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Annual Report for the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UNSW Australia.
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School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Annual Report 2014
Never Stand Still Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering
©2014 School of Civil and
Environmental Engineering
UNSW AUSTRALIA 2052
Address
School of Civil and
Environmental Engineering (H20)
The University of New South Wales
UNSW SYDNEY NSW 2052
AUSTRALIA
Enquiries
T +61 (0)2 9385 5033
F +61 (0)2 9385 6139
W http://www.civeng.unsw.edu.au/
Project Coordinator & Editor
Mary O’Connell
With thanks to providers of text, statistics, stories and images,
including Andy Baker, Kate Brown, Irene Calaizis, Ron Cox,
Henry Deng, Kristy Guia, Maria Lee, Pauline Manley, Sam
McCormick, Chris Mundy, Kath O’Sullivan, Tamara Rouse,
Johnson Shen, Grantley Smith, Robert Steel, Ian Turner, David
Waite, Travis Waller, Conrad Wasko and Betty Wong. Special
thanks to Anthony Dever, Kurt Douglas, Mike Gal, and Tricia
Tesoriero.
Graphic Design
The Imagination Agency Pty Ltd
Faastprint
Photography
Professional photography:
Emeritus Professor Mike Gal (pictured below)
Grateful thanks also to Kurt Douglas
Cricos Provider Number: 00098G
THE BIG PICTURE
OUR PEOPLE
OUR RESEARCH
OUR TEACHING
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY
OUR CENTRES
CONTENTS3
19
29
71
61
47
THE BIG PICTURE
THE BIG PICTURE4
ABOUT US
The School of Civil & Environmental Engineering is
the largest and most successful School of its kind in
Australasia and is ranked as number one in Australia
and in the top 20 in the world (QS World University
Rankings).
We are the largest School in the UNSW Faculty
of Engineering, itself the pre-eminent centre for
engineering studies and research in Australia, and the
first University of choice for NSW’s top students.
From our foundation in 1949, the School has pursued
excellence and innovation in education and research.
Our alumni are to be found as leaders and decision
makers in industry, government and the community.
With over 2,300 current students, we play a leading
role in the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate
degree programs – with a focus on sustainability
as well as core engineering knowledge, preparing
our students to confidently face the challenges of
contemporary global society. We believe that civil
and environmental engineers are uniquely placed to
understand, meet and solve those challenges.
We are at the forefront of fundamental and applied
research across the breadth of civil and environmental
engineering with three internationally acclaimed
research centres – in infrastructure (CIES), water
(WRC) and transport (rCITI). Our academic staff are
recognised world leaders in their fields, supported
by over 70 full time researchers. Each year we work
with or on behalf of over 100 industry and government
organisations on specific industry related projects and
have won millions of dollars in federal funds in order to
pursue investigations into issues of national importance.
We continue to forge new links with industry and
community partners to ensure a continuing real-world
focus for both our teaching and our research.
THE BIG PICTURE 5
It is with great pleasure that we bring you the School’s
Annual Report for 2014. As I write this introduction,
the QS Top Universities rankings have again placed
our School in the world’s Top 20. This is of course
pleasing but, more importantly, it is a statement about
and recognition of the quality of our staff and of our
teaching and research programs.
The best Schools of Civil and Environmental Engineering
in the best universities in the world are both deep and
broad. Our School is as strong in its depth as it is in
its breadth. Our depth provides for excellence to the
degree that our research teams draw from each other’s
inspiration, providing for strong collaborations - and with
mentorship provided to our great young researchers
ensuring the future of the School for lasting excellence.
Our breadth allows us to cover the full range of
disciplines in Civil and Environmental Engineering and
Surveying and Geospatial Engineering and to provide
leadership and excellence in our teaching and research.
One question that I commonly get asked is “where do I
see Infrastructure Engineering in the next 30 years and
what are likely to be the grand challenges”. To answer
this it is worth reflecting on where the profession was
20 and 30 years ago. In 1981 Professor Noel Svensson
– a former Dean of Engineering UNSW – prophetically
wrote on where future engineers will be directing their
knowledge and creativity:
\ “Resolution of the conflict between industrial
expansion and the conservation of natural
resources;
\ Improvement in health care without unacceptable
rises in costs;
\ Automation in the factory and office whilst retaining
employment opportunities;
\ Domestic waste disposal at low cost.
\ Elimination of hazards to health at work, in the home
and during recreation; and
\ Protection from the effects of natural disasters –
earthquakes, floods, bushfires.”
I ask myself today, what has changed? The last 30
years, the last 10 years even, has seen exponential
expansion in knowledge and technology, yet these six
challenges, together with the seventh great challenge
– managing and adapting to climate change – remain
every bit as relevant today as they did then, as no doubt
they will be thirty years from now. We can be confident
that the graduates of our School will lead in the debates
and in finding the solutions to the above challenges, as
well as new ones that the future may bring.
The successes of 2014, many of which are highlighted
in this Annual Report, are entirely attributable to
the great staff of our School: our academics and
researchers, professional and technical staff, and to our
students. Without their dedication to excellence – in
all that they do - our successes would not have been
achievable. I am immensely grateful for their dedication
and for their support.
MESSAGE FROM HOS
Stephen J Foster, Head of School
THE BIG PICTURE6
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
L-R Mario Attard, Arnaud Castel, Brian Uy, David Carmichael, Richard Stuetz, Martin Andersen, Ian Turner(for WRL), Vinayak Dixit (for rCITI), Kristy Guia, Steve Davis, Stephen Foster (HoS), Anthony DeverAbsent: Ron Cox, Kurt Douglas, Nasser Khalili, Linlin Ge, Bill Peirson, Chris Rizos, Chongmin Song, Travis Waller, Betty Wong
2014 SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Chair & Head of School: Professor Stephen James Foster
Associate Head (Academic):
Associate Professor Mario Attard
Admin: Betty WongSchool Committee ChairsResearch Management Committee (RMC):
Professor S Travis Waller
Computing & IT (CIT) and Educational Technology Committee (ETC):
Professor Chongmin Song
Teaching and Learning Committee (TLC):
Dr Steve Davis
External Relations Committee (ERC):
Co-Chairs Associate Professor Ron Cox & Dr Kurt Douglas
International Relations Committee:
Associate Professor Linlin Ge
School Centre DirectorsrCITI: Professor S Travis WallerWRC: Associate Professor
William Peirson & Professor Richard Stuetz
CIES: Professor Brian UyCWI: Dr Martin AndersenDiscipline Group Leaders: Professors David
Carmichael; Nasser Khalili; Chris Rizos
Business Manager: Anthony DeverStudent Admin Manager: Julijana Baric/
Kristy Guia
The School Management Committee (SMC)
represents the peak decision-making body in the School
with all key decisions relating to academic matters and
overall direction debated and ratified by this group. The
SMC is chaired by the Head of School and is made
up of the Chairs of the School’s major committees,
the Associate Head (Academic), the School Business
Manager, the Student Admin Manager, the Directors
of UNSW Centres based within the School, and other
discipline group leaders.
The School Executive Group is an advisory group to
the Head of School. It meets monthly with the Head of
School to discuss key and current issues on matters of
strategy, planning, budgeting and policy directions for
the School.
2014 School Executive Group Members
Prof Stephen Foster, HoS; A/Prof Mario Attard,
Associate Head (Academic); Prof David Carmichael;
Anthony Dever (Business Manager); Prof Nasser Khalili;
A/Prof Bill Peirson; Prof Richard Stuetz; Prof Brian Uy;
Prof Travis Waller.
The School Board is chaired by the Head of School
and comprises all academic and research staff in the
School, together with student and professional and
technical staff representatives. The Board meets twice
a year; it provides advice to the Head of School about
academic governance arrangements, on the quality of
the School’s learning and teaching, and on research
activities.
It also provides advice to the Head of the School about
the School Committee structure. Committee Chairs
report to the Board on the outcomes of committee
activities, on decisions, and on strategic direction.
The Head of School reports to the Board on the
management of the School and related activities and
issues and direction.
THE BIG PICTURE 7
SCHOOL STATISTICS
School Statistics 2014
Academic Staff 48
Professional & Technical Staff (School) 27
Research Centre Academic Staff 75
Postgraduate Research Students 216
Postgraduate Coursework Students 623
Undergraduates 1682
Equivalent Full-time Students (EFTSU) 1712
Doctoral Graduates 40
Postgraduate Coursework Graduates 265
BE Graduates 340
Grant Funding 11.85M
Research Publications Refereed 502
Recurrent Income 17.8M
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
STUDENT NUMBERS
Total EFTSU 567 592 805 1172 1410 1712
BE 647 730 1012 1307 1509 1682
Postgrad
Coursework330 319 354 398 510 623
Higher Degrees 99 90 77 90 124 216
GRADUATES
Higher Degrees 11 8 13 19 14 40
Postgrad
coursework139 134 136 192 309 265
BE All 95 103 119 142 382 340
STAFF (Full-time, tenured)
Academic 33 25 28 28 36 48
Technical
(School)14 13 13 9 12 12
Administration
(School)8 7 9 9 12 15
RESEARCH GROWTH
Publications 177 198 234 267 368 502
Research Income 6.3M 7.7M 10.7M 15.1M 15.6M 11.85M
The Growth Continues
THE BIG PICTURE8
The School remains at the top of its research
game having won 10 Australian Research Council
(ARC) grants in 2014 – 7 Discovery, 1 Early Career
(DECRA), 1 Linkage and 1 LIEF (Linkage Infrastructure,
Equipment and Facilities) grant, as well as a shared
NHMRC award. These wonderful results make the
School one of the highest UNSW achievers in amount of
grant funds – to the value of $4.15M.
Overall, UNSW researchers won the highest amount of
ARC funding in Australia – ‘a testament, said Deputy
Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Les Field, ‘to the
importance and impact of the work we are doing.’
School ARC Grant winning research projects include
Scientia Prof Mark Bradford ‘s investigation of the
capacity of high-strength steel beams, with a view
to contributing to the production of an advanced
design standard, and Prof Stephen Foster & Dr Hamid
Valipour’s research into behaviour and robustness
of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) moment
hinges. Prof Ian Turner leads a team which aims to
deliver the best available solution to storm coastal
erosion prediction, while Scientia Prof David Waite’s
research into the electron transfer (redox) properties
of terrestrially and microbially-derived natural organic
matter (NOM) will provide new insights to factors
influencing the quality of our natural aqueous resources.
Prof S Travis Waller will address some of the limitations
of dynamic transport network modelling in the planning
process particularly related to traffic uncertainty, driver
adaptivity and information-provision.
Head of School Professor Stephen Foster congratulated
the 22 academic staff who have been successful in
2014, and thanked all staff who had applied for their
hard work. ‘As we know’ he said, ‘these are extremely
competitive grants.’ Three UNSW Goldstar awards also
went to School staff – Dr Ehab Hamed for his project
on ‘Coupled hygrothermal-creep effects in adhesively
bonded lap joints’, Associate Professor Stuart Khan for
his research into ‘Inversion of chiral pharmaceuticals
during biological wastewater treatment’, and ARC
Future Fellow Dr Lucy Marshall for her work on
‘characterising hydrologic uncertainty via approximate
Bayesian computation.’
For a full list of ARC grant topics – please see Our
Research section
ARC GRANTS
L-R: ARC Grant Winners -Chongmin Song, David Waite, Sawekchai Tangaramvong, Vinayak Dixit, Xiaomin Li, Kristen Splinter, Mark Bradford, Hamid
Valipour, Stephen Foster, Arman Khoshghalb, Samsung Lim, Fiona Johnson, Adrian Russell, Ian Turner, Chris Blenkinsopp.
Absent: Lauren Gardner, Nasser Khalili, Francis Tin-Loi, Brian Uy, Travis Waller, Tommy Wiedmann, Gaofeng Zhao
THE BIG PICTURE 9
The UNSW Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Teaching
Excellence were established in 1989 to encourage,
recognise and reward excellence in teaching by
members of staff.
The School has had several award winners over
the years but 2014 was a very special year – with
six members of School staff recognised for their
teaching excellence.
