CONNECT: ENGINEERING & INFORMATION SCIENCES NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES EIS NEWSLETTER
1
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
EIS News Contents 10. EMAGINE WORK INTEGRATED LEARNING SCHOLARSHIPS
3. MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN 3.
AIP AWARD FOR CMRP STUDENT
4.
UOW‐BEIHANG JOINT WORKSHOP
5.
ROSENMAN FELLOWSHIP TO DEVELOP THE ‘LYMPH SLEEVE’
12. AINSE SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
5.
2014 PITMAN MEDAL
12. STUDENTS SHINE AT NATIONAL MINING GAMES
6.
BUDDHIMA RECOGNISED FOR DEDICATION IN GEOTECHNICS
13. 2014 METSOC TOUR
10. SUSTAINABLE ENERGIES TOUR 11. UOW STUDENTS SUMMER IN CHINA
6.
2014 YOUNG PROFESSIONALS GEOTECHNICAL COMPETITION
14. OFFSHORE STUDENTS VISIT UOW
7.
AUSIMM SERVICE AWARD
14. TRANSNATIONAL TEACHING SYMPOSIUM
7.
UOW PITCH COMPETITION
15. WORKSHOP ON GEOMETRIC ANALYSIS
8.
TRAVELLING ROADSHOW INSPIRES STUDENTS
15. MATHS AND STATS EXPLORER DAY
9.
ICT STUDENT PROJECT
9.
INDUSTRY AND PARTNERSHIPS
EIS NEWSLETTER
16. 2014 DECEMBER GRADUATION 17. VC AWARDS 18. ACADEMIC PROMOTIONS
2
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
Message from the Dean . The new Faculty of Engineering and Informa on Sciences (EIS) consis ng of 7 Schools spanning 9 Engineering Disciplines, Computer Science and IT, Maths, Stats and Physics has now completed a li le more than a full year of opera on. 2014 has been a very good year for research with every School having some success in one or more of the highly compe ve na onal research grant schemes such as those run by the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Na onal Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Australian Coal Associa on Research Program. There have also been numerous successes with addi onal Industry and Government funded research schemes which have granted research money to Faculty staff members whose exper se they wish to have applied to their own businesses.
skills so well respected that Industry and Government organisa ons are prepared to grant them contracts to do research. A great deal of trust is required before any organisa on is prepared to pay someone else to do their R&D. Hence our students can be most confident that they are being taught by staff who are very knowledgeable about the latest and best prac ce in Industry. This will benefit our students greatly when they graduate and are seeking employment. Figures collected independently by Government and published in the Good University’s Guide show, for example, that the University of Wollongong has received the maximum ra ng for ‘Ge ng a Job’ for 12 consecu ve years.
developed a world‐wide reputa on for excellence based on a strong interna onal network, developed by Anatoly and his team, with many of the world’s leading research groups. For example CMRP have done work with USA’s space agency NASA, with CERN in Switzerland, with agencies in France and China, and one of CMRP’s research fellows recently won a commercialisa on award funding two years’ of training in California.
This Centre, as well as the establishment and growth of several other ARC and Research Centres in EIS, shows what can be achieved by talented people with a clear and well‐ar culated vision of how they can make the world a be er place. Coupled with enthusiasm, the ability to Most jobs involve coopera ng with others. It can be very helpful to observe explain ideas and to enthuse others with the same goals, and the determina on some of the general characteris cs of highly successful coopera ve teams. One to pursue these goals through all such team in our Faculty, is the Centre obstacles, such teams can move mountains. for Medical Radia on Physics (CMRP), led by Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld. This was started over a decade ago with just a vision of how things could be, and is now recognized as Australia’s premier Medical Radia on Physics group. It has now grown to include over 76 research students, and in 2014 several of these students have received awards from bodies such as IEEE and Australian Ins tute of Physics for their research work. Also, in 2014 CMRP a racted two This is also very good news for our NHMRC grants, several grants from students as it demonstrates that they relevant Industry such as Cancer are being taught by staff with up‐to‐date Founda ons and Councils, and it has
AIP Postgraduate Award for CMRP Student The NSW AIP Branch in conjunc on with the Royal Society of NSW held its Annual Postgraduate Awards Day in November, where PhD students represen ng each School of Physics from NSW Universi es competed for an AIP Postgraduate Award. Students were asked to prepare a 20‐minute presenta on on their postgraduate research in Physics and the presenta on was judged on (1) content and scien fic quality, (2) clarity and (3) presenta on skills. EIS NEWSLETTER
PhD student Linh Tran was awarded with the pres gious Jak Kelly Prize and $500 cash for excellence in research on “Silicon Detectors for Microdosimetry in Heavy Ion Therapy”. Congratula ons to Linh and her mentors from UOW‐Physics‐ CMRP (Dr Marco Petasecca, Dr Susanna Guatelli, A/Prof Michael Lerch and Prof Anatoly Rosenfeld) and ANSTO (Dr Dale Prokopovich and Dr Mark Reinhard). Her success is recogni on of UOW’s School of Physics long term collabora on with ANSTO on important projects. 3
Professor Anatoloy Rozenfeld, Linh Tran, and A/Prof Michael Lerch
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
UOW—Beihang Joint Workshop
In December UOW hosted the UOW‐ Beihang Joint Workshop on Advanced Materials and Processing, the second joint workshop between the two ins tu ons. During the visit a credit transfer arrangement was signed for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Engineering (Materials) degree in the two universi es who will spend up to two years abroad in the counterpart materials school.
fundamental and industry‐based materials research experience at the forefront of steel processing and product research. It is one of the University’s founda on disciplines and has become the Engineering Materials Research Strength, with the vision of making a significant contribu on to the design and manufacturing of advanced materials for engineering applica ons and processing technologies.
