faculty of engineering newsletter | issue 8 — may 2003 · 2 unswengineers | issue 8, may 2003...
TRANSCRIPT
Scientia Professors p4
Profile: Paul de Launay p18
Alumni Reunion Dinner p16
Scientia Professors p4
Profile: Paul de Launay p18
Alumni Reunion Dinner p16
UNSWENGINEERSFaculty of Engineering Newsletter | Issue 8 — May 2003
UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 32
UNSWENGINEERS is publishedby the Faculty of Engineering,UNSW.
Phone +61 2 9385 4023Fax +61 2 9385 5456Email <[email protected]>
editorBlanche Hampton
design and productionMarjorie Fox
photographyKaren MorkAnthony Potter
printed byRodenprint
ISSN 1442-8849
Front cover: Scientia Professorsleft to right: Tom Davis, StuartWenham and Martin Green.
Professor Brendon ParkerDean of Engineering
From the Dean...Last November, the Vice-Chancellor, Rory Hume, pointed to the need for the University to havea clear vision for the future and new strategic plans to support it. Key themes revolved arounda vision for UNSW as a research intensive University of International Standing and includedissues of gender equity, teaching quality, student support and industrial and internationalpartnerships.
Since then, Faculties have been engaged in a planning process involving staff and studentsat all levels, addressing the question ‘What do we want to be?’ in the context of the overallvision of the University.
With input from the Schools, the draft Faculty strategic plan was presented to a whole-of-Faculty meeting, attended by the Vice-Chancellor, on 13 March. After further discussion and aplanning meeting of the Vice-Chancellor’s Advisory Committee in May, the strategic plan will bepresented for adoption at a Faculty Board meeting.
The Faculty plan includes:A definition of the characteristics we expect of our graduates which will guide our curriculum
development;— Induction and Career Development programs for research students;— Identification of research areas to be emphasised and resourced;— Academic staffing policy which supports areas of research strength while ensuring quality
teaching;— Encouragement for staff redevelopment programs, particularly to enhance opportunities for
non-teaching staff;— While the Faculty does not plan major structural change, it will continue to look at ways in
which its operations can be improved;— The evolution of undergraduate programs to meet changing demand and to reflect Faculty
objectives. For example, we hope to offer a double degree in Engineering/Commerce from2004;
— The restructuring of postgraduate coursework programs to improve their operationaleconomy and to more clearly reflect their objectives;
— The strengthening of relationships with external organisations, particularly the engineeringindustry, with a view to developing suitable partnerships;
— The strengthening of links with international institutions and increasing the number ofundergraduate and postgraduate students who have international experience as part oftheir program.The end of 2002 saw new faces in the Faculty leadership. Professor Rob Burford was
appointed Associate Dean (Research Planning and Strategy) and Associate Professor DianneWiley changed her Associate Dean role to become responsible for Research Training.
Professor Kerry Byrne retired from the University and as Head of the School of Mechanicaland Manufacturing Engineering and Associate Professor Robin Ford was appointed Head ofSchool. Professor Jim Galvin stood down as Head of the School of Mining Engineering in orderto take some well deserved study leave and undertake a major task for the Minerals Council.Professor Bruce Hebblewhite was appointed Head of School.
Professor Eric Hahn retired from the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineeringand was farewelled as a long term coordinator of the Co-Op program. He will continue activeresearch collaboration within the School.
There is uncertainty in the air as the outcome of the Nelson review is not yet public,although there are many rumors. Consequences for the Faculty are unlikely to be significantexcept, we hope, for some improved funding for research.
The Faculty continues to have a very bright future with perhaps the major challenges beingthe ability to recruit and retain talented staff and to accommodate our growing researchactivities.
Professor Brendon Parker
New Scholarship from Al Willis
A university scholarship gave Emeritus Professor Al Willis (PhD DSc(Eng) London, HonDUniv ‘96) his startin engineering and led him to a long and distinguished career at UNSW as Dean of Engineering and Pro-
Vice-Chancellor. In late 2002, Al Willis established The Al Willis / UNSW Endowment Scholarship.Valued at $8000 per year for four years, the scholarship will enable a student of high academicability whose economic circumstances may hinder their academic success, to begin anundergraduate degree in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.
Born in 1917 in Portsmouth, England, Al Willis grew up around the naval dockyards, working asan apprentice fitter and turner until he received a Whitworth Scholarship to study mechanical andcivil engineering at the University of London.
"If it hadn’t been for that scholarship, I might have become head of the dockyard drafting office,but I would never have got a degree," said Al. "I got a scholarship because an engineer endowedone, and I was lucky enough to get it."
During World War Two, Al worked as an ammunitions production engineer, but with the end ofthe war, he began lecturing at the University of London. In 1950, Al immigrated with his family to
Australia, where he became a Senior Lecturer at the recently founded New South Wales University ofTechnology, later UNSW. A year later, he became Associate Professor, then Nuffield Research Professor,and in 1954, the Head of the School of Mechanical Engineering. From 1956 to 1967, Al was Dean ofEngineering and was appointed Pro-Vice Chancellor from 1967 until 1978, when he retired.
Al attributes much of his career success to the scholarship which took him to university. "TheWhitworth scholarship opened up careers for me as an engineer and an academic, and I would like togive someone else the same opportunity. Engineering, like all professions, is best studied full-time andnot having sufficient financial freedom to do so, can really hold a good student back." The firstscholarship will be awarded in 2004.
Vale Stan Hall (1916 – 2003)
Emeritus Professor Arthur Stanley ‘Stan’ Hall (BSc(Eng) London, DIC, HonDSc ’00) was one of theUniversity’s founding academics and Head of the then School of Civil Engineering from 1974 to 1976.
After graduating from London University, Stan Hall arrived in Sydney with his family in late1938 and spent the next seven years with the Department of Public Works. In 1940, due to theshortage of engineers and scientists during the war, Stan was asked to teach maths part-time atthe Sydney Technical College (STC) and by 1944, he was teaching five nights a week, includingengineering subjects.
In 1946, Stan became Head Teacher for Civil Engineering at STC and nursed his students andstaff through the postwar shortages. In 1948, he began teaching Civil Engineering as a foundingdiscipline of the University which was formally established the following year.
In 1953, after the new University graduated its first students, Stan took what was theUniversity’s first sabbatical leave — to Imperial College (UK). With great foresight, Stan realised thatpostwar reconstruction techniques using pre-stressed concrete and the advent of computing forstructural analysis would require graduate engineers to upgrade their skills and began the
University’s first short postgraduate courses. In time, though not without obstacles, these became theMasters by Coursework programs which are now an integral part of education in this and otheruniversities.
Stan Hall is also author of many of the influential Australian textbooks on structural engineering,preparing new editions of his Concrete Structures in 1998 and Engineering Statics in 1999. Stan Hallretired in 1976, at the age of 60, but continued his research on stresses in floor slabs for another threeyears. In 2000, he established an undergraduate scholarship in Civil and Environmental Engineering forrural students (see page 17).