Dr Carolin Birk won an Early Career Teaching
Excellence Award while the Construction Engineering
and Project Management Team, Professor David
Carmichael, Dr Steven Davis, Dr Ali Akbar Nezhad
and Dr Johnson Shen, along with External Relations
Manager Dr Mary O’Connell received a team Award
for Teaching Excellence specifically for their innovative
work with Leighton Holdings in the design and delivery
of the MEngSc in project management.
Dr Carolin Birk’s enthusiasm for her field of knowledge
in structural dynamics and her skills as a lecturer and
course designer resulted in extremely high student
satisfaction, as well as the respect of the leadership
team and all her colleagues at the School. Carolin
developed a new fourth year course on structural
dynamics – an extremely important area in Structural
Engineering for bridges, seismic design and building
vibrations. She used both embodied and online
teaching techniques and a variety of assessment
methods that encouraged student engagement, deep
learning, and independent learning. Students valued
the real-world emphasis in the course and rated her as
one of the best lecturers they have ever had at UNSW.
Since 2009 Professor David Carmichael and his team
at the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
have worked with Leighton Holdings in the design,
development and successful delivery of a specially
designed Master of Engineering Science (MEngSc)
degree program in project management. This
educational partnership and collaboration with
Australia’s largest construction and contract mining
company - is designed to nurture and develop
emerging leaders across the Leighton Group.
The Program is delivered by distance to students
around the country, Middle East and the Asia – Pacific
region, and has been instrumental in building a cohort
of outstanding project leaders for Leighton. The
testimonials of Leighton management, current students
and the first graduates affirm the significant education
and training outcomes achieved: the empowerment,
confidence building, networking benefits and overall
improvement in performance and strategic thinking
which the MEngSc program for Leighton has provided.
Leighton received over 300 applications from their staff
for the 30 places available in the 2014 program.
VICE-CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
THE BIG PICTURE10
2014 Chandra S. Desai MedalProfessor Nasser Khalili was
among the three recipients of the
Chandra S Desai Medal awarded
by the International Association for
Computer Methods and Advances in
Geomechanics (IACMAG) at its 14th
conference, held in Kyoto, Japan.
The Chandra S Desai medal is
awarded every three years by
the International Association for
Computer Methods and Advances
in Geomechanics (IACMAG).
The prestigious award honours
individuals who have made
seminal contributions to research
in geomechanics, particularly in
computational modelling, advanced
laboratory and field testing,
computer methods and applications
in geotechnical practice.
The citation received by Professor
Khalili was for his “outstanding
contributions to experimental,
constitutive and numerical modelling
of unsaturated soils”.
Innovation
In 2014 Associate Professor Adrian
Russell received the International
Innovation Award from TC106, the
Technical Committee on Unsaturated
Soils within the International
Society for Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering, for his
physical modelling research in the
field of unsaturated soil mechanics.
At UNSW A/Prof Russell developed
with colleagues a calibration
chamber, lateral earth pressure
rig and shallow foundation rig to
conduct full scale cone penetration
tests, retaining wall tests and
shallow foundation tests to study the
influence of soil suction.
Impact
Professor Khalili also received the
Outstanding Paper Award from the
journal Computers and Geotechnics
for his constitutive modelling work
presented in the paper “A fully
coupled flow deformation model for
cyclic analysis of unsaturated soils
including hydraulic and mechanical
hysteresis”. The paper, published
in Computers and Geotechnics in
2008, was judged to have made
a highly significant impact to
geotechnical engineering, based on
citations over a five year period and
the opinion of the journal’s Editors.
IMPACT AND INNOVATION – PEERS RECOGNISE GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH AT CVEN
THE BIG PICTURE 11
OUTSTANDING ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS RECOGNISED AT SYDNEY ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARDS
The School’s research and teaching teams won
acclaim and awards at the 2014 Sydney EA
Engineering Excellence Awards.
The School’s Water Research Laboratory won the
Environment and Heritage Award for their world-leading
example of eco-engineering – the Tomago Wetlands
Restoration Project. Congratulations to Dr Will Glamore
and his team at WRL, (pictured top right) as well as
their industry and community partners – NSW Parks
and Wildlife Group, Office of Environment & Heritage,
Conservation Action Group, NSW Dept of Primary
Industries & NSW Fisheries.
The Tomago Wetlands Project has become a world-
leading example for how eco-engineering can
provide adaptive management outcomes for sensitive
environments with complex hydrologic issues.
According to the Judges’ comments, the project
received high scoring due to a range of measures
undertaken:
\ Design and application of a staged restoration
approach
\ Detailed hydrodynamic modelling to test and fine-
tune tidal inundation extent and hydraulic controls
across the wetland during design,
\ Design, construction and application of innovative
on-ground engineering works.
\ Effective adaptive management of habitat type and
extent through remote and on-ground monitoring
\ Enhanced ecosystem services to the wider
community through increased fisheries and bird
populations.
The School also received the highest honour awarded
for the Education and Training category – for the
innovative MEngSc in project management specifically
developed for industry partners Leighton Holdings.
Congratulations to Professor David Carmichael and the
academic and professional staff team at CVEN, as well
as to our partners at Leighton Holdings, in particular
Iain Scoular – General Manager, Group Services, Kathy
Baker – Group Manager, Talent and Diversity, and
Janette Stewart – Masters Coordinator.
The Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation
– rCITI’s project for instrumented vehicle technology
also reached the finals in two categories; Research
and development and, Welfare, Health and Safety. Our
congratulations to Professor Travis Waller, Dr Vinayak
Dixit, Dr Zhitao Xiong (pictured above) and their GoGet
Carshare partners for their cutting edge work.
THE BIG PICTURE12
In January the School played co-host - along with
Standards Australia – to more than 100 delegates
from 20 countries for the 20th Plenary meeting of ISO/
TC International Organization for Standardization –
Technical Committee 71 – Concrete, reinforced concrete
and pre-stressed concrete.
“The week of meetings, workshops and networking
events got the year off to a great start” said Professor
Stephen Foster, Head of School.
The work of ISO/TC 71 operates to develop standards
in the technology of concrete, of the design and
construction of concrete, reinforced concrete and pre-
stressed concrete structures. This ensures progressive
development both in quality and in price reduction; and
of definitions and terms, as well as testing procedures,
to facilitate international exchange of research work.
Established in 1949 and with 36 full participating
members, this committee has been involved in the
development of 34 International Standards.
The seven working groups of this technical committee
are currently working on a number of important projects
relating to:
\ Test methods for concrete;
\ Concrete production and execution of concrete
structures;
\ Performance requirements for structural concrete;
\ Simplified design standard for concrete structures;
\ Non-traditional reinforcing materials for concrete
structures;
\ Maintenance and repair of concrete structures; and
\ Environmental management for concrete and
concrete structures.
Standards Australia acknowledged the contribution of
the Australian mirror committees to ISO/TC 71, including
the work of BD-002 Concrete Structures.
BD-002 Concrete Structures is a committee
constituted of industry associations, concrete and
steel professionals, government, consulting engineers,
regulators and consumer groups. These committee
members have worked together to provide a valuable
contribution to the development of International
Concrete Standards.
SETTING INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
THE BIG PICTURE 13
SNAP LAB RELAUNCHEDEarth scientists today can
measure the motion of the
continents and the rupture
of the ground after an
earthquake to centimetre
accuracy… and anyone
can navigate to a party on
a Saturday night using their
mobile phone. All rely on
the extraordinary Global
Positioning System (GPS), a
satellite-based technology
critical to the functioning of
a modern society.
For over 20 years the Satellite Navigation and
Positioning (SNAP) Laboratory at UNSW has been
Australia’s premier academic group conducting
research on wireless, ground-based and satellite-
based positioning technologies and applications. This
concentration of researchers was originally located
within the School of Surveying & Geospatial Engineering
(SAGE). Following the merger of SAGE with the School
of Civil & Environmental Engineering the SNAP Lab was
relaunched in mid-2014 as a collaborative research
initiative between the Schools of Civil & Environmental
Engineering (CVEN) and Electrical Engineering &
Telecommunications (EET).
For the first time in Australia, positioning research will
be conducted in a cross-disciplinary environment,
combining expertise in geodesy, surveying & geospatial
science on the one hand, with that of electronics,
signal processing and space engineering. The latter
drawn principally from the Australian Centre for Space
Engineering Research within EET. The co-directors
of the SNAP Lab are Professor Chris Rizos (CVEN -
pictured) and Professor Andrew Dempster (ACSER/
EET). The SNAP web site is at http://www.snap.unsw.
edu.au.
GPS is a positioning, navigation and timing (PNT)
system that has since the early 1980s revolutionised
the geoscience of geodesy, the engineering field of
surveying, the geospatial discipline, and all forms of
navigation (land, sea, air and space). Furthermore, as
a result of the revolution wrought by the introduction
of GPS, positioning and navigation has increasingly
become a critical technology for machine automation,
emergency services, military operations, rapid mapping,
transport management, and personal mobility, to name
but a few PNT applications. Nowadays there are several
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) deployed or
under development, and include in addition to the US’s
GPS, Russia’s GLONASS, Europe’s Galileo and China’s
BeiDou.
Notable achievements and unique characteristics of the
SNAP Lab include:
\ Development of a fully functional FPGA-based
GNSS receiver known as “Namuru”, that is today the
basis of research into future GNSS for a wide range
of ground and spaceborne applications.
\ Unique signal processing expertise for
multipath analysis, RF interference detection
and self-interference mitigation, signal strength
measurement, GNSS-reflectometry, and structural
deformation monitoring.
\ Operating several permanent GNSS receivers at
UNSW, including a Galileo tracking receiver, as well
as a reference receiver station in the CORSnet-NSW.
\ Addressing the requirements for indoor, UAV and
vehicle-to-vehicle positioning, by conducting
research into the use of a variety of technologies,
singly or in multi-sensor integrated systems.
\ More than 1400 archived papers available from
the SNAP website, the majority on positioning and
navigation topics.
Today the new SNAP Lab continues to make its mark
in the field of wireless, ground and satellite positioning
and navigation.
THE BIG PICTURE14
CRAIG ROBERTS: INDUSTRY RECOGNISES GREAT TEACHINGThere are many, many kinds of teachers. Dr Craig
Roberts is the kind who is not afraid to use novelty and
humour to communicate important ideas. His classes
may be transformed into a quiz show, using competition
to stimulate learning. Perhaps an impromptu fashion
parade to demonstrate appropriate surveying footwear.
He has a ‘constant desire to find new ways of presenting;
new media, new exercises and new approaches.’ Then
he actively searches for student feedback to ensure these
innovative methods are ‘hitting the mark.’ This ebullient
and entertaining teacher is held dear by students who
consistently rate him as an outstanding teacher. Craig’s
remarkable teaching continues to be applauded also
by the national surveying industry, who awarded him
the 2014 SSSI (Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute)
National Award for Education Development. This follows
on his winning the 2014 NSW award for Education
Development announced at the NSW Spatial Excellence
Awards.
PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE
In November, Patricia McLaughlin was awarded the
Faculty Professional Staff of the Year for her service to
our post-graduate students. As HoS Steve Foster noted,
‘Pattie has contributed to the success of our School
over many years and in many ways. I cannot think of a
more deserving winner – I know all will share with me in
congratulating Pattie on this fantastic achievement!’
THE BIG PICTURE 15
SCHOOL FOCUSES ON TEACHING
With the School’s continuing focus on promoting,
acknowledging and rewarding a culture of teaching
excellence, six academic staff (pictured) were awarded
School Teaching Initiative Grants for 2014.
Dr Steven Davis’s work is on continuing online
assessment of graphical modelling programs in project
management postgraduate courses. Many engineering
problems require that students be able to think in terms
of graphic models in order to solve them. With these
tools students will be required to think at the modelling
level and not just about how to apply mathematics to
premade models.
Dr Fiona Johnson plans to develop hydrology/water
resources engineering online assessment tasks for third
year students. One outcome will be that the assignment
questions can be expanded to allow students to move
from just analysing data to evaluating the implications of
different evaporation estimates.
Associate Professor Stuart Khan will purchase new
equipment to provide postgraduate coursework
students with three practical ‘Hands-on’ Water Quality
Analysis Laboratory classes – along with a new
specifically designed and comprehensive laboratory
handbook.