Under the credit transfer agreement BUAA students enrolled in their Bachelor of Engineering (Materials) degree will be able to study at UOW in their third and fourth year and will qualify for degrees from both universi es.
The agreement strengthens the rela onship between the two ins tu ons, which began in 2012 as a result of a visit to BUAA by Associate Professor Huijun Li of the Welding Engineering Research Group, and has resulted in several ongoing research UOW materials engineering students can collabora ons and student exchanges. study at BUAA during their first and second year before returning to UOW to The first joint workshop was held in December 2013 at BUAA and Vice‐ complete their degree. The exchange Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings and will provide students from both universi es with experience and skills in senior delegates from UOW visited the working in a mul cultural environment President of BUAA in November this year for signing of an MOU and on global engineering challenges. discussions on se ng up a Joint Beihang University (formerly Beijing University of Aeronau cs and Research Ins tute. Astronau cs) was built in 1952, and is Dr Yue Zhao, Materials Engineering known as a leading engineering research discipline leader and deputy director of university, while UOW has 60 years of the Engineering Materials Research
EIS NEWSLETTER
4
Strength, said the joint workshop provided a pla orm for materials researchers from the two universi es to exchange research ideas, lay the groundwork for sharing of research resources and to set up collabora ve programs in materials research and educa on.
“Materials engineering is a very broad field, ranging from improving quality of metals to exploring func onal nano‐ materials,” Dr Zhao said. “Beihang has exper se in materials processing and state‐of‐the‐art facili es that our students can now access. This partnership will also enable researchers to collaborate on challenges with the rapid transforma on of global manufacturing and living standards through advances in environmentally friendly technologies and the development of fron er technologies.” Dr Zhao said China was one of Australia’s largest economic partners and UOW materials engineering students were now in a posi on to ac vely engage with China and lead the way in collabora on and coopera on. For the full ar cle visit h p:// media.uow.edu.au/news/ UOW184773.html
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
Rosenman Ins tute Fellowship to develop the ‘Lymph Sleeve’ Mr Weaver, a PhD student from UOW’s Centre for Medical Radia on Physics, explained the impact the device can create. “This device has the poten al to help millions of women suffering from lymphoedema around the world. It also has the poten al to help manage the symptoms of other diseases such as congenital oedema, circulatory diseases and diabetes.”
Michael Weaver and Dr Sheridan Gho
PhD student, Michael Weaver from UOW’s Centre for Medical Radia on Physics (CMRP) partnered with Dr Sheridan Gho from UOW’s Biomechanics Research Laboratory and won a pres gious fellowship for two years to work with the world’s foremost medical innova on experts to commercialise the Lymph Sleeve prototype.
The ‘Lymph Sleeve’, made from intelligent fabric, gives hope to the one in three breast cancer pa ents who develop lymphoedema, a painful and incurable condi on that causes swelling of the arm due to the build‐up of lympha c fluids. The Lymph Sleeve uses smart fabric that will massage the arm when it detects swelling.
The Lymph Sleeve, which won a Na onal Breast Cancer Founda on Concept Award in 2011, is a collabora on between the UOW’s Biomechanics Research Laboratory, Global Challenges, the Centre for Medical Radia on Physics, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science and Illawarra Health and Medical Research Ins tute. For the full ar cle visit h p:// media.uow.edu.au/releases/ UOW185196.html? ssSourceSiteId=UOW_Main
2014 Pitman Medal Professor Noel Cressie has been awarded the 2014 Pitman Medal at a ceremony held at the 2014 Australian Sta s cal Conference in Sydney in July. The Pitman Medal is awarded annually in recogni on of outstanding achievement and contribu ons in the discipline of sta s cs. Professor Cressie is the Director of UOW’s Centre for Environmental Informa cs in the Na onal Ins tute for Applied Sta s cs Research Australia (NIASRA). He has developed innova ve methods in sta s cal methodology and applied sta s c and used these techniques to solve important scien fic problems.
CO2; the development of spa o‐temporal models for producing small area es mates with the US Census Bureau; and a study of the biogeochemical cycles in oceans and the dynamical sequestra on of carbon in soil with the CSIRO.
His other honours include being awarded the highly pres gious 2009 R.A. Fisher Award Lecture, which is awarded by the interna onal Commi ee of Presidents of Sta s cal Socie es (COPSS). He is among the elite group of the Thomson Reuters Ins tute for Professor Cressie is currently involved in Scien fic Informa on’s (ISI) Highly Cited a number of research projects, mathema cal scien sts. including: the NASA OCO‐2 mission, analysing the precision and accuracy of column‐integrated atmospheric
EIS NEWSLETTER
5
Please visit h p://media.uow.edu.au/ news/UOW177335.html and h ps:// audioboom.com/playlists/1257162‐uow ‐and‐nasa‐unite‐for‐carbon‐dioxide‐ coun ng‐mission for a playlist of Noel Cressie’s radio interviews.