Stan Hall made invaluable contributions to both teaching and research in his field and until his deathmaintained his interest in the University he helped to build.
Awards since September 2002
Honorary Doctorate Peter Simons, CEO HPM Industries
Emeritus Professor
Graham Hellestrand(Computer Science andEngineering)
John Hiller(Computer Science andEngineering)
Seeking knowledge – Scientia Professors In 1997, the UNSW established a specialcategory of Professor to recognise outstandingresearch performance – Scientia Professors.Scientia, or ‘knowledge’ forms part of the UNSWcrest. The Faculty has three of the University’sScientia Professors, Tom Davis (Centre forAdvanced Macromolecular Design), Martin Green(Centre of Excellence for Advanced SiliconPhotovoltaics and Photonics) and StuartWenham (Centre of Excellence for AdvancedSilicon Photovoltaics and Photonics and Head ofCentre of Photovoltaic Engineering).
Tom Davis’ (BSc ’83, PhD ’87 Salford (UK)) research is inadvanced macromolecular design, a multidisciplinaryactivity involving researchers from biotechnology,microbiology, chemistry and biomedical engineeringwho work with synthetic polymer chemistry,enzymatic synthesis, reaction kinetics andthermodynamics, using both chemical and biologicalpaths, to find new materials. The Centre works withdiverse industries, controlling molecules with similartechniques to achieve a wide range of outcomes fromflexible steel coatings, through hydrogels for contactlenses to virus removal from blood.
UK born, Tom was a self-confessed ‘wild child’, whonever revised and was always behind on his homework. Hisexceptional mathematical capacities however, were wellsuited to working with polymers for which there is asubstantial amount of calculation, and these enabled himto apply himself in what was a new field.
Tom did his PhD in hydrogels (soft contact lensmaterial) before going on to postdoctoral work in chemicalengineering in Canada. He then worked for ICI in the UK asa research scientist in composites. "I worked on car partsand very trendy, stone-effect kitchen sinks, which I justcouldn’t get excited about," said Tom, who then decided tofollow an academic research career.
Tom arrived at UNSW in late 1992, to lecture in theSchool of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry,then in the Faculty of Applied Science. "I didn’t have anystudents in my first year, and didn’t really have a lab. ThenI got a grant and my first two honours students, DaxKukulj* and Mike Zammit. Mike Gallagher from Chemistry
was generous enough to allow me to use his lab. "I was amazed that both students wanted to stay on,
but between them they published 26 papers as my firstPhD students and have both done really well in theircareers. Mike Zammit worked on pulsed-laserpolymerisation (basically to measure how quickly polymerchains grow) and Dax Kukulj worked on cobalt chaintransfer (using a catalyst similar to vitamin B12 to makesmall polymer chains). We are now considered worldleaders in both these areas."
Tom Davis is esteemed as a highly innovative andlateral thinker, with a prolific publications output (morethan 20 papers a year). His meteoric rise in themacromolecular/polymer field is due to his ability to adapt
his research to increasingly diverse applicatons. Tom also benefited from the School’s move in 1997 to
the Faculty of Engineering, and the personal interest of thethen Dean, Professor Mark Wainwright, who bothencouraged the establishment of the research centre andprovided assistance to develop the laboratory complexwhich enabled senior undergraduates studying polymerelectives to work side by side with post doctoralresearchers and PhD students in the research team.
"From 1992 to late 1997, it had been a real struggle,but I’d put in so much effort, I really wanted to see itgenerate something in return. I’d decided to back my ownresearch, but didn’t have enough money. Our grants werefinishing in December 1997 — when we were due to hear
UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 20034 UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 5
about the next round of grants. We were really desperateand I was facing the idea that I’d done my best, but failed,when the grants were announced and we went fromhaving nothing to around a million dollars. All our grantapplications have been successful ever since.
"I still think it’s very difficult to get started, even foryoung, talented people who seem to have to wait so longfor academic recognition. Centres can be good places forpeople to flourish, though it really depends on the culturewhere people might only work as directed, or are alloweda degree of independence.
"I believe you hire the right people, give them the toolsto do the job and stand in their way as little as possible.One of the reasons we’re successful is that the staff andstudents have taken the opportunities that are here —knowledge, funding, equipment and support — and madebrilliant use of them. As the person in charge, my job is toactively lower barriers that stop my colleagues from doingthings. Every single decision should be based on whetheror not it will improve research or teaching. It’s reallysimple."
"While basic commodity polymers like polyethylene,polypropylene and PVC (though it’s a lot less popular now)are still big business, in research the emphasis hasdefinitely shifted towards polymers for specialistapplications from opto-electronics to biomedical implants.These days most devices tend to incorporate polymers forthings like liquid crystal displays.
"Basically, instead of making several tonnes of material,specialist companies now want to make a few kilos to sellat a very large margin. In the past, you set up a reactionwhich sustained itself and you got a lot of plastic at theend of the day, but now you can control the molecules youare making much more carefully. If nature makes aprotein, every single unit in the protein is well defined.Synthetic polymers aren’t quite there yet, but they aredefinitely moving down that route and controlling themolecule is where we can specialise.
"The same techniques for controlling molecules can beapplied across a wide range of fields. If we work for BHP,you might see a new flexible coating for steel, but we canuse the same technique with different building blocks fordrug discovery. It’s a bit different from other centres whichare focused on a particular outcome, but it’s very creativewith high levels of cross-fertilisation.
"Research in the field is rapidly transcendingboundaries and a lot of what we do is multidisciplinary, somy newer challenges are about getting collaboration
across different fields, especially for materials that aregoing to help in the health industry. I like the idea thatengineering is the application of science to improvepeople’s lives, and I know some of the younger people herereally have that ideal."
Martin Green (BE (Elec) ’70, MEngSc ’71 UQ, PhD ’74McMaster) and Stuart Wenham (BSc (Physics) ’78, BE(Elec) ’80, PhD ’86 UNSW) are co-inventors of theBuried Contact Solar Cell — the most successfullycommercialised new technology in the field globallyin the last 20 years, with more than $1 billion insales to date. They have also invented thin-filmmultilayer solar cells, currently the focus of a $50million commercialisation program at UNSW spin-offcompany, Pacific Solar.
Martin Green had always been interested in science andphysics, but the influence of a high school teacher steeredhim towards electronics and as an undergraduate studentthis developed into a fascination with the new area ofmicroelectronics.
The first factories for making integrated circuits werebeing established worldwide and AWA had openedAustralia’s first microelectronics facility in Sydney. In 1968,at the end of his third year at The University of Queensland,Martin visited Sydney to investigate this new field.
"I met Lou Davis, who was UNSW’s first conjointindustry professor and who also worked at AWA. He’dinitiated interest in electronics in Australia in the mid-50sand was probably the main driver behind the AWA facility.Lou was also interested in solar energy and showed me myfirst solar panel on that visit, although it didn’t make a bigimpression on me at the time."