Stephen Moore and Professor Richard Stuetz are
involved in a one day Sustainable Infrastructure
Showcase Event working with fourth year students.
In 2014 this involved looking at the environmental
issues associated with the proposed Ranger uranium
mine extension in Kakadu. In addition to this, students
designed more sustainable infrastructure to support
the transformation of the nearby town of Jabiru into an
ecotourism destination by the year 2030.
This event featured student posters and discussions,
with visiting high school students welcomed during the
day and alumni and industry colleagues in the evening.
Stephen and Richard are also involved in creating
scenario based eLearning – analysing and developing
of water/wastewater process treatment flowsheets: This
is just the first part of a planned building of more online
learning objects and systems that can be shared across
different CVEN classes and at different levels.
Finally, Dr Hamid Valipour aims to enhance the student
learning experience in structural design by using
podcasts – focusing on practical design of steel and
reinforced concrete structures to complement current
teaching materials and delivery in both undergraduate
and postgraduate courses.
L-R Steve Davis, Richard Stuetz, Fiona Johnson. Stephen Moore, Hamid Valipour (Absent: Stuart Khan)
THE BIG PICTURE16
WATER RESEARCH SHOWING REAL PROMISEJust take a drop of arsenic, a little nitrate and fluoride
then add salt……………….!!!!!
This might be a recipe to cure all ills or, more likely,
create all ills. The reality is that these contaminants are
present in many of the groundwaters used to supply
remote communities in Australia, China, India and many
other places deprived of frequent, fresh rainfall. Such
contaminants must be removed before these waters are
fit for human (or even animal or plant) consumption.
The trouble is that low cost, robust, sustainable
technologies for doing just this are few and far between.
Reverse osmosis membrane treatment is an option but
is expensive at small scale and can be
challenging to maintain in its operating
condition.
Researchers from the School’s Water
Research Centre, Dr Peter Kovalsky and
Professor David Waite (pictured), with
input from doctoral student Wangwang
Tang, are refining technologies based
on use of electrochemistry – including
capacitive deionisation (CDI) and
electrodialysis reversal (EDR) – to treat
such waters.
These techniques involve attracting
charged ions to electrodes of opposite
charge (sodium to the cathode
and arsenic, nitrate, fluoride and chloride to the
anode) resulting in treated water with much reduced
concentrations of contaminants.
The beauty of the CDI technique in particular is that it
can potentially, with a little R&D, be operated using solar
energy. Even better, this energy, after being used to
remove the charged contaminants from the water, could
potentially be recaptured and used again. Research is
continuing into refining the technology for this purpose.
These exciting possibilities have been recognised by
Tata Trusts, the philanthropic arm of Tata Corporation
in India, who have agreed to support R&D by UNSW in
this area with the promise of developing technologies
that could be used in Indian village communities to treat
brackish, contaminated groundwaters and render these
waters fit for use.
THE BIG PICTURE 17
L-R: Prof Richard Stuetz, A/Prof Bill Peirson (staff) - PhD graduates Dr Di He, Dr Thi Thanh Trang Trinh, Dr Russell Yap, Dr Juan Pablo Alvarez Gaitan - (with staff) A/Prof Stuart Khan, Dr Rita Henderson.
PhD SCHOLARSIn 2014 a record number of PhD scholars – 40 in total -
graduated from the School in what is believed to be the
largest amount of PhD graduates in any one year by a
UNSW School.
Our 40 graduates – including 9 women – have
delivered new ideas, insights, information and
research excellence to the global engineering and
scientific communities in a number of fields including
construction, engineering management, geotechnical
engineering, geospatial engineering, hydrology,
materials, ocean engineering, structural engineering,
surveying, sustainability, transport, waste management
and water treatment.
Their achievements and those of their leading research
supervisors begin to approach critical scholarly mass
– certainly the School now provides one of the largest,
consistent and top quality contributions towards civil,
environmental and geospatial engineering knowledge
across Australasia and the world.
A full list of our 2014 PhD graduates, topics and
supervisors are on p45.
We congratulate them all.
THE BIG PICTURE18
In 2014, after nearly 9 years as Director of Water
Research Laboratory, and 30 years of service to the
School, Associate Professor Bill Peirson resigned
his position to take up a new opportunity as Dean of
Residents at UNSW’s New College. The new WRL
director is Professor Ian Turner.
Bill Peirson first joined the School as an undergraduate
student completing a double degree in Civil Engineering
and Science. In 1987 he completed a CVEN Masters
degree in Engineering Science, then moved on to a PhD
in Mathematics and Ocean Engineering
As a teacher of undergraduate and post graduate
students, Dr Peirson has shared his expertise in water
engineering and numerical modelling, constantly
re-invigorating his units with new teaching materials
and methods. As a researcher he has published
prolifically in wave dynamics, coastal structures,
water management systems, hydraulics and estuarine
processes.
But perhaps Bill’s career is best articulated in the
development of a 30 year association with the Water
Research Laboratory. In 1983 he became a WRL
Engineer, in 1990 he was promoted to Senior Engineer.
In 1998 he took on the huge job of WRL Business
Manager. Finally, he became Director in 2006. While he
was Director the WRL celebrated its fiftieth anniversary
– in 2009: an amazing story of resilience and growth.
Bill Peirson’s commitment to and affection for WRL
and CVEN are clearly evident in this journey. One of
the things he prizes most highly about his long term
association is the generosity of teachers, supervisors
and mentors who became colleagues, many of
them dear friends. He became of a community who
understand and support each other.
This collegiality is also one of the reasons the WRL
has flourished. Dr Peirson recognised this as one the
organisation’s great strengths. “It is a special place, a
community. Everybody helps”. Building on the firm base
of industry-supported research created by the previous
director, Associate Professor Ron Cox, Bill guided a
research transformation at WRL. Big picture, blue-sky
research expanded significantly during his directorship,
often funded by ARC grants, supported proactive
projects worth millions of dollars. This forward thinking
approach acknowledged the greatest challenge that
faces civil and environmental engineers in Australia:
how do we re-think future strategies for a sustainable
future.
So he was delighted when the WRL helped secure the
37th International Conference on Coastal Engineering
for Sydney. The success of this bid is testament to an
ever expanding and international profile of leadership
and innovation.
Bill Peirson has always recognised that it is the
individuals that drive complex systems. As all
industries become more globalised, career trajectories
have moved away from the local toward international
networks. Bill has recognised the great need to support
students navigate the anxieties that globalisation brings.
His new position as Dean of New College offers him the
opportunity to re-connect with young students in need
of the ballast that experience can offer. He can offer
them a genuinely interested ear and gentle advice. He
seems already at home at New College. As he walks
around students greet him and he knows their names
and their achievements.
The professional association between the School and
Bill will persist. He will continue as an Adjunct Fellow
and the close personal and professional ties formed
over thirty years cannot be broken. The School of Civil
and Environmental Engineering would like to thank
Bill Peirson not only for his many contributions and
achievements, but for his kindness, his ethics and his
collegiality. He will be missed.
A SEA CHANGE FOR BILL PEIRSON
OUR PEOPLE
OUR PEOPLE20
Acworth, R. Ian Director, Connected Waters Initiative Gary Johnston Professor of Water ManagementBSc Leeds, MSc PhD Birm, FGS
Research Interests: Investigation of groundwater dynamics & hydrochemical processes in the coastal zone: Development of field instrumentation & analysis methods in groundwater studies: Electrical methods in the investigation of groundwater & salinity: Relationship between Palaeoclimate & dryland salinity.
Akbarnezhad, AliLecturerBE AUT, Tehran, PhD NUS
Research Interests: Sustainable Construction: Sustainability Assessment: Information Modelling: Construction Technology: Non-Destructive Tests: Health Monitoring: Concrete Technology: Design for Deconstruction
Andersen, MartinSenior LecturerMSc in Engineering, PhD DTU, Denmark
Research Interests: Investigations of physical & geochemical processes at the surface water groundwater interface; groundwater dynamics in the coastal zone; reactive flow & transport modelling; developing methodologies for using heat as a tracer of groundwater flow; karst hydrology.
Attard, MarioAssociate ProfessorAssociate Head – AcademicBE PhD MHEd UNSW, MIEAust, CPEng
Research Interests: Finite Strain Isotropic & Anisotropic Hyperelastic Modelling: Fracture in Concrete & Masonry: Crack Propagation due to Creep: Ductility of High Strength Concrete Columns: Buckling of Sandwich Columns: Lateral Buckling of Thin-Walled Beams.
Birk, CarolinLecturerBEng DEng Dresden
Research Interests: Numerical modelling of wave propagation in unbounded domains: Soil-structure interaction, fluid-structure interaction: Longitudinal railway track-structure interaction: Artificial boundary conditions for diffusion: Fractional calculus.
Carmichael, D GProfessorBE MEngSc USyd, PhD Cant, CPEng, FIEAust, MASC
Research Interests: Management, systems applications of optimisation, synthesis: Identification & analysis: Contracts & disputes: Project delivery: Construction operations: Project management & management functional areas including risk, economics, finances, people resources & scope: Construction management: Problem solving & decision making.
Castel, ArnaudAssociate ProfessorBE, MEngSc, PhD Toulouse
Research Interests: Durability of construction materials - Steel corrosion in concrete, concrete pathologies, SCM’s: Concrete construction in chloride environment -Performance & service life design of reinforced/prestressed concrete affected by steel corrosion: Repair & Strengthening using CFRP - Failure analysis & modelling of CFRP strengthened beams including reinforcing steel corrosion.
CVEN ACADEMICS 2014
Cox, RonAssociate ProfessorCo-Chair, External RelationsConvenor, ACCARNSIBE PhD UNSW, FIEAust
Research Interests: Climate change adaptation for settlements & infrastructure: Coastal engineering & coastal zone management: Stability, design & safety of coastal structures: Application of sand filled geo-containers in coastal protection: Environmental monitoring & modelling: Desalination plant brine disposal: Hydraulics of water & wastewater treatment plants: Flood hydraulics & floodplain management: Life safety, emergency warning & evacuation.
Davis, SteveLecturerChair, Teaching & Learning CommitteeBE PhD UNSW
Research Interests: Stochastic Systems: Evolutionary Programming: Parallel Computing Applications to Civil Engineering: Online Assessments
Dixit, VinayakSenior LecturerMT Institute of Technology, Delhi, PhD University of Central Florida
Research Interests: Behaviour under Risk & Uncertainty in Transportation Systems: Transportation Modelling & Simulation: Traffic Flow Theory: Traffic Safety: Workzone Management Strategies: Experimental Economics.
Douglas, KurtPells Sullivan Meynink Senior Lecturer of Rock Mechanics, Co–Chair External RelationsBE (Hons1)USyd, PhD UNSW
My main interests lie in the field of rock mechanics. Predicting strengths of large-scale rock masses (hundreds of meters) continues to be a major challenge. I am attempting to improve our understanding using laboratory tests, field studies & numerical methods. I am also currently involved in an ARC & Industry sponsored project researching erosion of rock spillways & backward erosion of embankment dams.
Felder, StefanLecturerDipl.-Ing. RWTH Aachen, PhD UQ
Stefan is an expert in hydraulic engineering and environmental fluid mechanics. His research interests include: Physical modelling of turbulent flows; Design optimisation of hydraulic structures; Energy dissipation and aeration in high-velocity free-surface flows and hydraulic jumps; Air-water mass transfer across hydraulic structures; Design of instrumentation and advanced data processing tools.
Foster, StephenProfessorHead of SchoolBE NSWIT, MEngSc PhD UNSW, MIEAustdf
Research Interests: I research the behav-iour of structural systems (buildings and bridges) constructed of reinforced and prestressed concrete. I’m particu-larly interested in bringing new and advanced materials technologies to the engineering of structures. My interests are in the use of high and ultra-high performance concretes, fibre-reinforced concretes and geopolymer concretes and in use of carbon fibre technologies for strengthening and repair of structures and structural systems. I develop physical-mechanical models for use in advanced computational and numerical tools such as FEM and for their use in the study of behaviour of concrete structures that are subjected to extreme events such as overload, fire, impact and blast loading.
