EBE
NEWS FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT
2012/13
CONTENTS 3 Record enrolments reflect industry demand 4 Future fellowships awarded to faculty 5 Newcastle Graduate Wins NSW Architecture Design Medal 7 Faculty Medal of the Order of Australia recipients 7 Phd student presents to nuclear council 8 Top honour for contribution to Australian science 9 Take a step into Victorian Newcastle 11 PhD student presented with best paper prize 12 Olympic village architect wins gold medal 13 Colombo Plan graduate honoured with prestigious award 14 Professor wins international offshore engineering award 15 RoboCup Junior a Resounding Success 17 Research student’s work recognised 17 Professor elected chair of Fire Safety Science 18 Faculty awarded over $3.5 million worth of research grants
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Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
Message from Pro Vice-Chancellor John Carter on our local landscape, a group of Architecture academics launched a new smart phone application that gives our community a window into the past of this unique city. Among a host of other significant national and international accolades for Faculty staff, Bob Nelson was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his work in developing the Science and Engineering Challenge program for high school students. The Faculty also hosted the Hunter Region’s RoboCup Junior event – a competition pitting school against school in a challenge to build automated robots. RoboCup Junior inspires high school kids to engage with engineering concepts through this exciting activity.
For the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, 2012 has been a year of engagement – engagement between staff and students, and engagement with industry, the community and the local environment. In 2012, the work of our students has impressed both industry and academic audiences. Environmental Engineering PhD candidate Eleanor Hobley was invited to present her work to the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering. In the field of Computer Science, PhD candidate, Aaron Wong, found unexpected success in a research paper-writing contest. For his work envisioning a future Carrington Wharf, Warren Haasnoot was awarded the Architects NSW Design Medal. Also reflecting
Last week, results of the Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) Initiative, an independent assessment of research excellence within Australia’s higher education institutions, were released. All of the Faculty’s disciplines were rated at least “at world standard” and most were rated “well above world standard”. This places the Faculty’s research amongst the top in Australia. I would like to thank all members of the Faculty for their individual contributions to this wonderful outcome. I hope you yourself will engage with us by enjoying our success stories in this issue of EBE News.
John Carter Pro Vice-Chancellor Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newcastle University
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
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Record enrolments reflect industry demand Industry demands and 100% graduate employment has spurred record enrolments in the Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) this year. The current resource boom and significant investment in renewable energy and Smart Grid technologies has led employers struggling to fill positions. “The School is delighted with the increased interest in the Electrical Engineering area,” said program convenor Dr. Steve Mitchell. “There are many opportunities for our graduates and companies are actively pushing for more graduates in order to fill their skill shortages.” This push was reflected in this year’s undergraduate enrolments, with a 58% increase on first preferences and a 45% increase in the current offers for the Electrical Engineering degree. Electrical engineering graduates have a wide range of employment opportunities including power generation and distribution, renewable energy, electronics, and automation and control engineering. To find out more about the discipline visit http:// www.newcastle.edu.au/school/electricalengineering-computer-science/areas-of-study/ electrical.html.
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Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
Future fellowships awarded to faculty Five Australian Research Council Future Fellowships have been awarded to the Faculty of Engineering and Built the Environment in 2012. The Future Fellowships program is a national initiative aimed at promoting research into areas of critical national importance by attracting and retaining the best and brightest mid-career researchers. The projects funded include: • $854,468 to Professor Pablo Moscato for his work with memetic algorithms to resolve optimisation problems in - the study of methods for storing, retrieving and analysing biological data to assist researchers in many fields including health and medicine. • $766,856 to Andrei Lyamin for his research into granular materials and their role in physical infrastructure, improving the efficiency of risk assessment and mitigation strategies in the event of avalanches, landslides and debris flow. • $700,316 to Dr Christopher Kellett for research into the emerging area of hybrid dynamical systems, including next generation electricity distribution networks. • $626,958 to Dr Peter Ireland to develop a dry particle separation process based on triboelectric separation, a novel way to refine mineral ores without using water. • $623,278 to Dr Sarah Johnson to develop new error correction codes to underpin the success of next-generation communications technologies.