Following his MEngSc, Martin began his PhD at UQ andthen won a scholarship to finish it at McMaster Universityin Canada. He returned to Australia in 1974 to take up alecturing position in Electrical Engineering at UNSW, whereProfessor Lou Davis was then head of the microelectronicsgroup and together they explored ideas for convertingsolar energy to electricity.
Martin spent his first three years at UNSW lecturingand developing his courses from scratch. "To teach well, Ireally had to learn my subjects thoroughly and I think Ilearnt more in those three years than I had in all myprevious education. I wrote a textbook here in ’78, justafter this intensive learning experience, and it’s still themost widely used text in photovoltaics."
continued overleaf * Profiled in UNSWENGINEERS Issue 6.
Tom Davis
Martin’s supervision ofStuart Wenham as a PhDstudent however, went on toproduce one of theUniversity’s most fruitfulresearch partnerships. "Westill see each other daily andour interaction still producesbetter results than possiblyeither could have produced byourselves. There are also anumber of other PhDstudents who have fired well,in the sense that research hasprogressed a lot, or morerapidly than expected.
"Throughout the lab’shistory, we’ve been able toattract high quality studentswho are idealisticallycommitted to this area and whoare willing to make sacrifices for their research becausethey feel there is more at stake than just training for agood job.
"We definitely need an alternative energy sourcebecause fossil fuel options just aren’t viable in the future.The only other option is nuclear, which produces a host ofproblems of its own. Solar is another way of proceedingthat can be much less expensive than nuclear, but withoutany of the disadvantages. So we see ourselves in a raceagainst time to get this technology to a stage where it canbe used by countries that are going to have a rapidlyincreasing demand for energy, especially developingcountries.
"The oil embargoes of the late 70s were important ingetting my initial work in solar started because it made ita very topical field. From 1983, our group began to breakworld records for silicon solar cell efficiency. The US efforthad probably peaked in 1980 and by the late 80s wounddown to almost nothing, by which point we were doingwell and were one of the strongest groups internationally.
"In the mid-80s, when we’d achieved 20 per centefficiency though, funding bodies thought we’d done allwe could, and local funding dropped. Luckily we were ableto tap into US funding. Then, after the Chernobyl nuclearaccident, there was a change and people apart fromresearchers began realising that solar energy could beimportant in the future. Some power companies startedputting in demonstration systems and experimenting with
the technology, which was asign that solar wasn’t alwaysgoing to be isolated, minorresearch, but had thepotential to make a worldwideimpact.
"As one of the fewresearch groups withcontinuity from the 70sthrough to the 90s, werealised we were in the bestposition to take on the bigchallenges facing the field,like making inexpensive, thin-film solar cells a viablealternative. We also felt if wedidn’t do it, no-one else could.
"But everything has takenabout twice as long as we hadhoped. To get even a great
research idea into production seems to take foreverand ideas we worked on in 1983 and 1984 are only juststarting to bring huge commercial returns.
"We’re still pushing for solar cell efficiency (25 per centis our best), but reducing the cost is more important. We’renearly there with the work we’ve done with Pacific Solar.The challenge now is to get the full potential of thattechnology recognised and financed. As Pacific Solar’sResearch Director, I’ve been heavily involved in fundraising— it’s one of the necessary steps in completing the job andseeing the end result that you are after.
Stuart Wenham’s interest in photovoltaics began in highschool. "I knew nothing of how solar cells worked," saidStuart, "but I saw the whole concept of being able toconvert sunlight directly into electricity, without needingturbines and moving parts and having no noise orpollution being produced as a result of burning fuels, assomething magical. No-one was even talking about solarcells, let alone studying them, so it became a hobby."
Stuart’s second stimulus came as an electricalengineering undergraduate student. "I heard that a newmember of staff, Martin Green, was giving a postgraduatecourse in solar technology, so I got special permission toattend. While it made me all the more determined to getinvolved, I still saw it as a hobby. Solar cells werescientifically and conceptually very interesting, but theyweren’t economically viable, and at that stage I thoughtthey never would be."
On Martin’s suggestion, Stuart then began workingwith Bruce Godfrey, one of Martin’s first PhD students, toset up Australia’s first solar cell production line for a UScompany specialising in marine navigation devices,Tideland Energy. "It really was a lot of fun and after twoyears, the production line was up and running well. Onindependent measurement, our cells were the mostefficient made on any production line in the world."
Stuart though, wanted to continue research in thearea. Stimulated by production issues, he had started aPhD while working, but returned to UNSW to complete itunder Martin’s supervision — and the rest is history.
Stuart credits Martin Green as being the world’s bestdirector of research in the field. "Martin has an amazingfeel for what ideas to pursueand is always there, tossingin little gems, to keep thewhole process movingsmoothly," he said.
Funding is vital to anyresearch team, and bothStuart Wenham and MartinGreen have been extremelyeffective in obtainingresearch grants. "The ARCscheme, with its emphasison academic merit, hassuited us very well becauseit’s an area of strength. It’salso an area of research thatI think is easy to make soundexciting.
"Just about all our staffhave been on contract, so alot of credit has to go to them. They’ve stuck with thegroup even though funding was uncertain at times. Ourstaff don’t just see this as a job — they see the technologywe are developing as something that can really make theworld a better place. In terms of the big picture, you aretalking about a research group that has existed for almost30 years and it’s that sort of sustained effort which hasgot the research to where it is now.
"Over the last two decades, the technology hasadvanced to such a level, and the cost has reduced to sucha level, that I’m now confident that it’s only a matter oftime before solar cells will be the automatic choice forelectricity generation on people’s rooftops, and will
eventually be cheaper than fossil fuel generated electricity.This is now becoming the industry perspective as well andthat is the big change.
"On the other hand, the basic technology we used inour first production line, which all the experts said wouldbe obsolete within five years, is with us some 25 yearslater, along with predictions that it has at least another 10years left in it. What is seen now as state-of-the-art, high-performance, lower-cost technology is an advancedversion of the technology developed in the early 80s interms of the materials, techniques and approaches.
"We always hoped that the industry would eventuallyget to the stage where we would actually have to set upour own degree program to train all the engineers it
needed, and when specialARC and industry fundingcame through to do that, itwas a dream come true. Theindustry is growing ataround about 40 per cent ayear, which is phenomenal.The technology is licensedaround the world and youcan now invest in thisindustry to make money,rather than just investing forthe future.
"From the technologyperspective, I’d really like tosee the next generation ofthin-film solar celltechnology in large scaleproduction, hopefully in fourto five years time. This
technology uses far less material, has the potential to befar cheaper and directly competitive with fossil fuelgenerated electricity.
"On the application side, there are billions of peoplearound the world who have never had access to electricityand without this technology, it’s hard to see how they will.We have started projects in developing countries likeNicaragua, Nepal, China and Vietnam, and it’s very excitingto see our students working with people and seeing thechanges that the technology can make to their lives interms of lighting, clean water, education and refrigeration.This really motivates me to see this technology developedand out there in the marketplace."
UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 7UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 20036
Martin Green
Stuart Wenham
UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 9UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 20038
assisting the installation of 10 million
tubewells in the area to obtain
underground water free from pathogens,
they didn’t anticipate the presence of
groundwater contaminants such as
arsenic. The situation is poised to
become a health disaster on an
enormous scale as many thousands have
already developed skin lesions, liver
diseases and cancers.
There are many methods to remove
arsenic from contaminated water, but
any solutions involving water treatment
or replacement must be extremely cheap
as aid programs are stretched and the
affected people have very few resources
— the average per capita income in
Bangladesh is less than $US2 per day.
Dr Phillip Crisp and his team have
developed a simple way for treating
tubewell water to remove dissolved
arsenic, as part of a larger AusAid
project to provide safe water supplies to
five villages around Dhaka, the capital of
Bangladesh. The treatment system has
two stages and relies on reaction with
iron and adsorption onto iron oxide
surfaces to assist in the removal of
arsenic. This only requires sunlight,
rudimentary brickwork and scrap iron.
The treatment
system has been
working well for
more than two years,
including the past
year when it has
been running on very
high levels of
contaminated water.
The water emerging
from the treatment
tank has an arsenic
content lower than
the Australian standard.
Researchers are also trying to find
out the species of arsenic present at
different stages in the treatment
process, and to develop robust analytical
methods which can be used in
Bangladesh to measure arsenic
concentrations in tubewell water. Later
this year, Phillip Crisp and his team plan
to build a full-scale treatment system in
Bangladesh.
For information contact Dr Phillip
Crisp on +61 2 9385 4447 or at
CivilAND
EnvironmentalENGINEERING
Microbial risk assessment for safe
water by Nicholas Ashbolt
Associate Professor Nick Ashbolt, Deputy
Director of UNSW's Centre for Water and
Waste Technology, has received a grant
of $377,000 from the Innovation Access
(International Science and Technology)
program to support his group’s work as
part of a € 2.74M European Union Fifth
Framework project called MICRORISK,
which involves the microbial risk
assessment of drinking water.
Using a source-to-tap approach, the
study will investigate all stages in
drinking water production and identify
interactions for the provision of safe
water. This is the second largest grant
ever awarded under the Innovation
Access scheme in Australia, and the
largest to a university research group.
Australia is the first country in the world
to document a risk management policy
for drinking water and this project will
keep Australian researchers and water
agencies at the forefront of the
international water industry.
Internationally, water companies and
regulatory agencies are being told that
economic as well as management gains
should result from applying risk-based
approaches as published in the 2003
WHO guidelines, yet neither detailed
method nor verification has been
presented on how to change from
current end-of-pipe monitoring to
include the whole water process from
catchment to the user.
The project aims to develop, evaluate
and validate a risk assessment
framework for the management of
pathogen risks; provide a scientific
foundation for significant change in the
regulatory approach and management of
drinking water safety; and provide a
means to harmonise across all risks so
those attributable to drinking water can
be considered in a cost-benefit, non-
discriminatory and transparent manner.
Nick Ashbolt and his team will
examine the numbers and distribution of
pathogens within catchments, and the
variations in pathogen distributions at
each stage from catchment through
treatment steps to the tap. The 11
BiomedicalENGINEERING
New hope for spinal cord injuries
by Elizabeth Kyriakou
Syringomyelia is a fluid-filled, cystic
cavity in the spinal cord. Post-traumatic
syringomyelia (PTS) affects 28 per cent
of patients following spinal cord injury,
resulting in chronic pain, difficulties with
coordination and loss of sensation. Only
50 per cent of these patients improve
after treatment and our lack of
understanding of the causes of PTS
means that effective treatment is
unlikely.
In a collaborative project with the
Prince of Wales Medical Research
Institute, PhD student Elizabeth Kyriakou
is part of a team consisting of Associate
Professor Lynne Bilston (Biomedical
Engineering) and Associate Professor
Marcus Stoodley (Neurosurgery), who are
working to model the behaviour of the
fluid and tissue within the spinal cord in
an effort to explain how and why a
syrinx or cystic cavity forms there.
The research team are developing a
series of fluid-structure interaction (FSI)
models simulating the spinal cord, to
describe the behaviour of cerebrospinal
fluid and the interrelating effects of fluid
on spinal cord tissue. Other
developments within the field have only
considered fluid effects and have not
combined the interaction with
surrounding tissue. The numerical
analysis of the FSI problem is solved
using a computational modeling
package, ADINA.
To develop the initial model, the
team used magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), which is a highly specialised
method for producing images of soft
tissue. While conventional X-ray
techniques produce images of bones,
MRI is able to show the structure of soft
tissues, including the spinal cord. Initial
model development involved obtaining
the spinal cord dimensions of a patient
with PTS and associated obstruction in
the cervical or neck region of the spinal
cord.
This allowed Elizabeth to develop a
two dimensional FSI model of the
cervical spine which simulated the spinal
cord and space below the obstruction. By
modelling the fluid structure interactions
in the 2D model, researchers have been
able to show that the mechanism of
syrinx formation and enlargement is
likely to involve local increases in
cerebrospinal fluid pressure. This increase
in fluid pressure is believed to force
excessive fluid into the spinal tissue via
spaces surrounding blood vessels.
Future developments of the model
promise to expand our theoretical
description of this clinical problem and
ultimately work to assist patients with
this condition.
For information contact Elizabeth
Kyriakou at [email protected] or
visit www.powmri.edu.au
ChemicalENGINEERING AND
Industrial ChemistryDecontaminating drinking water in
Bangladesh and West Bengal
by Vicki Chen
Arsenic is a problem in drinking water in
more than 20 countries, however by far
the greatest difficulties are found in
Bangladesh and West Bengal (the state
of India adjoining Bangladesh). When the
World Bank and numerous aid
organisations spent billions of dollars
Around the Schools . . .
Elizabeth Kyriakou working to understandspinal cord injury.
Village tubewell in Bangladesh.
UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 11UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 200310
ElectricalENGINEERING AND
TelecommunicationsBroadband access through the
‘Spiderbox’ by Rob Milland
There is a lot of discussion about
broadband communication and its
almost magical data carrying capacity,
but the flip side is that there are
mulitple products out there for
managing the data, from set-top PayTV
boxes to modems, and then there is the
matter of security of data
communications. The Spiderbox, which
allows mulitiple providers to transmit
and receive simultaneously to customers
through one secure device, could see a
much greater uptake of this broadband
technology.
In 1999, Rob Milland invented and
later (2001) patented the Spiderbox, the
first specifically designed apparatus to
offer consumers the full benefits of the
broadband cable which is, to quote Rob,
"lying idle in the streets". Rob formed
Access Wireless and Cable Pty Ltd in
2001 and further developed the concept
with input from an advertising associate,
John Hundy, and the School of Electrical
Engineering and Telecommunications,
which assisted in the building of the
Spiderbox prototype.