OUR PEOPLE 21
Gao, WeiAssociate ProfessorBE HDU, ME PhD Xidian, MIIAV, MAAS
Research Interests: Uncertain modelling & uncertain methods: Vehicle-bridge interaction dynamics: Wind and/or seismic induced random vibration: Train-rail-sleeper-foundation-tunnel/bridge system: Stochastic nonlinear system: Vehicle dynamics & vehicle rollover: Structural optimization & control: Smart structures: Stability & reliability analysis.
Gardner, LaurenLecturerBS ArchE, MSE, PhD University of Texas at Austin
Research Interests: Network modelling for multi-domain integrated systems: congestion pricing models accounting for uncertainty, the role of real-time information & adaptive pricing: Sustainability models integrating transportation & electricity systems: developing network-based optimization models to predict the role of global transport systems in the spread of contagious disease.
Ge, LinlinAssociate ProfessorBE, MSc Wuhan, PhD UNSW
Research Interests: I combine remote sensing with GPS & GIS to produce cost-effective & highly reliable maps. Integrating radar & optical remote sensing with GPS & GIS, we measure the subtle change on the surface of the Earth with minimum latency using data collected from satellite, airborne & UAV platforms.
Hamed, EhabSenior LecturerBSc MSc PhD Technion
Research Interests: Viscoelasticity of concrete & composite materials, Creep buckling of concrete domes & shells, Strengthening of concrete & masonry structures with composite materials (FRP), Nonlinear dynamics of concrete structures.
Harvey, BruceSenior LecturerBSurv (Hons 1), GradDip Higher Ed, PhD UNSW
Research Interests: Least Squares analysis of surveying measurements is my main interest, but I also investigate alternative analysis methods & the latest measurement technologies. Are there better ways to analyse surveying measurements & can we improve Least Squares, L1 norm & topological grid searches?
Johnson, FionaLecturerBE, PhD UNSW
Research Interests: statistical hydrology & modelling; climate change impacts on water resources systems; bias correction methods that can be applied to climate model simulations; models for design rainfalls & flooding; models for regionalisation of rainfall data, questions on stationarity of large to extreme rainfalls & the impacts of climate change on these events & the resulting implications for engineering design.
Khalili, Nasser Professor Associate Dean, Research BSc Teh, MSc Birm, PhD UNSW
Research Interests: Mechanics of unsaturated soils: Flow & deformation in double porosity media: Numerical methods applied to geotechnical engineering: Pavement engineering.
Khan, StuartAssociate ProfessorBSc (Hons 1) USyd, PhD UNSW, MIEAust.
Research Interests: Advanced Water & Wastewater Treatment & Analysis: Trace Chemical Contaminants in Water: Chemical Risk Assessment: Probabilistic Chemical Exposure Assessment: Water Recycling & Seawater Desalination: Sustainability Assessment & Risk Assessment: Environmental Fate Modelling: Water Quality Impacts of Extreme Weather Conditions.
Khoshghalb, ArmanLecturerBEng, MEng, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, PhD UNSW
Research Interests: large deformation analysis in geomechanics, advanced numerical methods in geomechanics, mechanics of unsaturated soils & coupled analysis of porous media.
Lim, SamsungAssociate Professor BA, MA (Mathematics) Seoul, PhD U Texas at Austin
Research Interests: I conduct geospatial information science & research that allow us to improve the way we view, understand, design, plan, manage, analyse, interpret, & extract spatio-temporal information such as patterns & trends of geospatial data. I investigate spatial information extraction from lidar (known as light detection & ranging) & aerial/satellite data e.g. data segmentation & classification, digital elevation modelling, feature extraction, building edge detection, & change detection.
Moore, StephenDirector, Environmental Engineering StudiesBE UNSW, MEngSc Adel., CPEng, MIEAust
Research Interests: Development of environmental material accounting techniques, such as Material Flux Analysis, for regional & corporate environmental management systems; Simulation & decision analysis applied to waste management systems.
Peirson, WilliamAssociate Professor Director, Water Research LaboratoryCo-Director, Water Research CentreBE BSc MEngSc PhD UNSW
Bill is an international expert in Civil & Environmental Engineering fluid mechanics & undertakes specialist research in the fields of coastal engineering, air-sea & air-water interaction & exchange, fluvial hydraulics, estuarine processes & the hydraulics & mechanical behaviour of turbomachines.
Rashidi, Taha HosseinLecturerBSc MSc Sharif UT Tehran; PhD UI Chicago
Research Interests: Travel Behaviour Analysis: Transportation Planning: Activity-Based Travel Demand Modeling: Housing Search & Land Use Modelling: Integrated Land-Use & Transportation Models: Goods Movement Modelling: Microsimulation Modeling Methods for Urban Activities.
Rizos, ChrisProfessorBSurv (Hons), PhD UNSW
Research Interests: How geospatial technology such as satellite-based positioning, modern geodesy & digital mapping is used for science, & by society in general; Political issues related to GNSS and geospatial information management; Modern geodesy’s technologies & applications; Australia’s new mapping datum; The technology & applications of satellite-, wireless- & inertial-based sensors for high accuracy positioning; The use of GNSS (GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS) for all classes of uses from Navigation to Geodesy; GNSS receiver design; GNSS positioning infrastructure.
Roberts, CraigSenior LecturerBSurv, University of South Australia, PhD UNSW
Research Interests: High precision GPS/GNSS positioning and leveraging CORS infrastructure for practical application to surveying and geospatial engineering. The implications of kinematic 3D datum modernisation for professional and mass market users. GPS for cadastral surveying. Kinematic positioning with robotic total stations.
OUR PEOPLE22
Russell, AdrianAssociate ProfessorChair, Technical ServicesBE, PhD UNSW, PGCert Bristol
Research Interests: Unsaturated soils: Fibre reinforced soils: Particle crushing in granular media: In situ testing of soils: Constitutive modelling of soils: Wind turbine foundations.
Senetakis,Kostas Lecturer Dipl. Civil Engineering, MSc and PhD, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki
Expertise in Earthquake Engineering, Experimental Soil Dynamics and Micro-mechanics. Main research interests: Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering: Experimental Soil Mechanics and Dynamics: Pavement Engineering: Engineering Geology: Particulate Media - Micromechanics of Soils - Contact Mechanics & Tribology: Fracture Mechanics.
Shen, Johnson XuesongLecturerBEng, MSc Nanjing, PhD Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Research interests: - Rapid As-Built Field Modelling in Construction;- Sustainable Construction Operations;- Construction Automation and Robotics;- Structural Health Monitoring;- Dynamic Data-Driven Project Management
Song, ChongminProfessorChair, Computing ServicesBE ME Tsinghua, DEng Tokyo
Research Interests: Scaled Boundary Finite-Element Method: Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction: Structural Dynamics & Earthquake Engineering: Wave Propagation: Fracture Mechanics: Elasto-Plastic-Damage Constitutive Modelling: Finite Element Method, Boundary Element Method.
Stuetz, RichardProfessorCo-Director, Water Research CentreBSc, PhD UNSW
Research Interests: On-line instrumentation for monitoring water & wastewater quality: Biological monitoring for process control: Biotreatment of odours & volatile emissions: Bioprocesses for water & wastewater treatment: Biodegradation of micropollutants.
Taiebat, HosseinSenior Lecturer PhD USyd
Research Interests: Behaviour of embankment dams under earthquake loading: Large deformation analysis and post failure deformation of slopes and embankments: Bearing capacity of foundations on unsaturated soils: Caisson foundations: Vertically loaded anchors: Shallow foundations under combined loading: Numerical modelling & liquefaction analysis.
Tangaramvong, Sawekchai (Ball)LecturerBEng, Chulalongkorn, MEngSc, PhD UNSW, Grad Cert (Ed) RMIT
Research interests: Development of advanced computational models & analyses of practically-motivated inelastic structures. Optimal design of new structures & cost-effective rehabilitation of damaged ones. Adoption of integrated (complementarity) mathematical programming & nonlinear engineering mechanics concept to map the complete responses of structures in the presence of elastoplastic strain-softening materials, high-order geometric nonlinearity, limited ductility, nonassociativity, contact, high-impact loading & uncertainty.
Turner, IanProfessorBSc (Hons) USyd, MEnvEngSc UNSW, PhD USyd
Research Interests: Coastal Engineering & Coastal Management; Innovative coastal measurement & monitoring techniques; Sediment transport at the beachface; Modelling of coastline variability & change spanning storm, seasonal, annual & decadal time-scales; Assessment of coastline adjustment to a changing climate.
Uy, BrianProfessor & Director of CIESBE (Hons 1), PhD UNSW
Research Interests: Composite steel-concrete structures, critical infrastructure protection systems, deconstruction techniques, rehabilitation & strengthening techniques, steel structures, structural health monitoring, structural systems, sustainable construction materials.
Valipour, HamidSenior LecturerBE, MEngSc, PhD UNSW
Research Interests: Structural Mechanics including reinforced concrete & steel, steel-concrete, timber & timber-concrete composite materials: Behaviour of structures subjected to extreme loading scenarios such as seismic action, critical member loss, impact, blast and explosion: Computational mechanics and non-linear finite element modelling of structures: Constitutive modelling of concrete and timber.
Vandebona, UpaliSenior LecturerBSc (Eng) Ceylon, MEng AIT, PhD Monash
Research Interests: Modelling of Transport Systems: Development of simulation & animation models for light rail train systems & bus services. Facility Location: Environmental considerations related to transport facility location: Demand Modelling: Analysis of public awareness & attitudes related to transport systems: Air Transport: Intelligent Transport Systems: Signage systems.
Waite, T David Scientia Professor BSc Tas, GradDip RMIT, MAppSc Monash, PhD MIT, FRACI
Research Interests: Separation processes involving colloids & particles in water & wastewater treatment; redox chemistry at the solid-solution interface; photochemistry in aquatic systems; hydrogeochemistry; theoretical & experimental studies on the fate & effects of chemical pollutants; interactions between trace elements & microbiota in aquatic systems.
Waller, S TravisEvans & Peck Professor of Transport InnovationChair, Research Management CmteBSc Ohio State, MSc, PhD Northwestern
Research Interests: Transportation network modelling, particularly systems characterized by dynamics, uncertainty & information; large-scale integrated transport optimization & planning. Specific applications or problem domains include Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA), routing algorithm development, network equilibrium, stochastic optimization, integrated demand/supply modelling, network design, adaptive equilibrium, system analysis of public-private partnerships, & bi-level optimization of transport networks.
Wang, JinlingAssociate ProfessorBSc, MSc Wuhan, PhD Curtin
Research Interests: Global Navigation Satellite Systems - GNSS (GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou System-BDS) & Their Integration: Multi-Sensor Integration for Positioning, Mapping & Navigation: Statistical Theory & Its Applications in Positioning, Mapping & Navigation.
Wiedmann, TommyAssociate ProfessorMSc, PhD Ulm
My main research question is how to achieve human wellbeing without increasing environmental impacts. My expertise is in integrated sustainability assessment & environmental footprint analysis. I develop & apply environmental input-output analysis as part of a holistic concept to life cycle assessment, industrial ecology & sustainable consumption & production research.
OUR PEOPLE 23
Bradford, MarkARC Laureate Fellow UNSW Scientia Professor BSc BE PhD USyd, DSc UNSW, CPEng, CEng, MASCE, FIEAust, MIStructE
Research Interests: Structures subjected to elevated temperatures, curved members, arches, steel structures, composite steel-concrete structures, concrete structures, numerical methods, stability, viscoelastic effects, non-discretisation techniques, design codes, structural retrofit.
Garg, ShikhaARC DECRA FellowSenior Research Associate UNSW Water Research Centre
Research interests: Extracellular electron transfer: Biogeochemical process :Environmental microbiology : Pollutant transformation
Murphy, KathleenSenior Research Associate UNSW Water Research Centre
Thai, Huu-Tai Research FellowCentre for Infrastructure, Engineering & Safety (CIES)
Current research: assessing the system reliability of concrete-filled steel tubular frames designed by advanced analysis.