“I am delighted that we can retain such talented people at the University”, the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Mike Calford said. “The Future Fellowships scheme is critically important to ensuring that bright academic minds can contribute locally and still make their mark on the world stage.”
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
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He has a very noble outlook on architecture and is a very worthy recipient of the award.
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Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
Newcastle Graduate Wins NSW Architecture Design Medal University of Newcastle graduate Warren Haasnoot has been awarded the Architects NSW Design Medal, the highest accolade for an architectural graduate in NSW. Winning for his work in envisioning a future Carrington Wharf, Warren’s achievement builds on the successes of other recent Newcastle Architecture graduates Ben Walters (runner up 2011) and Lachlan Seegers (winner, 2010).
Of Haasnoot, Tucker says, “He has outstanding creative vision, is socially aware and recognises that the true value of architecture lies with the masses. He has a very noble outlook on architecture and is a very worthy recipient of the award”. Speaking to students, Tucker recognises the inspiration available right within their backyard.
The award, held each year, goes to a fresh NSW graduate who shows exemplary and progressive vision in architectural design.
“Newcastle is in a unique situation for architecture - we have a decaying urban centre that is in need of innovative vision and direction to remain relevant. Use this to feed your imagination, use it to create your vision”
“Previous winners of this award have gone on to become some of the biggest names in Australian architecture. It’s a really significant achievement”, Newcastle University Academic Chris Tucker says.
Haasnoot agrees. “Architects need to look beyond just buildings. We need to consider and incorporate art, science, technology and anthropology into our designs”.
The award takes three final year students from each of the four architectural schools in NSW and exhibits them to the architectural community, from which High-ranking members critique projects on innovation and vision.
With Haasnoot’s success with the award this year, it bodes well for all students interested in competing in future years.
Haasnoot’s project aims to challenge the architectural norm of current Novocastrian developments such as Honeysuckle, and recognise the individuality of Newcastle and its people.
“The calibre of Newcastle’s graduates is incredible. Work on projects you care about and you’ll get out what you put in.”
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Phd student presents to nuclear council Environmental engineering PhD student Eleanor Hobley was recently invited to present her work to the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering Council Meeting on 24 May at the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Lucas Heights. Bob Nelson
Faculty Medal of the Order of Australia recipients Two members of the Faculty were awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on Australia day this year. Conjoint Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor Ganapathi Asari Murugesan, received an OAM for service to medicine, particularly in the field of psychiatry. Since 2001 Associate Professor Murugesan has been the Medical Superintendent and Director of Rehabilitation at Bloomfield Mental Health Service in Orange and has served on a host of industry organisations dedicated to the improvement of mental health. Founder of the University’s Science and Engineering Challenge, Bob Nelson, was acknowledged for his contribution to education through the development and national delivery of the innovative program. The Challenge encourages high school students’ interest in science and engineering by engaging them in fun, hands-on activities. It has grown from a local event to one involving more than 20,000 students nationwide each year.
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Hobley’s presentation was titled ‘Soil organic carbon stability in top and subsoils,’ and detailed radiocarbon data obtained at ANSTO for her PhD. “My presentation was received very well. I had numerous attendees express interest and congratulate me on it, I was very pleased with the outcome”, said Hobley. Hobley received an AINSE post-graduate research award in 2010, which allows students to gain access to ANSTO’s world class Lucas Heights facilities. She has also been awarded a $900 AINSE Travel Scholarship to help contribute to her attendance at EUROSOIL 2012 in Bari, Italy this July. When asked about why she has chosen to conduct research in this area, Hobley replied “I love soils!”
