**About the Editors**

#### **Sonia Heaven**

Prof. Dr. Sonia Heaven is an Emeritus Professor and Professorial Researcher in Environmental Engineering within Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton, and was previously Head of the Water and Environmental Engineering Group. She is the Director of the Environmental Biotechnology Network; she worked on the EPSRC-funded SUE Waste programme, the EU FP6 CROPGEN project, and the EU FP7 All-Gas project; and was the coordinator of the EU FP7 project VALORGAS (valorisation of food waste to biogas). She is a Chartered Civil Engineer with 7 years' experience in the UK water and wastewater industry, and while employed by Southampton, she spent 7 years in central Asia working on a wide range of environmental problems. She is a Member of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and of the Chartered Institution of Waste Management.

#### **Sigrid Kusch-Brandt**

Dr. Sigrid Kusch-Brandt is a Lecturer for the Circular Economy and Sustainable Management of Resources at the University of Applied Sciences Ulm; a Visiting Research Fellow within Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton; and a consultant to international organisations, research institutions, public authorities, and companies. In earlier academic positions, she served as Substitute Professor for Waste Management at Technical University of Dresden and for 6 years as Visiting Professor for Sustainable and Renewable Resources at the University of Padua. With her work, she aims to contribute to the more sustainable management of environmental resources, including through a more effective integration of circular economy principles. She has a specific interest in the environmentally sound valorisation of biogenic resources.

#### **Charles Banks**

Prof. Dr. Charles Banks is an Emeritus Professor within Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton. His research interests include innovative technology for environmental protection, including the controlled anaerobic and aerobic biodegradation of municipal and industrial solid wastes; the treatment of liquid industrial effluents using biological systems; energy production from the digestion of crops and agricultural wastes; concepts for an integrated farming system for non-competitive food and fuel production; and the provision of software tools for process energy balances, waste audit, and waste management. Research has led to the design of novel reactor systems and operating protocols to meet the challenges of new and adapted technologies for environmental protection, renewable energy production, and sustainable nutrient management systems. The development of operating protocols for anaerobic digestion, to maximise rates of substrate conversion and biogas yield, is also of special interest.