The Spiderbox allows multiple levels
of secure communication to run to a site
simultaneously, removing the need for
mulitple providers to supply their own
monitoring and security devices. A
Spiderbox can carry telephony, the
internet, PayTV, Free-to-air TV, medical
monitoring, home banking, home
security and electricity meter reading,
along with a
capacity for
intranet,
simultaneously
and seamlessly,
whilst
maintaining data
security.
According to
Rob Milland, the
average
household will
need a Spiderbox because of its unique
capacity to perform all the current
comunications functions simultaneously.
"With the increased use of Home
Telecare, for example, up until now a
patient could not be visually monitored
because the usual ADSL phone line
couldn’t handle video," said Rob.
"Spiderbox, on the other hand, can
offer two-way audio/video. The doctor
can talk to the patient, the patient can
respond, the blood pressue or other
readings could appear on another
screen, all simultaneously operating
along with the internet, a PayTV channel,
and a meter reader. We could add a gas
meter, a burglar alarm and a fire alarm
as well. This is the power of Spiderbox.
"Added to this is that the reduced
need for separate communications lines
and devices makes broadband access
that much more affordable."
The Spiderbox has already attracted
interest from telcos, utilities, billing
contractors, secondary PayTV content
providers, and medical and
pharmaceutical bodies.
For information contact Rob Milland
on +61 2 9570 6111, email on
[email protected] or visit
www.spiderbox.com.au
MechanicalAND
ManufacturingENGINEERING
State-of-the-art machining centre
by Tony Harris
The School has used and taught state-
of-the-art computer-aided
manufacturing systems for many years,
using 2-axis lathe and 3-axis milling
processes. The acquisition of a Deckel
Maho DMU60P 5-axis milling machine
from DMG Australia, the first of its kind
in Australia, will greatly enhance the
School’s programs in computer-aided
manufacturing software.
Five-axis milling has the ability to
move the tool by computer control,
relative to the work piece, in five
different ways. There are many possible
machine configurations, with this
machine moving in three orthogonal
directions (X, Y and Z) and two rotations
(work table rotation and spindle-tilt
axis). By varying these axes
simultaneously, highly complex
components can be machined and this
type of machine is normally reserved for
high-end applications within industries
European partners in the MICRORISK
project and UNSW will combine their
expertise in microbiological analysis,
hydrology, treatment performance and
reliability assessments, statistics and
epidemiology.
Innovation Access is a Federal
program enabling Australian
participation in international science and
technology projects, in particular in EU
Framework programs. The Federal
Government will fund two postdoctoral
fellows and one PhD student at UNSW
to participate in the MICRORISK project.
For information contact Associate
Professor Nick Ashbolt +61 2 9385 5946
or at [email protected] .
Computer ScienceAND ENGINEERING
Technology workshops for primary
school girls by Carroll Graham
Research from the USA shows that by
the time girls reach high school, they are
already less interested and less confident
in their abilities in maths and science
than boys, with twice as many boys as
girls showing an
interest in science,
engineering and
mathematics
careers.*
This situation
is mirrored in
Australia and in
1999, CSE began
offering a hands-
on workshop in
Science and
Technology to Year
5 and 6 primary school girls in an
endeavour to address the gender
imbalance present in many engineering,
science and technology disciplines. The
program grew to three workshops in
2002, with four planned for 2003.
The workshop is an all-day activity
(about five hours) that caters for 35 to
40 girls and includes a brainstorming
session, a lab experience, a University
tour and refreshments. These workshops
aim to engage girls in the process of
creating the technology of the future,
while giving them a better
understanding of
today’s technology.
The girls are also
introduced to the
higher education
and research
environment,
especially that of
UNSW. Although
these workshops
are offered by CSE
and use CSE
facilities, there is no
particular focus on computing apart
from the laboratory experience, which
takes place in the Human Computer
Interface (HCI) lab using state-of-the-art
Macintosh computers.
CSE covers the cost of this activity,
including staff costs, materials and
refreshments. The only costs to the
primary school are the time of
accompanying staff and transport which
can constitute a substantial cost,
especially for more distant schools.
All four workshops for 2003 were
fully booked within five days of being
advertised and will accommodate six
primary schools. There are a further 16
schools on the waiting list. Comments
from the first two workshops included, "I
can’t wait until I am in that university",
"It was fantastic" and "The things that
they [the women engineers and
scientists] said they did were really cool".
The two remaining workshops for this
year will take place on Tuesday 29 July
and Thursday 31 July.
For information contact Carroll
Graham on +61 2 9385 5318.
* Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities inScience Engineering and Technology Development: ‘Land of Plenty’, 09/00.
Typical raw water reservoir and associated water treatment works.
Left to right: Tiffany Villanueva, Ashalene Salter and Jordan Thomas.
Left to right: Rob Milland, John Hundy and Professor Branko Celler, Head of School.
UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 13UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 200312
the economic attractions. Also, with the
possibility of moving the mining
infrastructure from site to site on large
vessels, like off-shore petroleum sites,
you can avoid building huge plants with
all their ramifications.
"Another potential plus of sea–bed
mining is the absence of a local human
population, and it is potentially more
environmentally friendly. All these
deposits will be deeper than where any
commercial fishing occurs and there are
expected to be relatively low levels of
waste due to the
high usable metallic
content of the ore.
As long as no waste
is released in the
zone of water where
photosynthesis
occurs (0-400m
below sea level),
there is the
possibility of
depositing it back
onto the ocean
floor."
Early last year,
Cameron Rees and
Jayne Holden were able to take part in
an exploration cruise with the CSIRO to
explore the ocean bed for potential
mining deposits around the north-east
coast of Papua New Guinea and the
Solomon Islands.
"The CSIRO offer was an unexpected
opportunity that helped us to
understand how deposits are found and
some of the difficulties of ocean mining.
Much of the work had never been done
before in terms of mapping the ocean
floor, so it was very exciting," said
Cameron.
For information contact Cameron
Rees on +61 2 9385 6118, email
[email protected] or visit
www.mining.unsw.edu.au
PetroleumENGINEERING
New CO2 Cooperative Research
Centre by Guy Allinson
The new Cooperative Research Centre for
Carbon Dioxide Sequestration (CO2CRC),
announced at the end of 2002, will begin
operations on 1 July this year. The
release of CO2 into the atmosphere is the
main contributor to global warming and
according to the new Centre’s Executive
Director, Dr Peter Cook, based in
Canberra, Australia has sufficient
underground capacity to potentially
store our total emissions for the next
2000 years. "We want to be sure it is
safe, secure, practical and economic to
do so. We hope to stage a demonstration
in the next three to five years," he said.
The CO2CRC will undertake research
into innovative greenhouse gas
technologies that have the potential to
enhance Australia’s capacity to separate
and capture CO2, and to sequester it in
geological or other environments. This
would allow Australia to sequester
significant quantities of CO2 in an
environmentally and economically
sustainable manner, bringing benefit to
Australian industry and the community
at large.