Eleanor Hobley
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
Professor Kevin Galvin
Top honour for contribution to Australian science The Australian Academy of Science has announced the University of Newcastle’s Professor Kevin Galvin as the recipient of the 2012 Ian Wark Medal and Lecture for contributions to Australian science. Professor Kevin Galvin is the inventor of the Reflux Classifier, a novel fluidized bed system offering a broad range of benefits in a range of applications. The Ian Wark Medal and Lecture recognises the contributions to Australian science and industry by the late Sir Ian Wark, CMG, CBE, FAA, FTSE. The award pays tribute to research which contributes to the prosperity of Australia where that prosperity is attained through the advancement of scientific knowledge or its application, or both. The award is normally made every two years. The award of the Ian Wark medal is in recognition
of Professor Galvin’s research and development leading to the invention and utilisation by industry of the Reflux Classifier. “This recognition from the Australian Academy of Science, in being awarded the Ian Wark Medal, is a wonderful honour, and something that I value highly,” said Professor Galvin. “As a ‘Career Award’, there are many individuals over the past decade who have contributed to the success of the work, and hence I want to acknowledge the efforts of all of my past and present students and research staff.” For more information about the Academy’s 2012 awards visit:http://www.newcastle.edu.au/ news/2011/12/08/top-honour-for-contribution-toaustralian-science.html
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Take a step into Victorian Newcastle University of Newcastle researchers have developed an innovative app for smart phones and tablets that can transport people back to 19th Century Newcastle at the flick of a finger.
Many of the buildings he photographed have since been altered, are in states of disrepair or have been pulled down to make way for new developments.
The forgotten architecture of early Newcastle has returned to life with the launch of the Reconstructing Victorian Newcastle exhibition and app at Newcastle Museum on Wednesday.
Images like that of a Hunter Street butcher displaying his wares in 1904 which gives an alarming insight into the hygiene of the late Victorian period. (Thomas Brothers Butchery used to sit somewhere near the present-day CBD Hotel, Newcastle West.)
Using smart technology, visitors and history buffs can roam the city streets, point their mobile device at a building or site and be given a window into the Victorian era. Developed by University of Newcastle School of Architecture and Built Environment researchers Dr Tessa Morrison, Nicholas Foulcher and Dr Helen Giggins, the exhibition uses an augmented reality application that displays digital “layers” of text and images on an interactive map, bringing the architecture of a forgotten era to life. “To see these extraordinary images, anyone can download a free application (Layar Reality App) to their smart phone or tablet device which allows them to roam the city’s streets, point at a site and get a window into the past, all at the flick of a screen,” Dr Morrison said. The researchers painstakingly scanned the image database of the University’s Cultural Collections library and have been able to pinpoint with much accuracy each historical photo to its present-day location. Many of the photographs used in the exhibition were taken by Mr Ralph Snowball. Snowball photographed the town during an unprecedented boom period, and managed to capture a glimpse of the quickly evolving area.
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“Their advertising board proclaims ‘the clean butchers’, yet the meat is hung outside and in front of a dirt road on the city’s main thoroughfare,” Dr Morrison said. Where once stood large and imposing hotels with their wide balconies and ornate entrances now is home to modern brick and glass buildings housing the 20th Century office workers of Newcastle’s professional set. From an academic perspective, the project seeks to identify the urban and architectural patterns of the region’s capital. The exhibition consists of 30 images of Newcastle past and present. By downloading the free Layar Reality application on a smart phone or tablet device, users simply scan the images and hit streets, viewing pictures and reading the history at 25 designated sites. The pilot project has been funded by the University’s Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment. The team is also investigating a wider application that could have immense historical and tourism benefits for the city.
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
This application builds on our expertise and gives the community the tools to reconstruct our heritage.
