Mellini Sloan has been a lecturer in Urban & Regional Planning at the Queensland University of Technology since May 2009. Prior to arriving in Queensland, Mellini worked as an environmental engineering consultant to local governments in Florida (the other sunshine state) as well as state and federal environmental agencies, advising clients on issues related to the interfaces between water and the built environment, including options for water supply, stormwater, and wastewater management. Mellini’s current research examines the role of crises, communication, and prior actions in decision-making processes and outcomes, specifically focussing on challenges for local councils related to increasing community resilience to climate change. Mellini is primarily interested in collaborating on or supervising projects which fall within the following areas:
- Disaster management: scenario planning; infrastructure resilience; change management; adaptive response
- Planning in international settings: Bangladesh, Indonesia, US, China and Sri Lanka
- Environmental planning and policy: water resource sustainability; integrated water resource planning; ecosystem restoration and management
- Urban and regional planning: urban resilience; land use policy
- Place dynamics: sense of place and inter-relationship with active transport behaviour
- Technology and society: technology adoption; regulatory frameworks; politics of expertise
- Planning history: early twentieth century US; contemporary Australia
- Use of GIS to investigate policy implementation and effectiveness
CURRENT RESEARCH STUDENTS
- Prananda Navitas (PhD, Indonesian Government Scholarship Recipient) – “Impacts of Socioeconomic and Building Characteristics on Residential Fire Risk and Community Resilience in Indonesia” – AssociateSupervisor (with Professor Doug Baker, Principal Supervisor)
COMPLETED RESEARCH STUDENTS
- Imon Chowdhoree (PhD, 2018) Endeavour Scholarship Recipient) – “Impacts of Structural Mitigation Measures on Perceptions of Community Flood Resilience: Experiences from Haor Communities of Bangladesh” – Associate Supervisor (with Professor Les Dawes, Principal Supervisor)
- Lachlan McClure (PhD, 2016, QUTPRA Scholarship Recipient) – “Planning for Climate Change Adaptation in a Neoliberal Context” – Associate Supervisor (with Professor Doug Baker, Principal Supervisor)
- Trimulyani Sunarharum (PhD, 2016, DIKTI and QUTPRA Scholarship Recipient) – “Collaborative Planning for Disaster Resilience: the Role of Community Engagement for Flood Risk Management” – Associate Supervisor (with Connie Susilawati, Supervisor)
- Murray Lane
If you are interested in working with Mellini as a postgraduate student, please email mellini.sloan@qut.edu.au with a short summary of your previous education and research interests, as well as:
- an indication as to whether you are interested in pursuing a Masters degree or a PhD
- your intended commencement date
- funding you may have already secured to support your research (QUT does offer funding, but some international students secure external funding from either the Australian Government or their own government
- IELTS or other English language proficiency test scores (for international students only)
- transcripts for any previous studies
- a resume or cv outlining professional experience and publications, if any
More on applying for research degrees here – https://www.qut.edu.au/study/applying/phd-and-research-degree-applications
This information has been contributed by Ms Mellini Sloan.