Xiaomin LiARC DECRA Fellow Water Research Centre (WRC)
Research interests: Extracellular electron transfer: Biogeochemical process: Environmental microbiology : Pollutant transformation
Zhao, GaofengARC DECRA FellowCentre for Infrastructure, Engineering & Safety (CIES
Research: investigation of fracturing rock using the microscopic and macroscopic coupled numerical model, e.g. Distinct Lattice Spring Model (DLSM), Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM), and Particle based Manifold Method (PMM).
Bellie, SivakumarAssociate Professor ARC Future Fellow UNSW Water Research Centre
Research Interests: Water resources assessment, planning, and management. Sivakumar’s research focuses on simplification and generalization in hydrologic modeling, especially using nonlinear dynamic and scaling theories
Collins, RichardARC Future Fellow UNSW Water Research Centre
Research Interests: Environmental Molecular Geochemistry of trace elements (metals, metalloids and actinides) in both natural and engineered systems. Richard’s research covers aspects related to metal(loid) bioavailability and speciation, redox chemistry and biogeochemical transformations assessed through field/laboratory studies, computational approaches (e.g. DFT) and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy.
Marshall, LucySenior Lecturer & ARC Future FellowBE, MEngSc, PhD UNSW
Research Interests: I use computer models to simulate rainfall & runoff processes in catchments, working to improve hydrologic forecasts through improved catchment model structures & methods for model calibration & uncertainty assessment. I quantify new conceptualizations of hydrologic processes & develop methods for model diagnostics & uncertainty analysis (especially via Bayesian statistics & multi-model methods).
Sharma, AshishProfessor ARC Future FellowBE Roorkee, MTech IIT Delhi, PhD Utah State
Research Interests: Stochastic hydrology: Synthetic generation of seasonal streamflow; Medium to long-term probabilistic forecasting: Stochastic downscaling of hydrologic variables under climate change scenarios: Radar rainfall estimation: Rainfall runoff model & parameter uncertainty assessment in a Bayesian framework: Water Resources Management: new developments in statistics to solve water problems.
ARC LAUREATE ARC DECRA & POST DOC FELLOWS
ARC FUTURE FELLOWS
OUR PEOPLE24
CVEN WELCOMES
Dr Stefan FelderDipl.-Ing. RWTH Aachen, PhD UQ
In 2014 the School welcomed Dr Stefan Felder as an
academic member of staff and one who will further
strengthen our Water Research Laboratory’s hydraulic
engineering competencies. Stefan is an expert in
turbulent free-surface flows, and his current research
interests include transitional open-channel flows and
air-water flows in hydraulic structures. He has broad
international experience gained at major hydraulic
laboratories in Germany, the UK and Australia and is
expanding his research into spillway flows using the
unique, large-scale facilities available at WRL.
His PhD thesis was titled: Air-Water Flow Properties on
Stepped Spillways for Embankment Dams: Aeration,
Energy Dissipation and Turbulence on Uniform, Non-
Uniform and Pooled Stepped Chutes. Stefan won
the UQ Dean’s Award for Research Higher Degree
Excellence in 2013.
Dr Kostas SenetakisDipl. Civil Engineering, MSc, PhD, Aristotle University
Dr Kostas Senetakis is a new Lecturer in Geotechnical
Engineering at the School. His current research theme is
the laboratory study of energy dissipation mechanisms
of particulate media with a focus on shear wave
velocities, Poisson’s phenomena and material damping
of crushable assemblies. This provides a fundamental
link into the behavior of the ground subjected to variable
types of dynamic loading, including seismic vibration.
Dr Senetakis hopes his research will provide a clearer
link between the dynamics and behaviour of particles
in crushable soils on the nano-scale (observed in
micromechanical experiments) and the macro-scale
response (observed in laboratory element testing). “We
are working towards the advancement of our knowledge
associated with the mechanics and dynamics of soils
and a framework for specifications and design codes,’
he explains, ‘that engineers can use in real foundation
or pavement engineering design.’
OUR PEOPLE 25
CVEN SPONSORSThanks:
Several School academic positions
are currently funded through the
generosity of industry including:
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) – a public research
organisation – provides funding
support for a Senior Research Fellow
(Dr Andrew Kinsela) at the School’s
Water Research Centre whose work
on trace element (metal, metalloid
and actinide) environmental
chemistry – aims for aquatic and soil
remediation.
Evans & Peck - an international
infrastructure-based advisory
company – established a new
Chair in 2010 – the Evans & Peck
Professor for Transport Innovation.
Professor S Travis Waller now leads
a new and expanding Faculty–wide
Research Centre for Integrated
Transport Innovation (RCITI) based
in the School. In 2014 Evans & Peck
became Advisian.
Gary Johnston provides funding
support for the Gary Johnston
Professor of Water Management, a
joint Chair between the School of
Civil and Environmental Engineering
and the School of Biology, Earth and
Environmental Sciences (BEES) in
the Faculty of Science, which is held
by the School’s groundwater expert
Professor Ian Acworth.
Pells Sullivan Meynink Pty Ltd,
a high profile firm of specialist
geotechnical consultants, provide
funding support for the position
of Pells Sullivan Meynink Senior
Lecturer of Rock Mechanics, Dr
Kurt Douglas.
MORE WELCOMES & CVEN PROMOTIONS
In 2014 the School also welcomed
new professional and technical staff
– Lena Comino as Administrative
Officer for the Student Centre,
Tim Weston as Technical Officer,
and Danny Wu as part of the
School’s Finance team. All have
quickly become part of the CVEN
hardworking, efficient and ‘go-to’
professional team.
In September 2014 Dr Wei
Gao, senior lecturer in structural
engineering, and expert in
computational mechanics was
promoted to Associate Professor.
In November, Associate Professor
Ian Turner, coastal engineering
expert, Postgraduate Research
Student Coordinator, and Deputy
Director of the Water Research
Laboratory, was promoted to
Professor.
As Head of School, Professor
Stephen Foster noted, this is due
acknowledgement and recognition
of the significant contribution that
Wei and Ian have made to their
fields of research, to teaching and
service to the School, Faculty and
profession.
In 2014 we farewelled academic
staff A/Prof Leonhard Bernold,
Dr Chris Blenkinsopp, and Dr
Gregoire Mariethoz. We wish
them all the very best for the
future.
CIVIL FAREWELLS:
We also farewelled technical
officer Richard Berndt who had
been with the School since 2003.
As A/Prof Adrian Russell noted at
Richard’s farewell, his positive and
‘can do’ attitude in a demanding
environment had helped the School
to continue to deliver outstanding
outcomes in teaching and research
at a time of trebling of activity in
our labs.
OUR PEOPLE26
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
STUDENT CENTRE
Julijana BaricStudent Centre Manager
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Les BrownAdministrative Assistant
Lena Comino Administrative Officer
Flora Fan Administrative Officer
Kristy GuiaStudent Services Officer
Olivia Huang Student Services Officer
Patricia McLaughlinAdministrative Officer
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Betty WongEA to Head of School
BUSINESS
Anthony DeverBusiness Manager
Lekana ToubiaAdministrative Officer - Finance
Danny Wu Administrative Assistant- Finance
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Dr Mary O’ConnellExternal Relations Manager
Tricia TesorieroExternal Relations Projects P/T
WEB / IT STAFF
Kate BrownWeb/IT Coordinator
Patrick VuongComputer Systems Officer
Xiaobo NiWeb Developer
PROFESSIONAL OFFICERS
Dr Gautam ChattopadhyayLaboratory Manager
Paul Gwynne Manager
Hugh McMullenOHS & Facilities Officer
Dr Yincai ZhouProfessional Officer SAGE
CENTRE MANAGERS
Irene Calaizis CIES
Maria LeerCITI
Grantley Smith WRL
Robert SteelWRC Kensington
SENIOR TECHNICAL OFFICERS
Anthony Macken
Rudino Salleh
William Terry
TECHNICAL OFFICERS
Richard Berndt
John Gilbert
Rob JenkinsWater Research Laboratory
Ron Moncay
Patricia KarwanWRC and CIES Administrative Assistant
OUR PEOPLE 27
RESEARCH, ADJUNCT AND VISITING ACADEMIC STAFF (SCHOOL)
Kelvin Chun H Ong
Larry Paice
Greg Worthing
Tim Weston
Emeritus ProfessorsJohn Black
Robin Fell
Ian Gilbert
Francis Tin Loi
John Trinder
Somasundaram Valliappan
VC’S Post-Doctoral Research FellowsAlfredo Anceno
Tongxu Liu
ANSTO Post-Doctoral Research FellowAndrew Kinsela
Research AssociateMohammad Choudhury
Post Doctoral FellowBinghao Li
Professorial Visiting FellowsBruce Forster
David Hui
Kourosh Kayvani
Arthur (Bill) Kearsley
Senior Visiting FellowsTieding Lu
Jean Rueger
Jianghan Zhu
Visiting FellowsChen Cai
Hiram Chavez
Alan Forghani
Peter Hidas
Atsuko Ikeda
Svitlana Ilnytska
Slavomir Krahulec
Adjunct ProfessorsScott Hensley
Matthew McCabe
Petrus Teunissen
Adjunct Associate ProfessorsJames Aldred
Alan Seed
Adjunct Senior LecturersKenneth Doust
Ramesh Govind
Gregoire Mariethoz
Adjunct LecturerChristopher Blenkinsopp
OUR PEOPLE28
STUDENT AND BUSINESS CENTRES
The School’s administration teams had a very
successful year in meeting the high demand for advice
and requests from all stakeholders associated with our
School.
In the Student Centre, Julijana welcomed the birth of
a healthy baby boy. Both mother and baby are doing
well. This led to Kristy Guia taking up the challenge
of managing the Centre in Julijana’s absence and
Lena Comino joining the team. We have also recently
welcomed Hannah Rizzo and Renata Melis who are
replacing Olivia Huang whilst on maternity leave and
Flora Fan who is on long service leave.
The Student Centre has continued to provide accurate,
reliable support and advice to our academic staff as
well as undergraduate and postgraduate students. All
staff have taken the initiative to be active learners and
strive to be experts in their current roles. This is clearly
demonstrated in the quality of their work and service to
all.
In the Business Centre, we implemented an online
Teaching Allocation System (TAS). The system allows
teaching staff, demonstrators and other teaching
assistants to view live data via a web browser with
administrator access to our staff via MS Access
Interface. Lekana Toubia became the coordinator of the
system and so Danny Wu joined the team to provide
financial support to the School. The Business team
continued to provide financial, administration, office
accommodation and other workplace support to staff
and students.
Our IT staff had a number of achievements in 2014. We
migrated our four Centres websites to Drupal 7 platform
with a uniform Engineering template complying with
UNSW Branding Guidelines. We launched an online
Demonstrator Casual Claim Form. This application is
now being used by over 150 sessional support staff
each semester and has replaced a paper based
system.
The IT team also launched an online Honours
Thesis submission and access system for current
undergraduate students and staff. We migrated the
GMAT server that contains surveying and geospatial
data to a new Virtual Machine and migrated all data and
images to other appropriate systems. The computer
laboratories were refurbished to cater for laboratory
classroom teaching with built-in AV equipment and
increased the capacity of Lab 201 from 40 seats to 57
seats.
Our teams are working on a number of projects as
we continue to look for process improvement and
efficiencies across all areas of the School, with our
ultimate aim of providing a high level of service to staff
and students.
Kristy Guia, Student Centre ManagerAnthony Dever, School Manager
L-R: Lena Comino, Kristy Guia, Renata Melis , Les Brown, Hannah Rizzo and Patricia McLaughlin
OUR RESEARCH
OUR RESEARCH30
RESEARCH MANAGEMENT REPORT
The School’s Research Management Committee (RMC)
manages and supports research activities within the
School, including research undertaken by both the
staff and the School’s postgraduate research students,
and liaises with and contributes directly to the Faculty’s
Research Management Committee. In 2014, the RMC
met every month to oversee and progress all research
related aspects of the School’s operation.