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
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PhD student Aaron Wong
PhD student presented with best paper prize Computer science and software engineering PhD student Aaron Wong has received the best student paper award at last week’s 45th Annual Conference of the Australian and NZ Architectural Science Association. “I was quite surprised that the paper was selected as the best student paper”, said recipient Aaron Wong. “It’s an excellent result for the team and has shown that many months of combined effort has paid off.” The paper, entitled “Humanoid Robots for Modelling” and Analysing Visual Gaze Dynamics of Pedestrians Moving in Urban Space,” was a collaboration with Associate Professor Stephan
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Chalup, Shashank Bhatia, Arash Jalalian, Jason Kulk and Professor Michael Ostwald. Wong’s paper explored the teams’ approach in solving the problems associated with studying human pedestrians in their urban environment. “It’s a small step in a larger system which ultimately aims at looking at pedestrians interaction with the urban environment to judge the quality of the environment,” said Wong. The literature presents a method of using Humanoid robots, programmed to be pedestrians, placed on a model street where they traversed and interacted with the environment. Robotic data collected was then used and analysed to assist in building the system.
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
Sydney International Tennis Centre, designed by Professor Lawrence Nield
Olympic village architect wins gold medal The University of Newcastle professor who has designed multiple Olympic Games venues and villages has been awarded the Australian Institute of Architects’ highest accolade, the Gold Medal. Multi award-winning architect, Professor Lawrence Nield, provides design leadership through the university’s Architect in Residence program where he acts as a mentor to Australia’s next generation of architects. He is one of five leading Australian architects at the university’s School of Architecture and Built Environment, one of the best-equipped architecture schools in the country. Professor Nield was recognised at the Institute’s Australian Achievement in Architecture Awards in Adelaide for his significant contributions to teaching and his impact on Australia’s built environment.
Professor Nield’s impressive design career spans 45 years. He was head of masterplanning for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, designed five venues for the Athens Olympics in 2004, five venues and for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and the 2012 London Athletes Village. Professor Nield’s work also includes the redevelopment of the overseas passenger terminal at Circular Quay, Sydney’s Cook and Phillip Park near St Mary’s Cathedral and the National Science and Technology Centre – Questacon - in Canberra. Early in his career, Professor Nield designed the University’s David Maddison clinical sciences building in Newcastle.
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
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Colombo Plan graduate honoured with prestigious award Last year, in the award’s inaugural year, the same honour was awarded to Dr Tan’s fellow Colombo Plan scholar and University of Newcastle graduate, the Honourable Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for the National Development Board of Singapore. Dr Tan is one of Singapore’s most distinguished public servants. During his 33 years of service in top leadership roles, Dr Tan received four Public Administration Service Medals. Although he retired in 2007 as the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts, Dr Tan still holds the significantly influential Chair position for the Media Development Authority International Advisory Panel.
For the second time running, a Colombo Plan scholar from the University of Newcastle has been awarded the 2012 Eminent Alumni Award at the Singapore Australia Alumni Awards. University of Newcastle engineering and economics graduate Dr Tan Chin Nam was honoured with the prestigious award at the event hosted at the Australian High Commission in Singapore. The Colombo Plan was introduced in 1951 as a centrepiece of Australian Foreign Policy to strengthen relationships with Asia through numerous measures including university scholarships.
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Dr Tan’s expertise and personal contributions have influenced the development of art and culture, the media, information and technology and communications, tourism, human capital and the economy in Singapore. When reflecting on his career, Dr Tan acknowledges the University of Newcastle as playing an important role in his professional achievements. University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor, Professor Caroline McMillen said the University was very proud of its graduates who came to the University under the Colombo Plan. “Like Dr Tan, many of the students who studied at our University through this important scholarship arrangement have made outstanding contributions to the development and success of The Republic of Singapore,” she said. The Singapore Australia Alumni Awards are open to all graduates of all Australian universities who live and work in Singapore.
