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Dr Anthony Halog

Lecturer

School of the Environment
Faculty of Science

Lecturer

School of the Environment
Faculty of Science
a.halog@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 56141

Overview

Dr. Anthony Halog: A Pioneer in Sustainable Systems and Circular Economy

Dr. Anthony Halog stands at the forefront of the academic and research community, with a career spanning over 20 years in teaching and mentoring at both undergraduate and graduate levels. His expertise encompasses process modeling and simulation, energy audits, green energy, energy management, sustainable/green supply chain management, and the application of operations research and optimization methods to engineering sustainable systems. Dr. Halog has significantly contributed to the fields of circular economy, bioeconomy, life cycle assessment (LCA), and systems thinking, aligning his work with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and Planetary Boundaries.

With more than 22 years of post-PhD experience, Dr. Halog has spearheaded numerous research projects in industrial ecology, sustainable systems engineering, and life cycle modeling and analysis. His efforts have been recognized through various multi-fellowship awards from leading research institutions globally. He has demonstrated an exceptional ability to secure and manage research grants, with notable success in both the USA and Australia.

Dr. Halog’s prolific academic career includes over 130 publications related to sustainability assessment and life cycle analysis for energy and industrial systems. His interdisciplinary papers have been widely cited, underscoring his influence in the field. His Google H-index of 33 and high citation rates reflect the global impact of his research. Furthermore, his work has been extensively referenced in policy-related documents by the United Nations, European Union, and various analysis and policy observatories.

Dr. Halog has successfully supervised and managed a diverse group of postdoctoral researchers, PhD candidates, and master’s students, fostering the next generation of sustainability experts. His commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and leadership is evident through his roles as a journal editorial board member and a research group leader at the University of Queensland. His service extends to being an experienced grant panelist and reviewer in the USA, Australia, and the European Union.

In the realm of teaching, Dr. Halog has developed and taught curricula related to industrial environmental management and sustainability. His courses are designed to instill a deep understanding of systems thinking, life cycle assessment, and the principles of a circular economy. His teaching philosophy is rooted in bridging theoretical knowledge with practical applications, preparing students to tackle real-world sustainability challenges.

Dr. Halog’s international engagement is notable, with visiting fellowships and academic positions at prestigious institutions worldwide, including the University of Bath, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, University of Bayreuth, University of Bristol, and Sciences Po, Paris. His invited lectures and seminars have addressed critical issues in transitioning to a low-carbon, circular economy, the role of AI and digitalization in greening manufacturing, and the application of life cycle and systems thinking in policy design.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Halog has engaged extensively with industry and community stakeholders. He has provided consulting services on projects such as carbon footprint calculators for EarthCheck, demonstrating his ability to translate academic research into practical, impactful solutions.

Dr. Halog’s commitment to advancing sustainable systems and the circular economy is further evidenced by his leadership in organizing symposia and conferences, such as the 2023 Circular Bioeconomy in a Decarbonized World Symposium at the University of Queensland. His efforts have fostered interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration, driving forward the global agenda for sustainability.

In summary, Dr. Anthony Halog’s distinguished career is marked by his dedication to teaching, research, service, and international engagement in the fields of circular economy, bioeconomy, life cycle assessment, ESG, and systems thinking. His contributions have not only advanced academic knowledge but have also provided practical solutions to some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.