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
Buddhima Recognised for his Dedica on in Geotechnical Engineering Professor Buddhima Indraratna, from the Centre for Geomechanics and Railway Engineering at the School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, and a Program Leader of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Geotechnical Science and Engineering, was awarded the Chandra S Desai Medal by the Interna onal Associa on for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG) at its 14th conference, held in Kyoto recently.
in recogni on of individuals who have made significant contribu ons in geomechanics research and educa on – the study of theore cal and applied rock and soil mechanics, and in par cular in computa onal modeling, laboratory and field tes ng, computer methods and their applica ons in geotechnical prac ce.
Respect is awarded to non‐tradi onal approaches to the field including mul disciplinary efforts and the The Medal is awarded every three years integra on of research and teaching in
2014 Young Professionals Geotechnical Compe Congratula ons to PhD student S.M. Ali Tasallo from the Research Centre for Geotechnical and Railway Engineering (GRE) as the winner of the 2014 Young Professionals Geotechnical Compe on.
The cita on of Professor Indraratna’s Medal notes “…his leadership and outstanding contribu ons to ground improvement and railway geomechanics through fundamental and applied research making a substan al impact on industry and for his dedica on towards advancing higher educa on in geotechnical engineering”. Visit h p://media.uow.edu.au/news/ UOW181304.html
on
The compe on, held in Sydney, was hosted by the Australian Geomechanics Society and Engineers Australia and is the fourth me that a UOW geotechnical PhD student has won this compe on since its incep on several years ago.
geomechanics.
S.M. Ali Tasallo ’s presenta on was based on his PhD research, supervised by Professor Buddhima Indraratna, Dr Ana Heitor, and Associate Professor Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn, as part of an ARC‐Linkage project in collabora on with Port Kembla Port Corpora on, Douglas Partners, Coffey Geotechnics, Menard Bachy, BHP Billiton and ASMS. S.M. Ali Tasallo is currently researching the geotechnical behaviour of different mixtures of industrial byproducts such as coal wash and steel furnace slag to use as structural fill as part of the expansion of the Port Kembla Outer Harbour, located on the east coast of Australia in the Wollongong region.
EIS NEWSLETTER
6
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
AusIMM Service Award Professor Baafi’s interests are diverse. He has been responsible, with the assistance of AusAID, for se ng up the geosta s cal ore reserve and opera ons research subjects at the University of Technology in Lee, Papua New Guinea. Since 1992 he has had extensive involvement with the Applica on of Computers and Opera ons Research in the Minerals Industries symposia, a ending 11 symposia, represen ng the Ins tute on the Organising Council since 2007 and peer reviewing mul ple papers for these and other na onal and interna onal conferences.
On hand to celebrate with Associate Professor Ernest Baafi (middle) are Roderick Haseldon from AusIMM, Geoff Sharrock, President of AusIMM, and Kevin Marston and Ray Tolhurst both from UOW.
Congratula ons to Associate Professor Ernest Baafi on receiving the Australasian Ins tute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) Service Award. Early this year he was presented the award at the AusIMM Awards Dinner in Melbourne which recognised over 30 years of significant contribu ons and
excep onal work for the AusIMM. As Discipline Adviser for Mining Engineering at UOW, Ernest has coordinated AusIMM student membership applica ons with AusIMM Services for over 15 years with students joining in record numbers over the past three years.
EIS Winners in UOW PITCH Compe Well done to our Faculty staff and students involved in the UOW PITCH Compe on. The UOW PITCH compe on is open to UOW Staff and Students that possess a crea ve mind mixed with innova ve thoughts. The compe on is funded by SAF, is designed to build on the success of iAccelerate and further promote student and staff involvement in entrepreneurialism and the
Professor Baafi was instrumental in se ng up and running the Inaugural Coal Operators’ Conference in Wollongong. This conference is the premier underground coal mining operators’ conference in Australia. Professor Baafi con nues to spend considerable me with the Ins tu on of Engineers Australia accredi ng mining engineering degree programs for other Universi es.
on
commercializa on of ideas, inven ons and research outcomes of UOW. On the evening the finalists gave a five minute pitch to a panel of experts, with winners sharing in $40,000 of prize money.
Efficiency modular Micro wind based electricity generator. The Staff Encouragement award went to Holly Tootell, Mark Freeman and Grant Ellmers for their Early Digital Sketch Book.
Environmental Engineering student Christopher Johnson won several awards including the Undergraduate Student Category and Best Pitch award. Christopher also secured an UOW student Chris Nicholson won the Undergraduate category of iAccelerate Scholarship for his the UOW Pitch Compe on with his handcra ed caskets. He is pitch on Australian Handcra ed pictured with UOW Vice‐Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings and iAccelerate CEO Elizabeth Eastland. Caskets. Mechatronics Engineering student, Nathan Tarlinton, came runner up for his pitch on Slip‐angle Sensor. Congratula ons in the Staff Category to Brad Stappenbelt as part of the Winning Team for their pitch on Sparky Fire. Buyung Kosasih was runner up in this award for his pitch on High
EIS NEWSLETTER
7
Finalists Holly Tootell and Mark Freeman
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
Travelling STEM Roadshow Inspires Students The Faculty of Engineering and Informa on Sciences’ Travelling Indigenous / Rural STEM Roadshow has recently completed its school visits for 2014 with a trip to the New England / North Coast Regions. The major aim of the Roadshow is to promote STEM educa on in NSW High Schools. The school visits are staffed by a team of ten UOW representa ves, including nine undergraduate students and led by the Roadshow host UOW Engineer Dr Bob Wheway.