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
Professor wins international offshore engineering award Professor Robert Melchers was been selected as this years’ recipient of the Jin S. Chung Award from the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers. The annual award is given to “recognize outstanding creative and innovative contributions to the offshore, ocean and polar engineering fields.” Professor Melchers received the award at the 22th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference & Exhibition in Rhodos, Greece, in late June. While there, he presented a special lecture to the conference’s delegates. “I’m delighted, it was unexpected given the competition for the award,” said Prof Melchers. “It also recognizes the great team of people I have working with me, including Dr Robert Jeffrey, Dr Tony Wells, Dr Torill Pape, Dr Robert Petersen and Dr Mukshed Ahammed, as well as a number of research students.” The award was given for his contributions to creating a better understanding of the corrosion of steel in marine environments, the factors that contribute to that corrosion and the quantification of many of these. His research group’s work has thrown new light on the influence of bacteria and water pollution on the severity of corrosion.
“I am indebted to the Australian Research Council for supporting me through two successive Australian Professorial Fellowships,” said Prof Melchers. Professor Melchers is currently in Sweden, working on the corrosion of pipelines for oil production in the North Sea with the Swedish national research organization SWEREA-KIMAB.
This has developed mathematical models for general corrosion and offered completely new interpretations of the statistics of maximum pit depth, which is especially important for pipelines as any a leak can be disastrous.
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
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RoboCup Junior a Resounding Success The University of Newcastle has hosted this year’s Hunter Regional RoboCup Junior – A competition pitting school against school in a challenge to build automated robots capable of performing in three different divisions.
needed to solve these engineering problems, getting these kids passionate will mean faster evolution of technology.”
The competition is a spin off of the international RoboCup scientific initiative, a project aimed at furthering research into robotic automation, but with humbler goals – getting kids engaged and involved from a young age.
The local competition was driven by the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment’s marketing team, Jenny Taylor and Ryan Jeffery. The pair got Wong involved due to his expertise in robotics. Wong is a former member of NUbots and is undertaking a PhD in computer science researching Machine learning.
Children from 15 primary and secondary schools across the hunter were involved with the project with 53 participating teams and around 250 attending on the day.
This year school teams were competing using Lego Mindstorms kits, and although this might not be high end scientific equipment, Wong doesn’t see it as an issue.
The competition consists of three separate judged events – Dance, Soccer and Rescue, where each robot is judged on its optimisation for the division and ability to respond effectively to the stimulus provided.
“It’s all about finding clever ways to make the tools at your disposal work for you”
Co-ordinator of the project, Aaron Wong, believes that getting kids involved young will drive innovation for the future, and encourage a culture of curiosity and collaborative creativity.
The event was a resounding success, with kids having a great time optimising their projects and competing. The winners for the day were Hamilton South Primary (Dance), Glendale High School (Soccer) and Belmont High School (Rescue). These teams will be invited to the NSW state finals next week.
“RoboCup Junior is all about getting kids involved to spark their minds to think about robotics. It teaches them the logical framework and patience
The team plans to run the competition again next year, and encourages expressions of interest from students keen to help out.
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Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
RoboCup Junior is all about getting kids involved to spark their minds to think about robotics.
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
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Professor elected chair of Fire Safety Science Professor Bogdan Dlugogorski, Director of the Priority Research Centre for Energy, has been elected the Chairman of the International Association for Fire Safety Science.
Dr Ibrahim Suleiman
Research student’s work recognised Dr Ibrahim Suleiman has been announced as the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment recipient of the 2011 Award for Research Higher Degree Excellence. Dr Suleiman’s thesis ‘Catalytic Mechanism of the Deacon Reaction’ investigated the role of copper in hydrogen chloride oxidation reactions, in order to minimise the emissions of the environmentally harmful materials, chlorinated dioxins. Prof Bogdan Dlugogorski, Conjoint Prof John Mackie, A/Prof Marian Radny, and Prof Eric Kennedy supervised Dr Suleiman’s research. Dr Suleiman became a student at the University of Newcastle in 2008 on the recommendation of a friend who was completing their PhD here. “The University of Newcastle is an amazing place to do research,” said Dr Suleiman. “The University’s staff were supportive and cooperative, which helped me focus on my research. The city is very beautiful with fabulous beaches, and the people are very friendly. I am looking to continue my research and I hope that one day I will be a research fellow at the University of Newcastle.”