Research Interests

  • Circular Bioeconomy
    This research agenda aims to computationally analyze the large scale "potential" socio-environmental-economic implications in the development and manufacturing products from sustainable organic or waste resources in life cycle and systerms perspective. It encompasses analysing a range of innovative scientific and industrial technologies designed to convert sustainable feedstocks or waste into bioproducts. In particular, I'm interested in analysing the large scale implications of the following. Using renewable resources for circular bioeconomy Developing biomass-based energy for circular bioeconomy
  • Circular Economy
    A circular economy is an economic system aimed at minimising waste and making the most of resources. In a circular system resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimized by slowing, closing, and narrowing energy and material loops; this can be achieved through long-lasting design, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling. This regenerative approach is in contrast to the traditional linear economy, which has a 'take, make, dispose' model of production. Proponents of the circular economy suggest that a sustainable world does not mean a drop in the quality of life for consumers, and can be achieved without loss of revenue or extra costs for manufacturers. The argument is that circular business models can be as profitable as linear models, allowing us to keep enjoying similar products and services.
  • Industrial Ecology
    Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be modelled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform those resources into commodities which can be bought and sold to meet the needs of humanity. Industrial ecology seeks to quantify the material flows and document the industrial processes that make modern society function. Industrial ecologists are often concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, with use of the planet's supply of natural resources, and with problems of waste disposal. Industrial ecology is a young but growing multidisciplinary field of research which combines aspects of engineering, economics, sociology, toxicology and the natural sciences. Industrial ecology has been defined as a "systems-based, multidisciplinary discourse that seeks to understand emergent behaviour of complex integrated human/natural systems". The field approaches issues of sustainability by examining problems from multiple perspectives, usually involving aspects of sociology, the environment, economy and technology. The name comes from the idea that the analogy of natural systems should be used as an aid in understanding how to design sustainable industrial systems.
  • Environmental systems modelling and analysis
    Environmental systems analysis (ESA) is a systematic and systems based approach for describing human actions impacting on the natural environment to support decisions and actions aimed at perceived current or future environmental problems. Impacts of different types of objects are studied that ranges from projects, programs and policies, to organizations, and products. Environmental systems analysis encompasses a family of environmental assessment tools and methods, including life cycle assessment (LCA), material flow analysis (MFA) and substance flow analysis (SFA), and environmental impact assessment (EIA), among others.
  • Green Economy
    Green economy is defined as economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politically applied focus. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy Report argues "that to be green, an economy must not only be efficient, but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level equity dimensions, particularly in assuring a just transition to an economy that is low-carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive.
  • Transitions to Sustainability
  • Corporate Environmental Management
  • Green Supply Chain Management
  • Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Analysis

Research Impacts

A key contribution of his research outputs is the important role he has played in developing and advancing life cycle sustainability modelling and analysis methods, particularly in the challenge of industrial transformation, for pursuing a green and circular economy. UNEP’s interest in his work in life cycle sustainability analysis and its surging applications to various industries globally is worthy to be acknowledged. This shows his high profile internationally, particularly with issues relevant to sustainable consumption and production, in line with meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Further evidence of the quality and impact of his research outputs came from significant interest from the news media in the USA, India, and Australia and invited presentations in circular economy and industrial ecology around the globe. Currently, he is leading a Circular Economy related project particularly on converting solid wastes into refuse-derived fuel to replace some of the coal being used in electricity production in Indonesia while adopting Australian developed energy technologies. Previously, he had done modelling projects in Canada (such as analysing the upscaling of the Canadian oil sands industry’s emerging technologies) and in the USA (i.e., Upscaling Forest biomass-based technologies) funded by the Joint Biomass programme of the US Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture. He had been awarded a grant by the US National Science Foundation to present his work in “Operationalizing Sustainability Principles through Modelling Coupled Human and Natural Systems for Bioenergy Development in the USA. These previous experiences in computational systems modelling and analysis will facilitate the conduct of the proposed project to model and analyse the upscaling of Australia’s emerging technologies for industrial transformation and sustainable manufacturing. Scaling up circularity provides a multi-billion economic opportunity, driving up resource productivity, driving down material costs, improving resource security, and reducing negative externalities and their human and environmental costs. Indeed, the Circular Economy can play a central role in tackling climate challenges and realising the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees post COP26.

