Emeritus Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Ian Acworth was the Gary Johnston Professor of Water Management, a joint Chair between the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Biology, Earth and Environmental Sciences in the Faculty of Science.

He is the past Director (2006 - 2012) of the Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre at UNSW and the Project Director for the DIISRTE Groundwater EIF project. He is also a CI for the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training.

His research interests include:

• Investigation of groundwater dynamics and hydrochemical processes in the coastal zone.
• Development of field instrumentation and analysis methods in groundwater studies.
• Electrical methods in the investigation of groundwater and salinity.
• Relationship between Palaeoclimate and dryland salinity.

Since retiring in 2015 I have been busy publishing, writing a major text book for Groundwater Investigation and taking an active part in community service. 

I have carried out extensive geological/hydrogeological investigation into aquifers beneath the Liverpool Plains. This research finally led to the NSW Government buying back the mining license from Shenhua and stopping the proposed Breeza open-cut coal mine.