The new CRC will involve 60 to 80
researchers and 20
postgraduate
students, coordinated
by a highly experienced
management team.
UNSW is strongly
represented in this
new venture with
contributions from
Guy Allinson, Senior
Lecturer (Petroleum
Engineering), who will
study and model the
economics of CO2
storage and use;
Associate Professor
Dianne Wiley (Chemical Engineering and
Industrial Chemistry), Deputy Director of
the CRC, who will research the
application of membrane technologies
to, and the economics of, CO2 capture;
and Professor Robert Marks, Head of
Economics at the AGSM, who will
research macroeconomic issues related
to CO2 sequestration in Australia.
The project will involve work with
partners in the USA, Europe and Japan,
who will study technologies to allow
such as aerospace,
automotive and
medical.
The DMG
machine is a special
high-accuracy
version with
distinctive
components and
additional assembly
attention, making it
the most precise
currently offered by
DMG and an
important resource
for the School in
developing ARC
Linkage grant
projects with
industry.
The School is also selecting the most
accurate tooling available and is air
conditioning the laboratory environment
to ±1°C. This new laboratory will also
house an existing computer-controlled
2-axis lathe and a computer-controlled
robot mounted on a conveying rail track.
The robot will be programmed to deliver
and retrieve work material and finished
components to and from the new 5-axis
machine and 2-axis lathe. With the robot
also carrying out assembly tasks, the
whole configuration will form a flexible
manufacturing cell or FMC.
The installation itself was a
challenge, needing a 160-tonne crane to
bring the machine from just outside the
campus and lower it into position over
trees and power lines through a hole in
the roof. The whole operation took more
than three hours and the roof was
finally replaced by 4:00pm. At 5:00pm, a
60-knot southerly change arrived
accompanied by rain.
The School welcomes interested
parties to discuss possible
collaboration via ARC Linkage grants.
For information contact Tony Harris
on +61 2 9385 4113 or
MiningENGINEERING
Ocean–bed mining
by Cameron Rees
Assisted by the CSIRO, two Mining
Engineering PhD students are
exploring the ocean bed as the new
frontier for mineral extraction.
Cameron Rees’ research examines
extraction options for sea–bed
minerals, while Jayne Holden is
researching the possible
environmental impact.
According to Cameron Rees, ocean-bed
mining is still in the early stages, but it
presents the mining industry with a
different avenue to mine for metals like
lead, copper, gold, zinc and silver.
"We are looking at the very basics at
the moment, to determine whether it’s
possible to mine the material in a
reasonably economic manner in terms of
cost, energy and the environment.
Equipment requirements for ocean-bed
mining will be substantial as it needs to
operate at depths greater than 1600m,
with pressure over 165kg/cm2. It will
also need to be able to withstand a
potentially corrosive environment with
temperature differentials of more than
390°C.
"Even though the initial capital cost
might be quite large, there is a huge
potential over the life of infrastructure
and mining equipment, which is one of
The School's new 5-axis milling machine swings gently above the treeson its way to its new home.
Cameron Rees with some ore from the ocean bed.
A new way of containing CO2 emissions.
UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 15UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 200314
carbon dioxide to be extracted from
power plants and factory flues, so it can
be subsequently stored geologically.
The Commonwealth Government has
contributed nearly A$22M to the
research, with a total funding of more
than A$100M over a period of seven
years. Other funding will come from
Australian industry and inkind
contributions from universities and
research organisations across Australia.
For information contact Guy Allinson
on +61 2 9385 5296,
[email protected] or visit
ww.petrol.unsw.edu.au
Photovoltaic ENGINEERING
Students on aid project to Nicaragua
by Thu Nguyen
Fourteen Year 2 students from the
Centre have returned from Nicaragua
after the successful completion of the
first stage of the Korima project, named
after a native custom where beneficiaries
of a good harvest share with the less
fortunate.
Over two months in early 2003, the
students stayed in remote villages in
Nicaragua and worked with local non-
government organisations to build solar
panels from donated cells, inspect
existing solar systems and build solar
cookers. A single solar cooker can save
about 50 per cent of the firewood
needed by a family, which can be a
significant financial saving for poor
families. The solar electric systems
provide electricity for lighting and
vaccine refrigeration in places with no
electricity supply.
"We were there to look at established
systems and help develop better testing
methods and better maintenance," said
Dr Alistair Sproul, project supervisor. "In
these situations a lot depends on good
communication between those installing
the systems and the people who use
them, and how well-designed the
systems are to accommodate the
difficulties of a remote location. In the
long run, local people need to be well
trained to maintain their systems and
resolve problems, so they don’t have to
wait so long for outside help.
"It was quite an experience seeing
little solar electric systems giving
lighting to schools, homes and
community buildings. We visited a
remote health clinic where they just had
a few solar panels for the vaccine
refrigerator. For the local people, this
meant that their children had a much
better chance of going through a full
immunisation program, with enormous
health benefits for the whole
community."
According to student Susan Berry, it
was good to see how solar energy could
be fundamentally important. "The people
working there seemed to be really
excited about the things that we were
showing them, and I felt I was really
doing something to improve people’s
lives," she said.
This project has a great deal to offer
both the host country and the students
alike, and others are planned for the future.
For further information contact Dr
Alistair Sproul on +61 2 9385 4039,
email [email protected], or visit
www.students.pv.unsw.edu.au/Nicaragua/
index.html
SurveyingANDSpatialInformation SystemsNew Cooperative Research Centre for
Spatial Information by Chris Rizos
In late 2002, the School was advised of
the award of a new CRC for Spatial
Information (CRC-SI). UNSW is one of
three core university participants, the
others being the University of Melbourne
and Curtin University of Technology.
What is perhaps unique about this CRC
is that the partnership will include
universities, several State and
Commonwealth Government
departments and a large number of
small- to medium-sized
(SME) spatial information
businesses. The CRC-SI will
harness Australia’s
recognised research
strengths in spatial
information technologies
to create new products
and services, as well as
contribute to the
community’s wellbeing
through the execution of
‘public good’ projects.
It is estimated that more
than 80 per cent of information
contained within public and private
databases has a spatial data component.
Spatial data is information that can be
mapped or which communicates where a
person or object is located, relative to
others. Geographic information systems
(GIS), global positioning systems (GPS)
and remote sensing technologies are
used to gather spatial data which is
analysed in many ways and delivered to
users as information through a variety of
forms of digital media. It is utilised in
such sectors as transport and logistics;
asset/facilities management; agriculture,
forestry and fishing; resource and
environmental management; military
operations; telecommunications and a
wide variety of new consumer
applications.
The School will contribute its
expertise in the development of GPS
technology and applications. Professor
Chris Rizos is Program Leader for
Integrated Positioning and Mapping
Systems, one of five CRC-SI programs.
Professor Tony Milne (Department of
Biological, Environmental & Earth
Sciences, Faculty of Science), is the other
UNSW Program Leader for Earth
Observation for Renewable Natural
Resource Management.