Rural Technology, Blayney, Inverell, Glen Innes, Lismore, Maclean and Macksville High Schools, as well as Corpus Chris Catholic College at Oak Flats, Magdalene Catholic High School at Narellan and the Riverina Anglican College at Wagga Wagga. The six hands‐on ac vi es of the Roadshow include: Driver training in an open‐wheeler racer driver simulator An introduc on to the proper es of mber and beam design, building and tes ng An introduc on to fluid mechanics via the design, building and tes ng of a tank to store and discharge water 4. An introduc on to aeronau cal engineering via the building and tes ng of bo le rockets 5. Milkshake‐making using a custom‐ built milkshake‐making bike 6. The extrac on of the gnome of a banana Each ac vity runs for 20 minutes. The Roadshow is widely welcomed at the schools by both staff and students. Some of the comments received from the various high schools include the following from teacher Gregory Hill: Building on the success of 2014, the Roadshow visited the following schools: Bowral, Maitland Grossmann, Merewether, Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Mudgee, Condoblin, Orange, Canobolas
“Thank you again for visi ng Macksville High. Your team did an amazing job engaging our students in fun and challenging ac vi es. The feedback from the kids has been really posi ve, and I’ve had a bunch of students wan ng to switch into Engineering classes next year”. The Roadshow has been funded in 2012‐ 2014 by SIPS HEPPP Grants. In 2015, the Roadshow will con nue as the result of a $65,000 HEPP Grant. This latest grant will enable the Roadshow to visit indigenous and rural schools during five one week trips as well as visit a significant number of schools closer to Wollongong.
Top row: Zhachary Noel‐Strang, Charles Prior, Nathan Tarlinton, Todd Dempsey Bo om row: Harry Pi , Bob Wheway, David Shepherd, Melissa Thompson, Monique Bax, Sharni LeMaire, Lyndal Worsfold, Julie Curcio, Ma hew Garlan
EIS NEWSLETTER
8
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
ICT Student Project As part of the 2013 agreement signed between Westpac Group Technology and the University of Wollongong, Westpac’s Enterprise and Tes ng Team have completed their first student collabora on project which set the students the task of designing and developing the ETS web portal and mobile applica on for the Enterprise Tes ng and Services community. More specifically the students created an app that provides: * Access ETS Dashboards, including CIO, Head of and Metrics Dashboard * Access to Mix, including a staff manager’s blog * The ability to nominate team members through Spark & Friday "cheers". Westpac Senior Manager Tes ng Services, Sam Cardinale, said “collabora ng with the students provided great learning across both teams. The collabora on has been a wonderful success for both teams. It has allowed our teams to have access to bright young minds and provides the students with experience in real world business problems. We hope that some of the students con nue their rela onship with Westpac and apply for our graduate program next year.” The team leader of the student project Yukun Wu said it was a great experience
to work on a real world project during their final year studying IT at UOW. “ETS Web Portal Mobility project has given me a precious opportunity to see how a real industrial project works. Real world IT projects are far more dynamic and unpredictable than I expected. During the project, we talked to many Westpac managers and technical teams from different sectors to ensure requirements and feasible technical solu ons. Our project scope changed over and over again un l we finally arrived at an agreeable solu on. I believe the key reason for the success of our project is our high level engagement with the client, we know what the client wants by sharing knowledge with them. This project also best applies many management theories we learned in
university such as System Development Life Cycle and Project Triangle that we adopted in our project. I've learned lots of things that I could never learn just from university subjects. I appreciate that the university provided us such a great opportunity to work on a project with Westpac. It will be a valuable experience for my future career. Westpac has invited us to a end Westpac 2015 Project Tradeshow in February 2015, where the execu ves will a end and listen to our project results”, he said. This project was one of many industry student technology projects undertaken this year.
Industry and Partnerships Companies from around the world have made substan al investments in the Faculty by sponsoring research, licensing technologies, suppor ng students through scholarships, providing industry projects, guest lecturing and so much more.
Student team projects being judged at this year’s Trade Show by NEC’s General Manager Service Support, John Schumacher, and Elizabeth Eastland, CEO of iAccelerate and Director of UOW’s Innova on and Commercial Research Division.
Student projects for ICT and Engineering; h p://eis.uow.edu.au/industry‐and‐ partnerships/projects‐placements/ index.html
Links: h p:// eis.uow.edu.au/industry‐ and‐partnerships/ benefits/index.html
The University of Wollongong’s Faculty of Engineering and Informa on Sciences is commi ed to strong links with industry that deliver mutually beneficial and innova ve outcomes. EIS NEWSLETTER
9
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
Emagine Brings Real‐World Commercial Experience to University Scholarship Scheme Emagine Interna onal, a specialist provider of real‐ me contextual customer marke ng so ware and managed services, has extended its sponsorship of the University of Wollongong’s scholarship scheme to offer two Work Integrated Learning Scholarships for 2015 a er a successful trial in 2014. Lauren Manzo, who graduated last week with a Bachelor of Computer Science, was the first successful recipient of the Work Integrated Learning Scholarship in 2014.
real‐world tools and technologies in the development of a commercial product has been fundamental,” said Emagine intern Lauren Manzo. “I now have first‐ hand experience of how projects and their releases are managed and organised in order to meet differing client requirements, as well as being able to apply user feedback in order to develop and improve products. I feel far more confident in my abili es and well‐ equipped for future roles.”