RMC Committee Membership 2014
Prof S. Travis Waller Chair, RMC & rCITI
Director
Prof Ian Turner Deputy Chair, Postgrad
Research Student
Coordinator, WRL
Research Director
A/Prof Samsung Lim Deputy Research Student
Coordinator
Prof Mark Bradford CIES Research Director
Prof Richard Stuetz WRC Co-Director
Prof Brian Uy CIES Director
Dr Martin Andersen CWI Representative
Dr Vinayak Dixit RCITI Representative
A/Prof Adrian Russell Practicum Scholarships
Dr Wei Gao Taste of Research
Coordinator
Prof David Carmichael
A/Prof Linlin Ge
Prof Ashish Sharma
Ms Patricia McLaughlin Admin
Postgraduate Research Student Management
An important aspect of the Committee’s work involves
the management of the School’s postgraduate research
student’s program. At the end of Semester 2 2014,
the School had 218 postgraduate research students
enrolled in either ME (23) or PhD (195) programs, as
well as having graduated a record number during the
year. Forty hardworking students – including 9 women
– were awarded the honour of a UNSW PhD in 2014 –
estimated to be the highest number of PhDs graduated
from any School in any one year in the history of UNSW.
We congratulate them all.
Management of this vital research activity within
the School involves the assessment of applications
to undertake higher degrees within the School, the
formulation of specific research plans for each student
accepted into the program, the nomination of suitable
supervisors, reviewing the progress of students at regular
intervals, making recommendations on progress to the
Faculty’s Higher Degree Committee, and finally nominating
examiners when the thesis is completed and, where
necessary, following up on the examination process.
Each student is assigned a review committee of three
academic staff chaired by a member of the RMC. The
review committee meets to interview the student and
supervisor(s) at 6 or 12 monthly intervals, depending
on the student’s progress, and, at these reviews, the
student is invited to present a brief seminar outlining
progress since the last review. Most academic staff and
several research only staff participated in the student
review panels in 2014. Much of the heavy work load
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in this area is carried by the School’s Postgraduate
Coordinator Professor Ian Turner and the Postgraduate
Research Student Administrator Ms Pattie McLaughlin,
who deservedly won the Faculty of Engineering
Professional Staff of the Year Award in 2014. Excellent
support was also provided to the Coordinator by A/
Prof Samsung Lim, who in 2014 took over a component
of that role in dealing with all HDC Admission and
Scholarships matters for the School. A big task.
Research Grants
The RMC also provides input to the preparation and
coordination of research grant applications. This
includes ranking the School’s applications for internal
Faculty Research Grants (FRGs) and UNSW Major
Research Equipment and Infrastructure Initiative
(MREIIs) and reviewing applications for competitive
external grants such as the Australian Research Council
(ARC) Grants and from industry.
In 2014 UNSW won the largest number of ARC grants
in the country – leading its peers in the Group of 8 – a
coalition of Australia’s leading research universities.
Not surprisingly 2014 also saw the School continue on
its ARC success story – winning a total of $4.15 million
in 7 Discovery, 1 Linkage, 1 LIEF and 1 Early Career
Researcher Grant – with 18 of our academic staff
involved.
Fuller details of the ARC funded research projects are
overleaf.
Continuing Growth in Research
Publications 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Books 4 5 5 2 6 5 5 4 3 1 2
Chapters in Books 3 7 8 11 12 4 11 9 9 6 10
Refereed Journal Articles 76 90 98 113 128 125 183 196 241 330 357
Refereed Conference 94 83 87 100 88 114 68 148 115 161 133
Total Publications 177 185 198 226 234 248 267 357 368 498 502
ARC Grants (year announced)
$3.33M $2.13M $1.53M $1.74M $3.06M $4.32M $1.75M $3.26M $1.38M $4.3M $4.15M
Total Research Income pa $6.3M $6.9M $7.7M $8.0M $10.7M $13.6M $15.1M $17.35M $15.56M $13.7M* $11.85M
Higher Degree Student Numbers
99 90 90 76 77 65 90 105 124 195 216
*errata in 2013 Annual Report now corrected.
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AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL DISCOVERY, LIEF ANDLINKAGE GRANTS 2014
Professor Mark Bradford – DP 150100446 – $664,300
This project aims to investigate the capacity of high-
strength steel (HSS) flexural members by undertaking
physical tests and numerical simulations, and proposes
to craft innovative overarching design guidance for
them within a paradigm of Design by Advanced
Analysis. HSS structures are significant as they are
lighter than their mild steel counterparts and so use less
material, with a much lower carbon footprint. Modern
metallurgical process can produce HSS of Grade
1000 Megapascals or higher, but there is no specific
structural code governing their design. Surprisingly little
research has been reported on HSS flexural members
which fail by lateral buckling, and this is the focus of the
project, filling the gap needed to produce an advanced
design standard.
Professor Stephen Foster & Dr Hamid Valipour – DP 150104107 – $266,300
In January 2014 the draft Australian Standard for the
design of concrete bridges was released; this is the first
standard in Australia, and one of the first in the world,
to include design procedures for steel fibre reinforced
concrete (SFRC) in a comprehensive way. While rules
have been introduced for flexure and shear, strict
limitations are placed on application where large plastic
rotations are expected. This study investigates the
moment-rotation performance of SFRC beam-column
connections containing economical fibre dosages. The
study is expected to provide data on the post-ultimate
behaviour and robustness of SFRC moment hinges and
determine moment-rotation relations for adoption by
engineers and Standards bodies
Associate Professor Adrian Russell, Prof David Muir Wood – DP 150104123 – $325,500
This project aims to make discoveries for modelling
initiation, rate of progression and consequences of
seepage induced internal erosion through soils which
make up critical water retaining infrastructure like dams.
It aims to achieve an understanding of how fundamental
microstructural (particle and pore) properties governing
erosion have the potential to destroy infrastructure.
Major expected outcomes include experimental
evidence of governing mechanics, theories which
couple microstructure with erosion and models to
describe the altered soil strength and stiffness. It aims
to lead to increased safety and economic efficiencies
in Australia where many tens of millions of dollars are
spent each year to reduce risks associated with internal
erosion.
Professor Chongmin Song, Emeritus Professor Francis Tin-Loi, Dr Sawekchai Tangaramvong – DP 150103747 – $384,700
This project aims to develop, directly from computer-
aided design models or digital images, an automatic
numerical simulation approach for the safety
assessment of engineering structures in three
dimensions. Underpinning this novel approach is
the proposed use of scaled boundary polytope
elements and a complementary octree algorithm for
mesh generation. Complex loadings are intended to
be addressed effectively by the developed adaptive
shakedown analysis leading to factors of safety
familiar to engineers and directly usable in design. The
expected primary outcome is an innovative technology
for numerical simulation and the development of
an invaluable numerical tool for the effective safety
assessment of engineering structures.
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Professor Ian Turner, Professor Jason Middleton, Dr Kristen Splinter, Professor Ad J Reniers, Dr Mark Davidson, Dr Chris Blenkinsopp – DP 150101339 – $423,200
Coastal erosion is confronting societies and the natural
environment. The economic value in Australia of built
assets at risk includes roads ($60 billion), commercial
buildings ($81 billion) and homes ($63 billion). Hard
engineering entire coastlines is rarely feasible, with
beaches providing the best coastal defence along the
great majority of sandy coastlines. But how wide should
a buffer zone be to provide adequate protection from
storms? And critically, how reliable are the present
modelling tools used to predict this, and can they be
improved? Underpinned by innovative field observations
to fill fundamental knowledge gaps, this project aims to
deliver advanced understanding and the best available
solution to storm erosion prediction.
Professor David Waite – DP 150102248 - $514,700
This project aims to determine the electron transfer
(redox) properties of terrestrially and microbially-
derived natural organic matter (NOM) and the
implications of these redox characteristics to reactive
oxygen species generation, metals transformation
and carbon cycling. Experimental and computational
studies using model compounds containing quinone
and thiol-containing functional groups as well as well-
characterised humic substances and algal exudates
will be undertaken under both dark and light conditions.
Kinetic models of these processes will be developed
enabling prediction of the impact of NOM-mediated
electron transfer processes on oxidant generation,
metals transformation and carbon cycling.
Professor S Travis Waller – DP 150104687 – $275,200
This project aims to address some of the limitations of
dynamic transport network modelling in the planning
process particularly related to traffic uncertainty, driver
adaptivity and information-provision. Previous advances
facilitate the proposed methods to introduce; new
network routing algorithms that account for numerous
increasingly important problem characteristics such as
driver route-choice response to real-time information
and uncertainty; new formulations for the stochastic
dynamic traffic assignment problem which employ the
novel routing algorithms as sub-problems; and new
methods for relevant bi-level optimisation transport
applications such as network design and incident
management
DECRA – EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS
Dr Xiaomin Li – DE150100500 - $321,000
This project aims to develop the kinetic (both in
vivo and in vitro) and thermodynamic models of the
extracellular electron transfer processes at the microbe-
mineral interface via outer membrane cytochromes
and exudates of dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria,
and elucidating the potential electron transfer process
from iron-reducing bacteria to semiconducting iron
minerals. The observed models will provide a more
comprehensive understanding of electron transfer
reactions at the microbe-mineral interface, which will
be helpful in the prediction of natural redox processes
of iron transformation and in the development of
bioremediation strategies for contaminated sites.
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ARC LINKAGE GRANTS
Prof Nasser Khalili, Dr Arman Khoshghalb, Mr John A Rubsov, Total $314k
Partner Organisation - Roads and Maritime Services
The aim of this project is to advance experimental,
theoretical and computational bases for the mechanics
of weak rocks, and provide scientists and engineers
with much-needed predictive tools for quantitative
evaluation and assessment of their behaviour in
geological settings. Based on the theoretical results of
the research, numerical algorithms will be developed
that will assist engineers to apply the findings of
the project to geotechnical engineering problems.
By incorporating previously neglected aspects in
the behaviour of weak rocks such as mechanical,
environmental as well as cyclic loading degradation,
confidence in the design methods will be increased to
the point that costly over designs can be avoided.
ARC LIEF – Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
Russell, A/Prof Adrian R; Khalili, Prof Nasser; Zhao, Dr GaoFeng; Khoshghalb, Dr Arman; Sloan, Prof Scott W; Kouretzis, Dr Georgios; Indraratna, Prof Buddhima N; Rujikiatkamjorn, A/Prof Cholachat; Cassidy, Prof Mark J; Gaudin, Prof Christophe; Williams, Prof David J; Scheuermann, Dr Alexander LE 150100130 – $320,000
Partner/Collaborating Eligible Organisation(s): The University of Newcastle, University of Wollongong, The University of Western Australia, The University of Queensland
An earthquake shaking table to investigate soil-structure
interactions: This project aims to develop Australia’s
most advanced earthquake shaking table. Earthquakes
are a problem of great significance to Australia.
Infrastructure in civil, transport, mining and energy
sectors may be at an unacceptable risk of damage
under earthquake loading as current design practices
do not account for the interaction between infrastructure
and the ground under such loading. The shaking table
will simulate earthquakes and enable controlled testing
of three-tonne models of foundation and soil-structure
interaction systems typical of Australia’s infrastructure.
The discoveries made are expected to be integral to the
modernisation of Australia’s seismic design standards
so that earthquake-induced damage and risk exposure
can be minimised.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
Dr Lauren Gardner was co awarded a NHMRC Project Grant, – $267,000 in collaboration with Prof Raina MacIntyre and Dr Anita Heywood from UNSW Medicine.
Modern transportation networks have bridged the
natural barriers which previously limited disease to
specific geographic regions. It is therefore imperative
to develop predictive integrated models which are able
to quantify the risk of importing infected passengers
and vectors into new regions, as well as the expected
impact an infectious disease would have on a given
region once introduced. Such models will be developed
as part of the recently awarded NHMRC Project Grant,
“Models to inform prevention and control of emerging
infectious diseases in real time.”
Seven other academic staff are also involved in
successful Discovery projects administered by
other universities. We congratulate Dr Vinayak Dixit,
Dr Fiona Johnson, Associate Professor Samsung
Lim, Professor Brian Uy (ARC Linkage), Professor
S. Travis Waller, Associate Professor Tommy
Wiedmann and Dr Gaofeng Zhao.