Qualifications

  • Doctoral Diploma, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
  • Masters (Coursework) of Business Administration (Advanced), Monash University
  • Masters (Coursework) of Engineering, Asian Institute of Technology Thailand
  • Bachelor of Science

Publications

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Grants

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Supervision

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Pursuing Circular Economy in Australia for Sustainable Industrial Development

    This project has a number of objectives. They are;

    • To support the transformation of Australian Food Systems from linear production system to circular economy, the objectives of this project are:

    • To develop a database and apply life cycle and systems-based methods to analyse Australian food-production and consumption patterns;

    • To evaluate impacts on biodiversity, land use, water use, phosphorous consumption on selected food sub-sectors;

    • To propose circular economy models for the industrial transformation of Australian Food System in pursuit of sustainable consumption and production.

    This project can be implemented using any of the life cycle, holistic and system thinking based approaches (particularly, materials flow analysis (MFA), substance flow analysis (SFA), environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), system dynamics, agent based modelling (ABM), multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). Preferably, applicants have training or exposure in any of the above methods as well as its appropriate software packages.

  • Systems Modelling of Linked Circular Economies

    In many urban areas, pathways of essential resources such as food, water and energy are subject to multiple inefficiencies. Circular economies try to minimize wastages by reusing or recycling the waste products within each resource stream. Explicitly linking these circular economies will enable us to exploit synergies between these cycles, thereby further reducing waste in the urban food-energy-water nexus.

    This project aims to analyse the potential for waste reduction in urban food-energy-water nexus by explicitly linking the circular economies. The research project focuses on System Dynamics Modelling (SDM) methodology of food, energy and water cycles in urban or urbanising environments. Innovatively, these cycles will be modelled as an integrated system, explicitly recognizing that they do not operate in isolation and that feedbacks can cause non-linearly propagating effects. SDM can: a) visualize the structure of both current and alternative resource pathways; b) suggest improvements to reduce overall waste in the nexus; c) illustrate how intended improvements affect the resource fluxes in other cycles; and d) identify possible bottlenecks, thresholds and other potential problems under different management or usage scenarios.

  • Integrated Assessment Modelling

    This project will work on the intersection of Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) and Industrial Ecology methods, like Lifecycle Assessment (LCA), Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Input-Output Analysis (IOA). We will explore different alternatives for the future energy mix and corresponding transition pathways that may lead us to a low carbon society. The objective of the work is to develop and apply a combined Industrial Ecology and Integrated Assessment Modelling framework based on the open source MESSAGEix framework, developed at IIASA that allows for the simultaneous assessment of climate change mitigation and circular economy related aspects, pertaining to the transition of energy and transport sector and its interface with the materials and manufacturing sectors.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Featured Publications

Book Chapter

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Life Cycle Assessment: energy efficiency to mitigate climate change in Indonesia aquaculture industry

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Enhancing Sustainable Waste Management in Agri-Food Production

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Pursuing Circular Economy in Australia for Sustainable Industrial Development

    This project has a number of objectives. They are;

    • To support the transformation of Australian Food Systems from linear production system to circular economy, the objectives of this project are:

    • To develop a database and apply life cycle and systems-based methods to analyse Australian food-production and consumption patterns;

    • To evaluate impacts on biodiversity, land use, water use, phosphorous consumption on selected food sub-sectors;

    • To propose circular economy models for the industrial transformation of Australian Food System in pursuit of sustainable consumption and production.

    This project can be implemented using any of the life cycle, holistic and system thinking based approaches (particularly, materials flow analysis (MFA), substance flow analysis (SFA), environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), system dynamics, agent based modelling (ABM), multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). Preferably, applicants have training or exposure in any of the above methods as well as its appropriate software packages.

  • Systems Modelling of Linked Circular Economies

    In many urban areas, pathways of essential resources such as food, water and energy are subject to multiple inefficiencies. Circular economies try to minimize wastages by reusing or recycling the waste products within each resource stream. Explicitly linking these circular economies will enable us to exploit synergies between these cycles, thereby further reducing waste in the urban food-energy-water nexus.