“So ware is a people business, and that can be something that is overlooked by IT professionals. So skills such as communica on are an essen al complement to technical knowledge and exper se. Great people listen to customers and align themselves with the customer’s needs. Without this, they cannot create great solu ons. That has Emagine interna onal’s first Work always been one of Emagine’s strengths Integated Learning Scholarship resulted and we’re keen to ins l the value of the in the successful crea on of a new tool approach in the next genera on, as well that drama cally simplifies the product as harves ng some great talent for our release process for the company, con nued expansion too,” commented allowing it to have be er control over Emagine CEO and Founder Dave Peters. the deployment of products to an The University of Wollongong has an increasing number of clients. outstanding reputa on in the IT field, The internship experience has been coun ng a large propor on of Australian invaluable to me. While my academic IT professionals as graduates. It has studies have given me excellent been recognised over a number of years theore cal knowledge, the applica on of for its educa onal experience, graduate
outcomes, research and development partnerships and ability to prepare graduates for the workforce and is among the top 1% for research quality in the world and among the top 2% of universi es interna onally. For further informa on about scholarships and student project opportuni es for companies, please contact Rachel Weine on 02‐4221‐4566 or email rweine@uow.edu.au.
The university was an ideal partner for the growing so ware company located in southern Sydney, because it can provide an excellent source of bright new talent and at the same me enable the company to play a role in the development of the future workforce.
Lauren Manzo
Sustainable Energies Tour Dr Brad Stappenbelt, Dr Tom Goldfinch, and Dr Senevi Kiridena from the Faculty of Engineering and Informa on Sciences, and Dr Himan Punchihewa from the University of Moratuwa led a group of ten undergraduate Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering students
on a trip to Sri Lanka to observe sustainable energy technologies in Sri Lanka.
(NERDC), in Colombo.
The students also visited rural and remote villages and discovered prac cal challenges and solu ons to problems The tour included micro hydro, solar and biogas installa ons and visits to the such as supplying gas to science University of Moratuwa and the classrooms at a rural school; small‐scale Na onal Engineering Research Centre electricity genera on in high mountain villages; and energy needs could be met locally through biomass, wind, solar and hydro power systems. The trip was funded by the AsiaBound Student Mobility Fund. For the full ar cle visit h p:// media.uow.edu.au/news/ UOW179771.html
EIS NEWSLETTER
10
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
UOW Students A end Summer Camp in China During July this year, the University of Wollongong’s Engineering and Informa on Sciences Faculty selected and sponsored two students, Heath Wooders (Mining Engineering) and Ka e Menzies (Environmental Engineering) to a end a ten‐day Summer Camp hosted by the China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT) in Xuzhou, China.
Ka e and Heath, amongst 20 other students, were selected from member universi es of the Interna onal Educa on Alliance for Mining, Energy and Environment – Freiburg University of Mining and Technology, Germany, University of Leoben, Austria, Na onal Mineral Resources University of Mines, Russia, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology, Vietnam, University of No ngham, UK, Colorado School of Mines and University of Kentucky, USA and the Universi es of Wollongong, Queensland and Western Australia and Wollongong Australia. The main goal of the Summer Camp was to introduce students to China’s rich and diverse culture and history, as well as
EIS NEWSLETTER
promo ng China's stance and ac ons on sustainable energy produc on for the future. The formal learning component of the camp was comprised of a number of mining and energy related courses, with presenta ons given by CUMT PhD students and lecturers. Students also received the opportunity to tour laboratories and workshops such as the State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering and Pan ‘an Lake Subsidence Rehabilita on Area.
Chinese tea making, Chinese calligraphy and receiving a Chinese name, a ‘survival’ Chinese language course and learning Taiji (Tai Chi). Students were also given the incredible opportunity to a end iconic Chinese landmarks such as The Great Wall of China, The Summer Palace, Qufu (the hometown of Confucius) and the Temple of Confucius, an underground coalmine in Xuzhou, and the bustling ci es of Beijing and Shanghai.
