges in the fields of Water and the Environment have opened up new opportunities of cooperation with public bodies, other research centres and private companies, for which the Institute is totally prepared. IIAMA has long experience in the transfer of results to businesses, public organisations and to society in general.
One of the characteristics of the Institute is its preference for inter-disciplinary research projects not only among its own groups but also involving outside organisations, with the aim of expanding the scope and quality of its R&D&I work.
Objetives
- To become a reference centre before the Administration and the University Community in water and environment-related issues, with a clear vocation for transfer of research results to businesses and the general public. In this sense, the Institute aims to have a clear and recognised leadership to become an example before specific technological problems related to Hydraulic Engineering and Environment.
- The application of advances in regards to Water and Environment Engineering are necessary for a more efficient and sustainable resources exploitation with a lower environmental impact. IIAMA can provide solutions for a demanding society and industrial environment through collaborations with businesses and other research centres, as well as through the knowledge and research results transfer, and the development of technologies to improve businesses competitiveness. The objective of this cooperation must be to achieve the maximum efficiency in results transfer to receptive entities and the society.
- To support the creation of networks, platforms or other organisations designed to promote collaboration, optimise the use of resources or publicise the results of scientific investigation.
- In this sense, IIAMA intends to foster its participation in Networks, Platforms and research Projects, as well as in all kinds of national and international research and exchange programmes, for which the Institute is available to collaborate with those entities that might be interested.
web: www.iiama.upv.es