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The IAFSS constitutes a peak body for international fire safety researchers. The Association has around 600 members worldwide, with its Secretariat located in London UK. It seeks to promote high standards, to encourage and stimulate scientists to address fire problems, to provide the necessary scientific foundations and means to facilitate applications aimed at reducing life and property loss. Professor Dlugogorski has had a long involvement with the international fire science community and with the IAFSS in particular. He has previously served as the Vice-Chairman for the Asia-Oceania region of the Association and its Honorary Secretary. “I wish to maintain our attention to excellence in research where it already exists, and intend to work with fire safety scientists in countries which are now building up their capability to study fires,” wrote Prof Dlugogorski in the latest IAFSS newsletter. “I hope that we will continue with reaching out to all fire scientists around the world encouraging them to attend the Fire Safety Symposia, with the Symposia retaining and expanding their workshops and the English mentoring scheme.”
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
Faculty awarded over $3.5 million worth of research grants Million of dollars worth of research projects have begun in the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment this year.
scheme. The grants will fund eight projects across a range of engineering disciplines. The projects include:
The projects, conducted in association with various different organisations, will see Faculty researchers conduct three different investigations over the next four years. The funding has been awarded by the Australian Research Council.
• $535,000 for research into the area of turbulence, which is the usual state of fluid motion.
The 2012 ARC Linkage Projects are: • ‘Foundation systems for reactive soils using scarification and screw piles: $533,256 for foundation systems research to investigate the use of soil scarification, in combination with screw piles, as a reliable option for lightweight foundations on damaging reactive (expansive) clay soils. It will validate an innovative foundation alternative that will result in significant cost savings for residential foundations on reactive soil. This project is conducted in association with Ideal Foundations. • ‘Maximising the kinetics of flotation processes: $200,000 to develop a new flotation technology that can be operated at feed rates vastly higher than existing technologies. The technology will be applicable to low grade feeds often discarded to tailings, delivering billions of dollars in additional exports of Australian resources. This project is conducted in association with Australian Coal Research Ltd and Ludowici Australia Pty Ltd. • ‘Development of a measure for assessment of the dynamic thermal response of buildings: $330,000 to develop a unique measure for assessing the thermal behaviour of walls and buildings, to improve the effectiveness of energy efficient housing. This is conducted in association with Think Brick Australia. In addition, over the next three years, the Faculty will also receive $2,660,000 from the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects
• $320,000 for research into developing innovative self-healing technological systems that are able to maintain appropriate levels of performance while reacting to unforeseeable faults. • $360,000 for research in resolving critical issues related to turbulent flows over rough walls, which hinder the engineer’s ability to model these flows. • $340,000 for research into integrated circuits and a new method that uses a tiny, intense spot of light to create low-cost ICs that are small, fast and will enable a vast range of new technologies. • $320,000 for research into distributed sensor networks, for applications in smart electricity grids, traffic systems, industrial plants and security systems. • $320,000 for research into memetic algorithms and adaptive memory metaheuristics for large scale combinatorial optimisation problems arising in biomarker discovery. • $105,000 for research into new analysis and design tools to develop novel hybrid model predictive control systems with guaranteed stability, robustness and fault tolerance. • $360,000 to study the fundamental behaviour of Australian natural soils under varying water contents and loading conditions. We have recently received confirmation of a further $2,485,000 in ARC Discovery funding for projects commencing in 2013.
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Newsletter
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Contact General Faculty Enquiries: Pro Vice-Chancellor’s Unit Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment EF Building - EF105 University of Newcastle University Drive Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia Telephone: +61 2 4921 6025 Facsimile: +61 2 4921 7062 Email: FEBE-PVC_Unit@newcastle CRICOS Provider 00109J