Overall, by traversing the borders of 6 provinces, travelling 1,300km on two New Energy and Low Carbon high‐speed G‐class bullet trains, hours U lisa on on a bus, a bumpy ride in the back of a Clean Energy Technology rickshaw, countless trips to wrong Smart Mines des na ons in taxi’s, over 20 hours by Mine Transforma on and Planning air and naviga ng (or deciphering) the Green Mining Technology Shanghai Metro, this trip has truly been a once‐in‐a‐life me opportunity. We In addi on to learning about sustainable met an amazing array of people of all energy produc on for the future, the classes, na onality, wealth, age, beliefs other focus of the Camp was to immerse and interests and can proudly say that students in the Chinese lifestyle. we’ve made friends for life. Highlights included learning to make dumplings in a family’s home, the art of By UOW mining student Heath Wooders
11
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
AINSE Scholarship Winner Patrick Niemiec from the School of Physics was recently awarded an AINSE scholarship from ANSTO to pursue his PhD studies. His PhD research involves the development of a portable gamma ray and neutron par cle detector system to monitor the radia on dose from such a mixed radia on field at nuclear facili es. The specific applica on of this detector research and development is part of the decommissioning project at the High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR), which is the older of the two reactors at ANSTO and is no longer in use. ANSTO is now looking to decommission the reactor and turn the facility into a museum.
with small scale MOSFET radia on detectors and reader system developed at the Centre for Medical Radia on Physics (CMRP), within EIS and a hand‐held Cadmium Telluride gamma spectrometer. This was to benchmark such devices in confined space scenarios, and to inves gate their use during the decommissioning project. Patrick's PhD research will con nue on from this project by developing a mixed‐ field (Gamma and Neutron), small‐scale radia on detector using MOSFET detectors (for gamma radia on) and silicon detectors (for neutron radia on) specifically customised for applica ons in radia on detec on and dosimetry.
part of this work, support will also be provided to the HIFAR decommissioning team with regards to understanding the radia on fields s ll present in and around the reactor. This will include Patrick completed his degree in 2013 designing experimental procedures for achieving 1st Class honours. His Honours placement of detectors in and around It is envisaged that this combined research project was the nuclear the reactor and possible long term detector system will be connected in the characterisa on (ac vity and nuclear monitoring of areas of interest to form of a large array for a complete, spectroscopic emissions) of sec ons of precisely determine the op mal and reactor wide monitoring system; both the reactor that were already removed. safest me for dismantling of the HIFAR for opera onal monitoring as well as This involved the cu ng of samples reactor. poten al accident monitoring. This will whilst the piece was in hot cells and involve heavy benchmarking of both the Patrick's industrial supervisor is Daniel analysing these samples using gamma MOSFET detectors and the neutron Pond from ANSTO and his academic spectrometry. Also, radia on hot spot supervisors are Professor Anatoly detectors and will be conducted with monitoring was conducted in a room Rozenfeld and Associate Professor support from the CMRP and the under the reactor, where hotspots of radia on detector group at ANSTO who Michael Lerch. radia on had accrued a er the reactor have a long standing collabora on. As a was shut down. This was performed
Students Shine at Na onal Mining Games The AusIMM Illawarra Student Chapter was fortunate enough to send 14 students to The AusIMM New Leaders’ Conference and Na onal Mining Games held in Perth from the 12th through 17th of August 2014. The group consisted of a mix of students studying Mining Engineering, Materials
EIS NEWSLETTER
Engineering, Environmental Engineering co‐ed teams division, the UOW Team “Everyday I’m Shovelin” received 1st and Geology. place in Airleg Drilling, equal 1st place in Highlights from The New Leaders’ Surveying and 3rd place in Rock Conference include Richard Morlands’ Iden fica on. Gabrielle Mueller also talk on Heath and Safety Leadership, received the Sandvik Encouragment Richard is a former BHP Mine Manager Award for Airleg Drilling. The teamwork most recently managing BHP Billiton’s and leadership skills exhibited and Eka Diamond Mine in Canada. gained by par cipa ng in the Mining Vanessa Guthrie from Toro Games vastly outweighed all Energy also presented a very expecta ons. valuable talk on Taking Control of The Student Chapter would like to thank Your Career. the Faculty of Engineering and The University of Wollongong Informa on Sciences for providing funds entered two teams of seven into for the trip, and the lecturers and tutors the Na onal Mining Games who allowed the students me away compe ng against 30 teams from from their studies. around the country. The results By Jesse Sco were outstanding, a lot higher than everyone expected. In the AUSIMM Student Chapter President
12
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
UOW METSOC Industrial Tour 2014
Back row from Le : Megan Latham, Chris Malone, Matrix composites representa ve, Cheng Deng, Lachlan Pudney, Oliver Burgess‐Buxton, David Lewry, Ray Tolhurst, Moe Achaechi, Kevin Marston Front row from Le : Felicity Ball, Heather Thompson, Lauren Smee, Kimberly Workman, Ben Muscat
This year the UOW Materials Engineering and Technology Society (METSOC) had a very successful field trip to Perth. 12 Materials Engineering students and 2 Australasian Ins tute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) volunteers spent a very enjoyable week travelling and visi ng a number of industrial sites. The organisa ons visited were: Matrix Composites CSIRO Waterford Perth Mint BHPB Nickel Kwinana BHPB Worsley Alumina Hofmann Engineering Bradken Bassendean Alcoa Pinjarra Cockburn Cement These organisa ons covered the full
EIS NEWSLETTER
The study tour with invaluable support from Brian Monaghan of the UOW School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronics Engineering who helped navigate the official side of things and with the help and amazing chauffeuring capabili es of AusIMM representa ves Ray Tolhurst and Kevin Marston. Thank you also to our trip sponsors, the AusIMM, BlueScope Steel, the UOW UOW student feedback: “It was Faculty of Engineering and Informa on extremely beneficial to see the wide Sciences, and BOC Gas and Gear. range of direc ons that materials Without your financial support this engineering can take, in addi on to the study tour would not have been wide range of materials that are possible. encompassed through our studies. Also interes ng in this tour was the diverse By Kimberly Workman ways that different materials were used Bachelor of Engineering—Materials in the construc on of a product, once 2014 President of the UOW Materials again reinforcing the complexi es Engineering and Technology Society rela ng to the study and (METSOC) implementa on of materials within industry”. produc on chain from mining, minerals and materials processing, manufacturing, fabrica on and research. This annual study tour organised by METSOC aims to supplement our students theore cal university knowledge by giving them the chance to see and get a hands on experience in a broad range of fields and areas.
