Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology researchers have once again been successful in securing Australian Research Council funding.
Civil Engineering researcher Associate Professor Alexander Scheuermann received a $1 million Future Fellowship to decipher the mysteries of underwater erosion in dams.
His work with high-frequency electromagnetic monitoring devices could lead to early warning systems being created to warn of failing dams.
This, in turn, could save lives and valuable property by preventing catastrophic dam collapses.
Chemical Engineering researchers and pyrometallurgy experts Professor Evgueni Jak and Professor Peter Hayes received an ARC Linkage grant of $825,000 for studies into the chemical behaviour of metals under extreme temperatures, with an aim of minimising the waste of valuable metal resources.
Dr Hayes and Dr Jak will work with major international metallurgical and recycling companies – including Nyrstar (Australia); Umicore (Belgium); Aurubis (Germany); Kazzinc (Kazakhstan); and Boliden (Sweden) – to develop processes for the recovery and recycling of critical and strategic metals from electronic components and hazardous wastes. The ARC funding is in addition to $4 million industry funding.
Professor Jason Stokes, also from the School of Chemical Engineering, was part of a multi-disciplinary UQ team which has secured $3.6 million to start the ARC Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods.
The Centre will use an Indigenous governance group to oversee the process of converting traditional food knowledge into branded products. Industry partners include Australian Native Food and Botanicals; The Trustee For Kindred Spirits Foundation; Karen Sheldon Catering; Beeinventive Pty Ltd; and Venus Shell Systems Pty Ltd
EAIT Faculty’s new Executive Dean Vicki Chen leaves the University of NSW a parting gift having played an integral role in securing $3 million funding for an ARC Research Hub for Integrated Energy Storage Solutions.
