Articles
Gareth Lewis, Research Fellow
Gareth Lewis - Water They Up To: CWS in the Spotlight
Next to feature in our 'Water They Up To: CWS in the Spotlight' series is Gareth Lewis, Research Fellow.
What is your research about?
I am an early-career Research Fellow, having moved into water engineering after a long career in video games. My research is focused around visualising water systems and digitising water data using FIWARE. As part of the aqua3S project, I’m working with a team to visualise water supply networks for water safety and security. In addition, I also work on the FIWARE4Water project with a team from South West Water (SWW), where we are trialling smart water meters to improve leak detection rates and provide customers with daily water consumption information.
What is the most exciting part about your research?
After a career of blowing things up (in games!), it’s great to be working in environments where I can make a constructive difference to people's lives. As part of the SWW project, we have worked with the local community to create a local water forum which provides us with huge amounts of customer insight - something which was practically impossible in game development.
When talking about water, what place comes to mind first and why?
Usually, the local swimming pool. I’ve found for a long time that swimming is a great way to unwind and is good exercise. I’ve spent most of my career moving around for work and generally remember my previous jobs by the local pools that I have been able to find.
Which movie or book character would you most associate with water?
I honestly don’t know for books or movies, but for art it would be J.M.W. Turner as so much of his work has a sea theme. When I was studying art history I used Turner a lot as a bridge between classicism and impressionism. His early work is typical ‘chocolate box’ classicism with a high degree of painterly realism, but his later work largely abandons form for a far more expressionist approach.
Date: 2 August 2021