13
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS
Offshore students visit UOW Wollongong Campus including visi ng the market stalls, library and Innova on Campus and a tour of the campus.
As part of their study tour, students were allowed to a end lectures giving them a first‐hand experience of subject delivery at UOW. They a ended six lectures including: Applied Programming; Object and Generic Programming in C++; Systems Development; Game Engine Fundamentals; Corporate Network Planning and Design; and Strategic Systems Management Associate Dean Katina Michael pictured on the far right with visiting INTI students. This is the first me students from Twenty‐four students studying UOW Technology degrees. The Faculty's UOW's partner ins tu ons have visited degrees offshore at INTI Laureate Interna onal Office organised a morning the main campus on a study tour. Some Malaysia visited the University of tea and the Associate Dean of these students have already indicated Wollongong on a study tour during (Interna onal), Associate Professor their desire to con nue their studies at September. Ka na Michael and a number of staff the Wollongong campus. welcomed the students. The students Four of the students are enrolled in were then given the opportunity to Computer Science and Informa on experience student life at UOW,
Interna onal Teachers Gather at UOW for Transna onal Teaching Symposium The University of Wollongong hosted 106 delegates from higher educa on ins tu ons to share knowledge and experience of transna onal educa on on Monday 16 June. Transna onal higher educa on plays an increasingly significant role in interna onal coopera on and development, hence the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) funding of $220,000 for the project: Transna onal Teaching Teams: professional development for quality
enhancement of a learning and teaching development; teaching and learning project involving universi es in developed by the project. Australia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Par cipants from Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, the UK and a number of The project brought together states, explored the resources and interna onal project and teaching par cipated in extensive discussion of teams from UOW; INTI Interna onal College Subang, Malaysia; RMIT; and key issues in transna onal teaching. RMIT Vietnam. For the full ar cle visit h p:// media.uow.edu.au/news/ The symposium showcased the UOW173863.html extensive suite of resources for professional development; curriculum
Photo below is of INTI staff and students. Mr Tan Bin Chin from IBM is second from the left. UOW ISIT302 students and their tutor appear on the screen
EIS NEWSLETTER
14
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
EVENTS
Workshop on Geometric Analysis a Great Success From September 3rd to 5th the Faculty and School of Maths and Applied Sta s cs held a mini‐workshop on geometric analysis. The goal of the workshop was to bring together top experts to deliver a series of lectures on geometric analysis for the benefit of students and Early Career Researchers. Speakers included details and many examples in their lectures for the benefit of students. The workshop was a great success. Mathema cal topics explored in the workshop included classical and modern developments in minimal surfaces, general rela vity, heat kernels on manifolds, curvature flow, prolonga on, and semigroups. The workshop was a joint opera on between UOW and KIAS, the Korea Ins tute for Advanced Study
in Seoul, Korea. Professor Hojoo Lee from KIAS presented four hours of lectures during the workshop and provided challenging problems for students to work on. He was greatly impressed with one student’s a empt to
solve the problem sheet in par cular, contributed by Ms Penelope Dras k. Penelope won first prize in the contest, which is a great achievement considering she is only in her first year at UOW!
Maths and Stats Explorer Day The School of Mathema cs and Applied Sta s cs (SMAS) hosted a Maths and Stats Explorer Day on Friday 28 November. The Maths and Stats Explorer Day has been running annually since 2010 and is designed to encourage students to appreciate mathema cs and sta s cs and to help them gain an understanding of related career opportuni es.
problem solving and physical challenges with a dash of compe on. Academic staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students supported the day, taking part in the ac vi es and leading campus tours. The day finished for the students with a Q & A session in a lecture environment, with current UOW students sharing their individual perspec ves on “Why Maths?”
The 2014 Maths and Stats Explorer Day Over 70 Year 8 and 9 students from schools across the Illawarra par cipated was supported by SMAS and the Faculty of Engineering and Informa on Sciences. in a variety of ac vi es, including a Maths Relay and a Stats Probability Race. The ac vi es incorporated group work, Guest speaker Professor Timothy Marchant
EIS NEWSLETTER
15
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
EVENTS
2014 December Gradua ons We congratulate our many students that have graduated this week. 495 students graduated from the Faculty of Engineering and Informa on Sciences on Thursday 18th December and Friday 19th December. These included undergraduate degrees from all seven EIS schools, postgraduate coursework masters degrees and our research degrees. This year we saw two students gradua ng with Honours in the Bachelor of Mathema cs Advanced receive the University Medal – congratula ons to Rebecca Armstrong and Michael Mampus . Both of these students achieved outstanding results over the sum of their undergraduate degrees. Special congratula ons also to Lloyd Niccol as the recipient of the Chancellor Robert Hope Memorial Prize. Jus ce Robert Hope was the University of Wollongong’s founding Chancellor. It is the University’s most pres gious student prize and is awarded to a student who has made an excep onal contribu on to the University community, with consistent outstanding academic performance. It is the only prize awarded directly by the University Council.