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GRANT INCOME 2014 TOTAL $11.85M
Researcher(s) Research Topic Granting Organisation 2014 Income
Jinling Wang New carrier phase processing strategies for achieving precise and reliable multi-satellite, multi-frequency GNSS/RNSS positioning in Australia
Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information
36,000
Chris Rizos High Accuracy Real-time Positioning Utilising the Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) Augmentation System
Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information
42,000
Chris Rizos Next Generation Australian and New Zealand Datum Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information
55,000
Chris Rizos Evaluating the Positioning Capabilities of Locata Terrestrial Signals in GNSS Unfriendly Environments
Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information
30,000
Binghao Li Expert advice on the appropriate use of GNSS technology for forestry compliance
NSW Environment Proctection Authority 10,000
Chris Rizos Study on Expansion of GNSS Wide Area Augmentation Service to the Asia Region
Electronic Navigation Research Institute 10,075
Jinling Wang Indoor Positioning and Navigation with Beidou Pseudolites China Hunan Engineering Research Center of Navigation Instrument
211,900
TOTAL SAGE $394,975
Surveying and Geospatial Engineering
Senior Investigator(s) / Advisor(s) / Researcher(s)
Subject Area / Research TopicGranting Organization(s) / Industry Sponsor(s)
2014 Income
Prof S. Travis WallerA Collaboration to Develop and Deploy Novel Integrated Network Techniques to Enhance the NSW Transport System.
Transport for NSW 500,000
Dr Taha Hossein Rashidi Incorporating Complex Adaptive System Theory and rule-Base Methods for Novel Travel Activity-Based Models: A Sydney Metropolitan Area Demonstration
UNSW Engineering Faculty, Research Grant / Early Career Researcher Grants Program
20,000
Prof S. Travis Waller, Prof Michiel Bliemer, Dr Vinayak Dixit, Prof Michael G Bell and Dr Alexandre Torday (TSS)
Methodologies for the Incorporation of Congestion Propagation and System Reliability into Transport Network Models for Consistent Multi-Scale Planning.
LP130101048 Australian Research Council - Linkage Project / TSS-Transport Simulation Systems Australia Pty Ltd - ARC Linkage Project Industry Partner Contribution
278,294
Prof S. Travis WallerIdentification & Evaluation of Transformative Environmental (AERIS) Applications and Strategies Project.
United States Department of Transport contract with Booz Allen Hamilton Inc
107,660
Prof S. Travis Waller, Dr Vinayak Dixit, Dr Lauren Gardner, Dr Taha Hossein Rashidi and Mr Bruce Jeffreys
Integrating Network Modelling with Observed Choice Data for Multi-Criteria Optimization of Complex Carshare Systems: Cost, Mobility and Transit Usage
LP130100983 Australian Research Council - Linkage Project/ GoGet CarShare - ARC Linkage Project Industry Partner Contribution.
173,748
Prof Chandini MacIntyre, Dr Lauren Gardner and Dr Anita Heywood
Models to inform prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases in real time
UNSW Goldstar Award $40,000
Prof S. Travis Waller and Dr Vinayak Dixit, Review of Managed Motorway Control Technology System. Roads and Maritime Service 125,000
TOTAL rCITI $1,244,702
rCITI
CWICVEN Researchers within CWI Granting Organisation 2014 Income
Acworth,Ian DIICSRTE (66%) 107,415
Acworth,Ian DIICSRTE - CRIS 146,562
Acworth,Ian DIISR Educ Invest Fund EIF 6,906
Acworth,Ian ENG Gary Johnston Chair 194,239
Andersen,Martin Sogaard Cotton R& D Corp _-PhD Scholarship 14,280
Rau,Gabriel Christopher AINSE Hons S'ship: heat & radon as tracers 2,128
Andersen,Martin Sogaard ARC Linkage P130100177 Baker,Andrew & Andersen (50%) 51,661
Acworth, Ian & Timms, Wendy ARC/NWC Co-Funded Centre for G - NCGRT 11,339
Andersen,Martin Sogaard ARC/NWC Co-Funded Centre for G - NCGRT 13,701
TOTAL CWI $548,231
ACCARNSI 2014 Grant IncomeResearchers Research topic Industry partners 2014 Income
Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS)/ACCARNSI
Coastal Processes and Responses
Climate Adaptation Research Hub – NSW Office of the Environment and Heritage (OEH)
$184,800
CWI rotates between presiding faculties and in 2014 it was included in the Faculty of Science.
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Investigators Research Topic Granting Organisation / Industry PartnersCash received 2014 (ex GST)
A. Sharma, J. Evans, A. Sen Gupta (UNSW), A. Chanan, G. Singh (State Water Corporation), M. Bari, J. Luo (Bureau of Meteorology), F. Chew (CSIRO), L. Band (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
A Decadal to Inter-decadal Streamflow Prediction System
ARC LP130100072, State Water Corporation, Bureau of Meteorology
308,637
D. Waite, G. Leslie (UNSW), X. Wang (Tsinghua University), J. Guan (Beijing Origin Water Technology), C. McInnes (Water Research Australia), P. Spencer (Water Corporation of WA), N. Riethmuller (Power and Water Corporation)
Innovative hybrid membrane-based pretreatment strategies for remote community groundwater supplies
ARC LP130101107, Beijing Origin Water, Water Research Australia, Water Corporation of WA, Power and Water Corporation
241,756
R. Henderson, R. Stuetz, W. Peirson, V. Bulmus, M. Whittaker (UNSW), G. Newcombe (Australian Water Quality Centre), B. Jefferson (Cranfield University)
Optimising dissolved air flotation (DAF) for algae removal by bubble modification in drinking water and advanced wastewater systems
ARC Linkage Project Grant 2009 Round 2 LP0990189, APAI, APDI, Melbourne Water Corporation, United Water, SEQWater, South Australia Water Company
796
M. McCabe (UNSW), J. P Walker, R. C. Pipunic (University of Melbourne), M. Abuzar, D. M. Whitfield (Dept. of Primary Industries)
A new paradigm for improved water resource management using innovative water modelling techniques
ARC Linkage project LP0989441 Shared Grant / Subcontract , University of Melbourne, Department of Primary Industries, Victoria
757
D. Waite (UNSW) R. Luthy (Stanford University) S. Al-Abed (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) G. Batley (CSIRO)
Synthesis of Activated Carbon Supported Zero Valent Iron Nanoparticles and Application to Contaminant Degradation in Benthic Sediments. LP100100852
ARC Linkage Project LP100100852, APAI (2), DECCW, Sydney Ports Corporation, Orica Australia, Maritime Authority of NSW, Sydney Catchment Authority
29,842
D. Waite, X. Wang, G. Leslie (UNSW), X. Huang, X. Wen (Tsinghua University), H. Bustamante (Sydney Water Corporation), J. Guan (Beijing Origin Water Technology)
Optimisation of nutrient removal, membrane fouling and sludge dewatering in hybrid coagulation/submerged membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewaters - ARC Linkage LP100100056
ARC Linkage LP100100056, APAI (2), Beijing Origin Water Technology Company Ltd, Sydney Water Corporation, WQRA
29,842
D. Waite, R. N Collins, B. A Neilan (UNSW), G. Sinclair (Energy Resources of Australia), R. JRing (ANSTO)
BioGeoChemical Controls on efficacy and sustainability of uranium heap leaching
ARC Linkage Project LP100200792, APAI, Energy Resources of Australia
14,921
R. Henderson (UNSW), A. Baker, J. Bridgeman (University of Birmingham), Partner Organisations: Melbourne Water Corp., Hunter Water Corp., SEQWater, WQRA
Monitoring organic matter in drinking water systems using fluorescence spectroscopy: improved early warning, process optimisation and water quality
ARC Linkage Project LP100200259, APAI, Hunter Water Corporation, Melbourne Water Corporation, Queensland Bulk Water Authority, Water Quality Research Australia Ltd
16,825
R. Collins (UNSW), Partner Organisations: Tweed Shire Council, NSW Cane Growers, NSW Milling Co-op
Exploiting natural processes to effectively remediate acidified coastal environments
ARC Linkage Project LP110100480, Tweed Shire, NSW Cane Growers, NSW Sugar Milling Co-Op Scholarship
28,155
S. Khan (UNSW), G. Peters (Chalmers University of Technology), N. J Ashbolt (University of Cincinnati), S. Shields (EPA Victoria)
Deeper and broader life cycle risk assessment - extending the frontier for hybrid methodologies
ARC Linkage Project LP110200594, APAI, Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)Victoria
19,745
WRL - Robin Fell, Chongmin Song, Bill Peirson, Kurt Douglas
Erosion of embankment dams and dam spillways Australian Research Council - Linkage LP110100389 16,500
WRL - Michael Banner (UNSW Mathematics), Bill Peirson, Frederic Dias (ENS Cachan, France)
Transitions in wave breaking from deep to shallow water
Australian Research Council - Discovery DP120101701 122,212
WRL - Tom Baldock (UQ), Dave Callaghan (UQ), Peter Nielsen (UQ), Ian Turner (UNSW), Chris Blenkinsopp (Bath), Rosh Ranasinghe (TU Delft)
Assessing and enhancing the resilience of Australian beaches to sea level rise
Australian Research Council - Discovery DP140101302 18,000
A. Sharma, F. Johnson, Y. Liu (UNSW), L. Marshall (Montana State University), H. Moradkhani (Portland State University), S. Muddu (Indian Institute of Science), Q. Wang, D. Robertson (CSIRO)
Reducing flood loss - A data-assimilation framework for improving forecasting capability in sparsely gauged regions
ARC Discovery Grant DP140102394 206,044
D. Waite (UNSW), M. Wiesner (Duke University)Reactive oxygen species generation by zerovalent silver nanoparticles; implications to toxicity and contaminant degradation
Australian Research Council / Discovery Project - DP120103222
127,767
D. Waite, R. Collins (UNSW), A. Rose (Southern Cross University), G. Waychunas (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
New perspectives on iron oxide transformations in oxic and anoxic aqueous environments: Implications for iron bioavailability and contaminant mobility
Australian Research Council / Discovery Project - DP120103234, Southern Cross University
105,543
A. Sharma, R. Mehrotra, S. Westra (UNSW)A new strategy for design flood estimation in a nonstationary climate
Australian Research Council / Discovery Project - DP120100338
86,657
M. McCabe (UNSW), E. Wood (Princeton University)Closing the water cycle using land surface modelling, remote sensing and an Australian hydrological observatory
Australian Research Council / Discovery Project - DP120104718
6,678
R. CollinsIron- A solution for uranium resource recovery and pollutions response
Australian Research Council / Future Fellowships FT110100067
166,322
B. SivakumarDevelopment of generic catchment classification framework in hydrology
Australian Research Council / Future Fellowships FT110100328
182,165
A. SharmaRepresenting low-frequency variability in hydro-climatic simulations for water resources planning and management in a changing climate
ARC Future Fellowships FT100100197 106,702
S. GargInteraction between silver ions, silver nanoparticles and reactive oxygen species: implication to toxicity
Australian Research Council / (DECRA) - DE120102967 138,953
R. Henderson
Optimising dissolved air flotation (DAF) for algae removal by bubble modification in drinking water and advanced wastewater systems - Scholarship for Russell Yap
WQRA 1,665
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Investigators Research Topic Granting Organisation / Industry PartnersCash received 2014 (ex GST)
D. Waite
Physic-chemical controls on growth, toxicity and succession of Microsystems and Anabaena species in water supply reservoirs. Scholarship for Anna Yeung
WQRA 10,130
R. HendersonMonitoring organic matter removal in drinking water systems using fluorescence spectroscopy - Postgraduate Scholarship for - Yulia Shutova
WQRA 6,714
D. Roser, D. Deere, P. White (UNSW), S. Petterson (Water and Health Pty Ltd, Sydney), N. O'Connor (Ecos Environmental Consulting), P. Monis (Australian Water Quality Centre), U. Ryan (Murdoch University), M. Sinclair (Monash University)
Treatment requirements for Australian source waters to meet health-based targets
WQRA 78,500
R. Collins