    This project aims to analyse the potential for waste reduction in urban food-energy-water nexus by explicitly linking the circular economies. The research project focuses on System Dynamics Modelling (SDM) methodology of food, energy and water cycles in urban or urbanising environments. Innovatively, these cycles will be modelled as an integrated system, explicitly recognizing that they do not operate in isolation and that feedbacks can cause non-linearly propagating effects. SDM can: a) visualize the structure of both current and alternative resource pathways; b) suggest improvements to reduce overall waste in the nexus; c) illustrate how intended improvements affect the resource fluxes in other cycles; and d) identify possible bottlenecks, thresholds and other potential problems under different management or usage scenarios.

  • Integrated Assessment Modelling

    This project will work on the intersection of Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) and Industrial Ecology methods, like Lifecycle Assessment (LCA), Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Input-Output Analysis (IOA). We will explore different alternatives for the future energy mix and corresponding transition pathways that may lead us to a low carbon society. The objective of the work is to develop and apply a combined Industrial Ecology and Integrated Assessment Modelling framework based on the open source MESSAGEix framework, developed at IIASA that allows for the simultaneous assessment of climate change mitigation and circular economy related aspects, pertaining to the transition of energy and transport sector and its interface with the materials and manufacturing sectors.

  • Dynamic System Modelling of Relationships between Environmental Sustainability, Food and Health Issues

    This projects aims to develop a prototype computational-based system model for understanding the interrelationship between sustainability, particularly climate change, food systems, dietary choices and human health. Preferably, the applicant has previous training or background in system dynamics and/ or agent based modelling (ABM) including their software packages (e.g. STELLA, Powersim, AnyLogic, Open ABM, REPAST, NetLogo, StarLogo) or has high drive and initiative to learn these computational and quantitative methods for dynamic system modelling and analysis. . Applicants will develop skills in modelling, analysis, data management, scenario and policy formulation and the development of sustainable solutions.

    NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE

  • Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis of Deployment of Renewable Energy technologies

    There is an increasing interest around the world to promote the widespread and increased adoption and “sustainable use” of all forms of renewable energy. This includes all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner including hydro, wind, bioenergy and solar. The main objectives of this project are:

    • Obtaining a comprehensive overview of what environmental and related impact and trade-offs exist in relation to large-scale deployment of each renewable energy technology at all the stages of its lifecycle (e.g. extraction of materials, manufacturing, project implementation, end-of-life treatment), including the identification of diverse – both scientific and perceptive – parameters which affect the understanding and evaluation of impact;

    • Identifying “hot spots” among diverse potential impact areas where we need to pay a particular attention in order to consider their strategies for large-scale renewable energy deployment;

    • The applicant preferably should focus on hydro and bioenergy.

    This project can be implemented using any of the life cycle, holistic and system thinking based approaches (particularly, materials flow analysis (MFA), substance flow analysis (SFA), environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), system dynamics, agent based modelling (ABM), multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). Preferably, applicants have training or exposure in any of the above methods as well as its appropriate software packages.

  • Stocks and Flows of Metals and Mineral Resources: Quantifying Environmental Impacts and Risks

    This project has a number of objectives. They are:

    • To understand the metal and mineral resource requirements of Japanese and Chinese industries, particularly in quantifying the demand of rare earth metals in Japanese industries and demand of mineral and other resources in Chinese industries. The metals and resources are supplied by Australian mining and mineral resource industry.

    • To propose viable models of circular economy in Queensland’s mining and mineral resource industries while respecting ecological limits and meeting long-term requirements of other countries.

    • To develop a database of available metals and other minerals in Australia and quantify their usages.

    This project can be implemented using any of the life cycle, holistic and system thinking based approaches (particularly, materials flow analysis (MFA), substance flow analysis (SFA), environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), system dynamics, agent based modelling (ABM), multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA).

  • Material Flow Accounting and Input-output Analysis for Reducing Australia’s Energy Demand

    This research project aims to reduce Australia’s energy demand through changing our demand of materials and products across the whole supply chain. Firstly, the objective of the project is to understand the key historical drivers of material and product consumption in Australia for the past 20 years. This will involve extending a monetary-based input-output model with physical and energy data to an integrated hybrid model of the Australian economy and its trading partners. Preferably, student has experience in managing and manipulating large datasets, and is familiar with methods such as lifecycle, material flow and input-output analysis. A background in applied and policy relevant research in the field of sustainable consumption and production modelling and climate policy is preferred. You should have relevant background and/or experience in a relevant discipline (e.g. Sustainable consumption and production, input-output modelling, data envelopment analysis, material flow analysis).