Winner of the Chancellor Robert Hope Memorial Prize Lloyd Niccol pictured outside the Team UOW Illawarra Flame House
relessly to coordinate over fi y students and staff in areas including design, construc on, logis cs, marke ng and sponsorship. Lloyd was the public face and ambassador of the team and devoted a significant amount of me and effort towards steering the project to success, which involved managing a budget of approximately $2 million. Lloyd has been a proac ve advocate for climate change ac on and has spoken of the need to retrofit Australia’s exis ng Lloyd was an ac ve member of ‘Team housing stock in order to decrease the UOW Illawarra Flame’, the team that na on’s environmental footprint at TEDx won the Solar Decathlon compe on UOW Liveability Conference. Lloyd is held in China in 2013 with the highest also a member of the Climate Reality score ever achieved in the compe on. Leadership Corps and is an ac ve As the Project Manager, Lloyd worked
proponent of climate change ac on in the local community. Lloyd is also an outstanding student achieving a Bachelor of Engineering Honours – Bachelor of Commerce degree. Lloyd performed impressively in his final year engineering honours project, where he designed, developed and commissioned a roo op laboratory test facility, which is now on display at the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre (SBRC). Once again congratula ons to all our gradua ng students for December 2014!
Nathan Riggir, from New Zealand, graduated with a Bachelor of Informa on degree. Nathan’s parents travelled from New Zealand to see their son, the first in their family to a end University, graduate.
Rebecca Armstrong and Michael Arthur Mapus were awarded the University Medal in the Faculty of Engineering and Informa on Sciences.
Daniel Tolhurst is the first ever Bachelor of Medical Mathema cs (Honours) graduate.
EIS NEWSLETTER
16
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
STAFF NEWS
Vice‐Chancellor’s Awards 2014 Each year UOW formally recognises the contribu ons of academic and general staff who have achieved excep onal success and given outstanding service to the University. The Faculty of Engineering and Informa on Sciences are pleased to acknowledge the following staff members:
Demonstrator Award Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld (shared) – Vice Chancellor’s Award for Researcher of the Year Dr Ngamta Thamwa ana – Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence for Emerging Researchers
Chancellor’s Award for Interdisciplinary Research Excellence Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld for Project: MOSkin A novelty skin dosimetry – Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Commercialisa on
25 Years’ Service Awards Dr Brad Stappenbelt – Vice Chancellor’s Professor Jacqui Ramagge – Vice Award for Outstanding Contribu on to Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Greg Tilman Contribu on to UOW’s Research Culture Wendy Halford Teaching and Learning Nick Mackie Dr Caz Sandison and Dr Carole Birrell – Professor Kiet Tieu (shared) – Vice Ian Frew Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Awards for Outstanding Professor Fazel Naghdy Contribu on to Teaching and Learning Research Supervision Associate Professor Golshah Naghdy Associate Professor Chris an Ritz as a Dr Michelle Dunbar – Faculty Early member of Project: 3D Modelling, Career Academic Award Pictured below: Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld recipient Prin ng and Tes ng of Custom of the VC Award for Researcher of the Year (shared) Joel Kennedy – Sessional Tutor / and Outstanding Achievement in Research Fabricated Microtonal Flutes – Vice Commercialisa on
Academic Promo ons Congratula ons to all our successful candidates who were successful in this year’s promo ons round. Promo on to Senior Professor Senior Professor Song‐Ping Zhu Senior Professor Chao Zhang Senior Professor Salim Bouzerdoum Promo on to Professor/Professorial Fellow
Professor Long Nghiem Professor Brian Monaghan Professorial Fellow Huijun Li Professor Alexey Pan Professor Minjie Zhang Professor Rajeev Sharma
EIS NEWSLETTER
Promo on to Associate Professor / Principal Fellow Associate Professor Ting Ren Associate Professor Lip Teh Associate Professor Lei Wang Associate Professor Ngamta Thamwa ana Associate Professor Haiping Associate Professor Khin Than Win Associate Professor Jun Shen Promo on to Senior Lecturer/Senior Fellow
Dr Qinghua Guo Dr Thomas Suesse Dr Le Chung Tran Dr Guomin Yang Dr Hongtao Zhu
Promo on to Lecturer/Fellow Dr Sina Naficy Dr Wei Kong Pang Dr Glen Wheeler
Dr Ashish Agalgaokar Dr Nathan Brownlowe Dr Hoa Dam Dr Mark Freeman Dr Thomas Goldfinch
17
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
EIS NEWSLETTER
18
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014
This newsle er is published by the Faculty of Engineering and Informa on Sciences. For further informa on about items in this newsle er, or if you have a news story or event you would like published please, contact the EIS Marke ng Team for submission details.
Contact: The Faculty of Engineering & Informa on Sciences Building 4, G12 University of Wollongong Northfields Ave, Wollongong NSW, Australia 2522
Email: eis‐events@uow.edu.au
For more news and events, follow EIS
@uoweis
EIS NEWSLETTER
facebook.com/uoweis
19
ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2014