Projects to be undertaken within the
School include the further development
of centimetre-accuracy GPS-based
positioning techniques, research into
non-GPS techniques such as
‘pseudolites’ (GPS-like terrestrial signal
transmitters), GPS/inertial sensor
integration, and investigations into
positioning systems able to be
implemented in consumer electronics to
support the development of Location-
Based Services (aids to navigation to a
specific point).
The School is expected to gain up to
four new Research Associates and an
equal number of PhD scholarships. For
information contact Professor Chris
Rizos on +61 2 9385 4205 or
[email protected] or visit
www.geom.unimelb.edu.au/crc_si/.
Photovoltaic engineering students working with Nicaraguans to build a cleaner and safer future.
Left to right: Professor Chris Rizos, Joel Barnes, Linlin Ge and Jinling Wang, part ofthe new CRC.
UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 17UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 200316
Golden Jubilee Luncheon for Class of ’53
On 16 May, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wyatt R Hume
will join Engineering and Science graduates from 1953 to
celebrate the Golden Jubilee of their graduation at a luncheon
hosted by the Faculties of Engineering and Science.
On 21 March 1953, 39 engineering students and 32 science
students graduated in the Great Hall of the University of
Sydney, with degrees from the New South Wales University of
Technology, which later became the University of New South
Wales. These were only the second group of students to
graduate and they have contributed to setting the stage firmly
for the many thousands who have followed.
The University’s first Golden Jubilee Luncheon was held in
2002, and it is planned to hold similar annual events for each
50 year graduation anniversary.
Summer School for Indigenous StudentsFormer Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Democrat Senator Aden
Ridgeway and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rory Hume were
on hand to launch the Indigenous Australian Engineering
Summer School (IAESS) in early January this year.
The Summer School, hosted by UNSW and the non-profit
organisation Engineering Aid, is a live-in program designed to
encourage Indigenous high school students to consider
engineering as a tertiary study option and career path.
Over seven days, 20 students from New South Wales,
Western Australia and Queensland blew up pumpkins, measured
blood components and visited sites such as the Harbour Bridge,
the Eastern Distributor tunnels and Australia’s Wonderland to
learn how engineering concepts affect safety, environment and
design.
"Increased Indigenous participation is crucial for the sector,"
said program director and Associate Dean (Academic), Professor
Tim Hesketh. "Infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, water,
schools and communication is desperately needed in remote
communities and outback Australia. Unless there are Aboriginal
engineers, this infrastructure will be developed without their
input on what their communities need."
Taste of ResearchAs part of a strategy to promote research and development as a
career path for undergraduate students, the Faculty ran a 10-
week ‘Taste of Research’ undergraduate scholarship program
over the summer break.
The program aimed to raise awareness of research
opportunities amongst high-achieving Year 3 students by
placing them in research projects in areas as diverse as
biomedical engineering, computer and software engineering,
chemical engineering, electrical engineering,
telecommunications, mechatronics, mechanical and
manufacturing engineering, photovoltaics and surveying and
information systems. In addition to a stipend, many of the 34
students who were awarded the scholarships were also able to
use the experience as part of their industrial training
requirement.
It is clear from student comments that the initiative was
well received, with a majority prepared to recommend the
program to others. Their expectations had been varied, but in
most cases students gained a deeper understanding of the
research experience.
Most responded very positively when asked if they would
now consider undertaking postgraduate research or a research
career, with comments from "Definitely" to "[The program has]
extinguished my fears — research is quite fun!", "Has heightened
my interest and confidence" and "After working with lecturers
and other research students I am very interested".
Following the success of the inaugural Taste of Research
program, these scholarships will be offered again across the
2003–2004 summer vacation.
Engineering Scholarships for Rural StudentsIn March, 19 students from across rural Australia were awarded
prestigious Faculty of Engineering Rural Scholarships in the
third year of the program. The scholarships are worth $8,000 a
year for the four years of an undergraduate Engineering degree.
Each of the Faculty’s Schools offers academic mentoring and
the campus colleges also provide some accommodation for first
year rural students.
"The 2003 rural scholars demonstrate superior academic
skills, have excellent personal qualities and participate in many
other activities on campus," said Associate Dean (Academic),
Professor Tim
Hesketh. "The
Faculty is keen to
enrol students
from country
areas because they
often have a
special aptitude
for engineering as
a result of the
environment in
which they’ve
been raised. They’re very practical, motivated and have great
problem-solving abilities.
"Our rural students will have the opportunity to fully
develop their potential and interact with other students from
across Australia and overseas, building friendships and personal
networks that last for life."
For information visit www.eng.unsw.edu.au.
Alumni Reunion Dinner 2002On 15 November
2002, in response to
requests from
alumni, the Faculty
held its first annual
Alumni Anniversary
Dinner to celebrate
the 20th, 30th 40th
and 50th
anniversaries of
graduation. The
Dinner was held in
the Roundhouse,
scene of many
previous activities,
encounters and
memorable evenings.
Some 170
graduates and
partners, and past
and present staff,
including the Vice-
Chancellor, Professor Wyatt R Hume, first relaxed over pre-
dinner drinks before being warmly welcomed by the Dean,
Professor Brendon Parker.
In addition to the nostalgia of the venue, videos of archival
images and music from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s were played
throughout the evening, evoking memories and lively
discussions. Comments ranged from claiming/denying
participation in key Foundation Day activities to "Have you still
got those shorts?".
Another entertaining feature of the evening was the ‘roving
mike’ which prompted guests to wax lyrical on a variety of
escapades which, given the current high office of those
concerned and their potentially libellous nature, will not be
detailed here.
According to Tony Robinson (BSurv’62) the event not only
enabled him to catch up with friends from his University class,
but to also meet engineers from other disciplines, including
some he had gone to school with. "The Roundhouse is a superb
venue. When we were here it was the only place for students to
meet." he said.
Albert Avolio (BE (Elec)’72, PhD ’77), now an Associate
Professor in Biomedical Engineering, also had fond recollections
of the Roundhouse. "Memories flooded back of
my first visit in 1969," he said. "I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee
and listened to a heated debate on conscription and the
conflict in Vietnam. I was passing through and I thought, ‘I like
this place’. I transferred here for Year 3 Electrical Engineering in
1970 and I’m still here. It was great to see some of the faces
that go back many years – including a classmate who was at
the same table, which was a nice surprise. We still recognised
each other and it was great to catch up after some 30 years."
Civil Engineering, especially the Class of ’82 was very well
represented, in both numbers and volume. Peter O’Leary,
(BE (Civil) ’82) said, "Apart from meeting so many people I
haven’t seen in a long time, some of the tales told by those
from other years gave me a new perspective on our time as
students. Everyone I spoke to was reminded of what a good
time we’d all had then – and how much tougher things were now!"
This year’s Dinner on 14 November will focus on the
graduation classes of 1953, 1963, 1973, 1983 and 1993.