  • Modelling Urban Metabolism of Cities

    Challenges facing urban planners and governments continue to mount as populations in urban areas increase, pressure on the world’s resources reaches critical levels and degradation of ecosystems around the world becomes increasingly apparent. The movement towards sustainable development has been met with enthusiasm by decision-makers, although exactly how to achieve this target, or even measure progress towards it, is not entirely evident. This project aims to explore how complex urban systems (e.g. Brisbane) can be modelled holistically using multi-agent based framework, and their sustainability assessed using a systems approach. This project will help produce a roadmap towards sustainable development of cities. The research will entail review of literature, development of a survey, statistical analysis, and potentially use of an urban systems model.

  • Agent-Based Modelling of Linked Circular Economies

    In many urban areas, pathways of essential resources such as food, water and energy are subject to multiple inefficiencies. Circular economies try to minimize wastages by reusing or recycling the waste products within each resource stream. Explicitly linking these circular economies will enable us to exploit synergies between these cycles, thereby further reducing waste in the urban food-energy-water nexus.

    This project aims to analyse the potential for waste reduction in urban food-energy-water nexus by explicitly linking the circular economies. The project focuses on Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) of food, energy and water fluxes in urban or urbanising environments. Innovatively, these fluxes will be modelled as emergent properties arising from agents’ (i.e. stakeholders’) decision making, explicitly recognizing that they depend on power relations between the various stakeholders and on non-linearly propagating effects. ABM can: a) illuminate the decision-making structures and power-relations in the food-energy-water nexus; b) evaluate sensitivity to volatility and vacillation in stakeholder decision making; c) illustrate how potential changes in nexus management affect stakeholder decision making and resource fluxes; and d) identify unanticipated feedbacks, thresholds and other potential problems under different management or usage scenarios.

  • Dynamic System Modelling and Analysis for Pursuing Sustainable Bioeconomy in Australia

    Bioenergy is expected to be an important part of the low-carbon energy supply in the future. Besides techno-economic analysis, rigorous assessment of environmental and social impacts of large-scale deployment of bioenergy is needed to ensure its sustainability. This project will focus on developing a spatially and temporally explicit systems model for producing aviation fuels in Australia from possible feedstocks - microalgae, pongamia pinnata, and sugarcane. This will cover a wide range of bioenergy pathways both for transport use and electricity/heat production, with particular emphasis on carbon and water footprints, impact on human health and ecosystems, and economic costs. Uncertainties from various sources will also be dealt with explicitly. Applicants should have a background in Engineering, Mathematics, Physical and Environmental Studies. Experience in numerical modelling using tools such as Matlab, spatial analysis using GIS software or life cycle analysis is highly desirable though not essential.

  • Integration of Multi Agent Systems (MAS) and LCA for Analysing Australian Agri-food Sector

    This project aims to develop a practical and comprehensive methodology for the integration of Multi Agent Systems (MAS) and life cycle assessment (LCA). In order to identify and characterize the Australian agro-system, this project will develop a prototype computational model to simulate Australian agricultural sector. Preferably, applicant has background in computer science or applied mathematics with experience in agent-based systems as well as strong interest in computation, applied mathematics, optimization and scientific programming. Successful applicant will develop skills in modelling, analysis, data management, scenario and policy formulation and the development of sustainable solutions.

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

circular economy, green ecconomy, industrial transformation, biomimicy, sustainable bioeconomy, industrial ecology, cleaner production, transition to sustainability, systems modelling and analysis, life cycle assessment, sustainability assessment, circular bioeconomy, environmental assessment

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

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ResearcherID: I-6718-2012

ORCID: 0000-0002-0404-0670

Scopus ID: 14919073000

Personal Profile: Link

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