Penelope is a research fellow in circular economy (CE) within the National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life, which is part of the Forest Research Institute. Pene is investigating End-of-life opportunities for preservative treated timber and Engineered Wood Products (EWPs) within the circular economy. Pene was awarded her PhD from the University of Queensland, Department of Architecture, on life cycle thinking along the supply chain using engineered wood products as a case study. She received a grant from the Plywood Association of Australia and a Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund Fellowship in 1997 to investigate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the timber industry. Pene was involved in developing the Timber Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) with CSIRO and completed an investment plan for the Forest and Wood Product Association in 2011 to increase timber in housing for carbon storage and sustainability. Pene’s consistent career providing innovative solutions to environmental challenges has seen her conducting research for world leading organisations including the Centre for Sustainable Construction, Built Research Establishment, UK, CRC for Construction Innovation and CSIRO, Australia, developing sustainability tools and methodologies. Pene transferred her knowledge to industry, developing world-leading waste management technology (including the OSCA composting system used to process organic waste at USC, and the world-first solar powered composting system) and becoming a director of two award-winning companies. Pene’s recent research has focussed on Life Cycle Assessment, Product Stewardship and Circular Economy in the built environment and commercial furniture industry. Pene has lectured in CE, sustainable architecture, and waste management. Pene co-founded Architects for Resilient Communities (ARC) Sunshine Coast in 2019, conducting regular meetings, advocacy to council, and collaborative community workshops to action resilience on the Sunshine Coast.
Awards/Fellowships
- Australian Postgraduate Award, UQ, 1998
- Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund Award, UQ, 1997
Professional Social Media
Research Grants
|
Grant/Project name |
Investigators |
Funding body & A$ value |
Year(s) |
Focus (of research grant) |
| OSCA Technology |
Dr Penelope Mitchell Dr Paul Harrey |
Business Industry Transformation Initiative (BITI) $50000 |
2010 | Developing new technology for organic waste management |
Research areas
- Circular economy, product stewardship, forest and wood products, LCA
- Implementation of sustainability & resilience strategies
- Designing out waste and systems thinking for a circular world
Dr Penelope Mitchell's specialist areas of knowledge include Circular economy, product stewardship, forest and wood products, Implementation of sustainability & resilience strategies, designing out waste and systems thinking for a circular world.