Celebrate this occasion in a memorable fashion by putting
together a table of your former classmates. Also, as we would
like to invite as many from the graduating classes as possible, if
you know classmates who may be interested in attending the
Dinner, but who may not be on our records, please let us know.
Invitations will be mailed in early October.
For information, please contact Luciano Ferracin on
+61 2 9385 1516 or email [email protected]. Those
graduates considering reunions in 2004 and beyond, should
also advise Luciano Ferracin, so they can join Anniversary
Reunions in the relevant years.
Do you know someone who would like to receive UNSWENGINEERS?
Please contact Marjorie Fox at the Faculty of Engineering Administrative Unit, on +61 2 9385 4023 or email [email protected]
Left to right: Ian Paver (BE (Civil)‘82), Chris Graham (BE (Civil)‘72), Tony Robinson(BSurv‘62), Ian Somervaille (BE (Mech)‘52). Stan Hall Rural Scholarship recipient Brendan
Short with Lois Chambers, daughter of theScholarship donor.
Re Issue 7, I noticed Colin Stapleton and Antoni Karbowiakdepicted on the faculty history page. These gentlemen weremy lecturers in 1972-74. Colin taught automatic control andgave me a reference and Antoni taught information theoryand allowed me to program one of the first personalcomputers (HP) to calculate and plot Fourier transforms.Coincidentally I am depicted (but un-named) in the samepublication in the RoboCup 2002 photo (back left). I havereturned to the UNSW for a PhD degree after 25 years inindustry. I don’t think either Colin or Antoni would rememberme, but if the opportunity arose . . . I would like to meet themagain and thank them for sending me on my way in life.Bernhard Hengst (BE (Elec)/BESci ‘75)AI Dept, School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW
What was he doing?The staff member in this photohas been identified asProfessor Richard Frost(Mechanical andManufacturing Engineering)
This was part of a biomedicalproject to insert stainless steelrods into the bones of childrenwith brittle bones syndrome.Professor Richard Frost ismeasuring a child in order toproduce an implement used in the process.Arthur Vergopoulos (BE (Mech) ’87)
UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 2003 19UNSWENGINEERS | Issue 8, May 200318
LETTERS
Educating engineers is a complex process and sometimesthe photographic evidence raises more questions than itanswers. What is the young man in the shorts and longsocks doing and why is the audience so amused? Was hegetting it ‘right’ or is the resulting geyser the result ofgetting it horribly ‘wrong’?
Late last year, Paul De Launay (BE (Civil ’89) won theprestigious IEAust Fred Hollows Humanitarian Award forhis engineering contributions in some of the world’s mostwar torn and desperate nations as a member of RedRAustralia working for the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Born and raised in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, Paul was
conscripted into the Australian Army in 1969 and volunteered
for service in the Vietnam War. There he was exposed to aid
work as part of the Australian Army’s Civil Affairs Unit which
designed and constructed projects to aid the local population.
After leaving the army in 1971, Paul travelled extensively,
especially to developing countries and found he was more
attracted to visiting places less touched by western culture. He
also became interested in alternative technologies and how
other cultures adapted their natural resources to satisfy their
technological needs.
In 1976, continuing with his career in construction, Paul
became a founding partner for John Mountford Constructions
P/L and in 1979, he formed Top Hole Engineering P/L, a new
partnership which specialised in civil engineering design and
construction.
Conscious of the need for some formal qualifications in the
field, Paul also began a part-time Civil Engineering degree at
UNSW round the same time. "I was attracted to UNSW because
of the practical orientation of the course and because its
engineering degrees were highly regarded internationally," said
Paul. Socially inclined and resourceful, Paul was also treasurer
of the CivEng Society for one year, buying tax-free Toohey’s
beer by the pallet.
In 1988, Paul joined geotechnical and environmental
engineering consultants, DJ Douglas & Partners P/L, and in
1989, became actively involved in the rebuilding of Newcastle
after the earthquake. Since1991, Paul has run his own
consultancy in engineering design and construction project
management specialising in the reconstruction of disaster-
affected structures following floods, fires or other traumatic
incidents. His interest in humanitarian work grew and in 1999,
he joined RedR Australia (Registered Engineers for Disaster
Relief).
"For some years, I had sponsored children in Africa and I
began to be drawn to doing something that brought together a
number of my interests including emergency engineering
projects, support to communities disrupted by disasters and
travel to interesting places. So in 2000, with my first RedR
assignment as Technical Coordinator for UNHCR in Cambodia, I
took on the responsibility for planning, design, construction and
evaluation of infrastructure projects, particularly water systems,
roads, bridges and dams for the 60,000 Cambodian refugees
who were coming home to rebuild their shattered lives."
As the Senior Physical Planner working in the Engineering
and Environmental Services Section at UNHCR in Geneva, Paul
developed a Camp Planning Manual for emergency workers, and
went on field missions to assess and prepare potential refugee
camp sites in Guinea Conakry, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, where
he worked to identify and evaluate potential refugee campsites
for some 10,000 Afghans trapped on the border with
Afghanistan.
The following year Paul travelled to Eritrea where he was
responsible for the assessment, planning and provision of water
facilities for an estimated 150,000 Eritrean returnees from The
Sudan. As a Water Specialist, he conducted hydrogeological
studies, identified bore hole sites, monitored bore hole drilling
and pump selection and installation. He was also responsible
for the site planning of returnee settlements for populations up
to 10,000 people and implemented UNHCR’s shelter program in
Eritrea.
"Humanitarian aid work is extremely demanding, physically,
mentally and emotionally and often entails some degree of
personal risk. You spend most of the year away from family and
friends, living in places where you can’t speak the language or
even read a newspaper.
"Accommodation is frequently very basic and there is
usually risk of contracting some kind of sickness or disease and
GRADUATE PROFILEPaul de Launay
communication with the outside world is sometimes erratic. It
is not glamorous, romantic or well paid and usually nobody
thanks you.
In 2003, Paul took on the appointment of Reintegration
Officer with UNHCR based in Jalalabad in the east of
Afghanistan, responsible for developing a reintegration strategy
for the estimated one million Afghan refugees returning from
refuge in Pakistan.
"This reintegration process involves the design and
provision of adequate infrastructure in the sectors of shelter,
water/sanitation, health, education and income generation.
"Currently, the people of Afghanistan are still unsure
whether the peace will hold. The impression is one of a country
holding it’s breath in anticipation of a deterioration in the
security situation.
"The sheer scale of the task to resettle the displaced
population, and rebuild the shattered infrastructure is daunting.
However, I find my work immensely rewarding. As an engineer, I
work in places where my skills contribute to the wellbeing of
thousands of people. Technically, the challenge is to design and
build something, often using only materials that are locally
available. When my work is finished I can see the impact of my
work on the lives of the people I came to assist and that is
what makes it worthwhile. I am committed to continuing this
type of work for the rest of my working life.
"For those wanting to do this kind of work, my advice
would be to try to get experience as a volunteer somewhere
first, as it’s usually easier then to get into one of the aid
organisations. Everyone can contribute in some way, you CAN
make a difference."
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