Aluminium mobility and geochemistry in Acid Sulfate Soils using novel exchange techniques and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. Student Ms Yliane Yvanes-Giuliani
AINSE 3,750
A. SharmaSimulating persistence in future rainfall: correcting GCM bias in regional climate models - Scholarship for Eytan Rocheta
NSW Office of Water / 2012 Peter Cullen Postgraduate Scholarship
20,000
R. Henderson, P. Le-Clech (UNSW)Advanced characterisation of organic matters in desalination pretreatment and its removal strategies - Scholarship for Barun Karna
National Centre of Excellence in Desalination 7,500
T. Wiedmann (UNSW), Partner Organisations: University of Sydney, University of Ballarat, Intersect Australia, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Griffith University, University of South Australia, University of Queensland, University of Melbourne
Virtual Laboratory Program: The Industrial Ecology Lab - Integrating data and tools for powerful sustainability analysis
Univ of Sydney/VL201 Nectar 47,930
R. StuetzLitter management strategies to reduce odour emissions from poultry litter
Poultry CRC/Nutrition and Envi 43,344
R. StuetzLitter management strategies to reduce odour emissions from poultry litter
UNSW Strategic Support Grant 50,000
A. Anceno
Multi-functional reactor systems for liquid and gas phase treatment of agroindustrial and municipal effluents: toward pollution and odour abatement with energy cogeneration
UNSWVC PostDoc Support 10,997
T. Wiedmann (UNSW), R. Zito, S. Lehmann (UniSA), A. Berry (CSIRO), O. Vitkovskaya, J. Ting, L. Oxlad (SA Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources), P. Donaldson (Renewal SA), K. Rouse (SA Water), N. Nelson (Sydney Water), L. Partridge (AECOM)
Integrated ETWW demand forecasting and scenario planning for precincts
CRC for Low Carbon Living Ltd 64,014
G. Mariethoz, A. Sharma, S. Jha (UNSW), G. Mathews, S. Maheswararajah, N. Okello, D. De Re (NICTA)
Data centric groundwater modelling NICTA (National ICT Aust) 100,589
A. Sharma (UNSW), S. Muddu (Indian Institute of Science)
What will the future be? Projecting environmental change in a warming world for semi-arid landscapes
Dept. of Industry / AISRF 130,638
S. Khan (UNSW), Partner Organisations: WaterFutures, Griffith University, National Measurements Institute, SA Water, Melbourne Water, WaterCorp, SouthEast Water
SP4-Validation protocols(integrated testing strategy) for multi-barrier approach in water recycling
Water Rsch Aust Ltd - SP4 /WRCoE 75,921
M. Ujevic BosnjakGo8 European Fellowship for Dr Magdalena Ujevic Bosnjak
Go8/European Fellowships 20,000
A. SharmaAustralian Rainfall & Runoff Revision: Stage 3 Project 4 - Delivery output to users
Engineers Aust/Contract Rsch 10,000
R. Stuetz (UNSW), Partner Organisations: University of SA, Sydney Water Corp., SA Water, Prospect Water Patnership, Degremont, Suez Environment, Hunter Water
Beneficial Reuse of Solids from Wastewater Treatment Operations
CRC for Low Carbon Living Ltd 618,590
A. Sharma, R. MehrotraMultivariate Iterative Nested Bias Correction (MINBC) package
DFP Recruitment Serv. 43,019
A. SharmaFlood inundation data assimilation - scholarship for Sahani Pathiraja
CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation / Postgraduate Studentship
2,044
R. Stuetz (UNSW), R. Barczak (Warsaw University of Technology)
OdourCOB - Odour Characterization of Odorants from Biosolids
European Commission / Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowships for Career Development (IOF)
4,355
T. Wiedmann (UNSW), University of Melbourne, University of SA, AECOM, Aurecon, Sydney Water, Bluescope Steel
Integrated Carbon Metrics (ICM) – a multi-scale life cycle approach to assessing, mapping and tracking carbon outcomes for the Built Environment
CRC For Low Carbon Living Limited 175,548
R. Stuetz, S. MalekniaRapid continuous chemical analysis of broiler shed emissions by SIFT-MS
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (QLD) / RIRDC Research Funding R&D Program Shared Grant
8,404
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Investigators Research Topic Granting Organisation / Industry PartnersCash received 2014 (ex GST)
R. StuetzExploratory investigation of taste and odour compounds in water supply by GC-MS olfactory analysis - Honours Scholarship for Lily Liu
Water Research Australia Limited / Scholarship Honours 7,000
E. Sivret, X. Wang, G Parcsi, N. Le Minh Volatile Sulfur Analysis The Odour Unit 2,100
R. Henderson Y. Shutova Water Analysis RMIT 13,640
S. Dever Training GHD Pty Ltd 3,000
R. Henderson Y. Shutova Water Analysis Curtin University 2,500
R. Henderson Y. Shutova Water Analysis GWMWater 1,100
J. McDonald S. Khan Water Analysis University of Applied Sciences and Arts 6,440
J. McDonald S. Khan Water Analysis Yarra Valley Water Limited 12,600
E. Sivret, X. Wang, G Parcsi, N. Le Minh Odour testing Airepure Australia Pty Ltd 1,600
J. McDonald S. Khan Water Analysis University of Technology, Sydney 13,550
S. Lundie Review IVL Swedish Environmental Research Inst 1,442
K. Murphy Consulting Trollhattan Energi AB 7,825
K. Murphy Consulting Kretslopp och vatten 1,637
K. Murphy Consulting Swerea IVF AB 476
A. Hambly Process Test CNF & Associates 5,480
R. Stuetz G Parcsi Gas Analysis Dept of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry 3,720
S. Dever Consulting Econtext Pty Ltd 5,375
E. Sivret, X. Wang, G Parcsi, N. Le Minh VSC, VOC Analysis Degremont Pty Ltd 14,875
K. Murphy Consulting EC Sustainable Pty Ltd 545
K. Murphy Data Analysis Smithsonian Environmental 6,481
D. Roser S. Khan Risk Review UNSW Expert opinion Services 77,363
WRL - Brett Miller, Bruce Cathers, Grantley Smith, Bill Peirson, Nathan Guerry, Francois Flocard, Stefan Felder
Civil Engineering HydraulicsAurecon; Cardno Pty Ltd; FPP Industries Pty Ltd; Outotec Australia Pty Ltd; Sydney Catchment Authority; Sydney Water Corporation
307,581
WRL -James Carley, Matt Blacka, Ian Turner, Ron Cox, Ian Coghlan, Francois Flocard, Erica Davey, Kristen Splinter, Jamie Ruprecht, Duncan Rayner, Chris Drummond
Coastal Engineering and climate change
Aurecon; AW Maritime; Blue Pacific Constructions; BMT JFA Consulting; BOTTEN LEVINSON Development & Environment Lawyers; Byron Shire Council; Crown Lands- NSW Trade & Investment; Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, South Australia; Energy Resources of Australia Ltd; Environmental Defenders Office; Gartner Trovato Architects ; Gold Coast City Council; Griffith University; HWL Ebsworth Lawyers; James de Soyres & Associates Pty Ltd; Kapiti Coast District Council; Lake Macquarie City Council; Moyne Shire Council; NSW DPI, Crown Lands Division, Coastal and Infrastructure Group; NSW Office of Environment and Heritage OEH; Platform Architects; Tonkin & Taylor; Tweed Shire Council; Warringah Council
601,914
WRL -Will Glamore, Duncan Rayner, Jamie Ruprecht, Erica Davey, Martin Anderson, Priom Rahman, Ian Coghlan
Estuaries and Wetland Restoration
Clarence Valley Council; Department Of Commerce (For Clarence Valley Council); Environmental Defenders Office; Greater Taree City Council; Hornsby Shire Council; Hunter Water Corporation; John Holland Group Pty Ltd; Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group; Newcastle City Council; North Coast Local Land Services; NSW Department of Planning and Environment; NSW Department of Primary Industries – Fisheries; NSW Environmental Trust; Parks and Wildlife Division of Office for Environment and Heritage; Shoalhaven City Council; Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS); Sydney Water Corporation; Wyong Shire Council
764,184
WRL -Grantley Smith, Ron Cox, Brett Miller, Erica Davey, Nathan Guerry, Priom Rahman, Bill Peirson
Floodplain Management
Connected Waters Institute (CWI); Crown Solicitors Office; Department of the Environment; Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Victoria; DHI WATER AND ENVIRONMENT PTY LTD; National Flood Risk Advisory Group; NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure; Sydney Water Corporation; Tamworth Regional Council; Willis Re
93,067
WRL - Doug Anderson, Martin Andersen, William Glamore, Grantley Smith, Brett Miller, Ian Acworth, Priom Rahman, Alexandra Badenhop
Groundwater resources
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO); Caroona Coal Action Group; Energy Resources of Australia Ltd; Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer: DNRM - Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (Queensland); Office of Water Science – SEWPAC; Office of Water Science (Commonwealth); SKM.
406,694
WRL - William Glamore, Brett Miller, Bill Peirson, Duncan Rayner, Jamie Ruprecht, Priom Rahman, Grantley Smith, Ian Coghlan
Water Quality in Rivers, Estuaries and Coastal Waters ERA Ltd, Manly Golf Club, Sydney Water $153,663
TOTAL WATER RESEARCH CENTRE 2014 $6,024,323
OUR RESEARCH 39
CIES Researcher(s) Research Topic Granting Organisation $ Value at 2014
MA Bradford An Innovative and Advanced Systems Approach for Full Life-Cycle, Low-Emissions Composite and Hybrid Building Infrastructure
ARC Laureate Fellowship including Faculty of Engineering & UNSW support ARC FL100100063
600,392
B Uy The behaviour and design of innovative connections to promote the reduction and reuse of structural steel in steel-concrete composite buildings
ARC DiscoveryDP140102134
195,742
A Russell, N Khalili Shallow foundations in unsaturated soils: mechanistic design through numerical modelling, analysis and experimental investigation"
ARC Discovery DP140103142 149,382
W Gao, Y-L Pi, F Tin-Loi Stochastic geometrically nonlinear elasto-plastic buckling and behaviour of curved grid-like structures
ARC Discovery DP140101887 124,673
G Ranzi (USYD), A Castel, R I Gilbert,D Dias-da-Costa
Stiffness degradation of concrete members induced by reinforcement corrosion.
ARC Discovery DP140100529 50,000
C Song A high-performance stochastic scaled boundary finite-element framework for safety assessment of structures susceptible to fracture
ARC Discovery DP130102934 144,017
RI Gilbert Control of cracking caused by early-age contraction of concrete ARC Discovery DP130102966 139,081
N Khalili Dynamics analysis of unsaturated porous media subject to damage due to cracking
ARC Discovery DP130104918 106,986
L Ge Advanced techniques for imaging radar interferometry ARC Discovery DP130101694 117,684
MA Bradford Thermal-induced unilateral plate buckling of concrete pavements: design and evaluation
ARC Discovery DP120104554 133,322
B Uy; Z Tao; F Mashiri The behaviour and design of composite columns coupling the benefits of high strength steel and high strength concrete for large scale infrastructure
ARC Discovery DP120101944 144,433
C Song, F Tin-Loi, W Becker Scaled boundary finite-element approach for safety assessment of plates and shells under monotonic and shakedown loadings
ARC Discovery DP120100742 $111,102
Ehab Hamed; Stephen Foster Nonlinear long-term behaviour and analysis of high strength concrete panels ARC Discovery DP120102762 99,992
S Foster; Hamid Valipour Progressive collapse resistance of reinforced concrete framed structures with membrane action
ARC Discovery DP120103328 66,102
G Zhao Dynamic fracturing in shale rock through coupled continuum-discontinuum modelling
ARC DECRADE130100457
132,294
T Thai Reliability assessment of concrete-filled steel tubular frames designed by advanced analysis
ARC DECRA DE140100747 127,476
MA Bradford Climate adaptation technology and engineering forextreme events.
CSIRO / Flagship Collaborative Research Program
182,650
H M Goldsworthy, E Gad, B Uy, S Fernando
Development of efficient, robust and architecturally-flexible structural systems using innovative blind-bolted connections
ARC Linkage LP110200511 30,000
S Foster; E Hamed; Z Vrcelj
Advanced Composite Structures Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures Ltd (CRC-ACS)
140,180
S Foster Performance based Criteria for Concretes: Creating Pathways for Low Carbon Concrete Manufacture with Existing Standards
Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living Ltd(CRC LCL)
110,676
H Valipour FRG Grant Faculty of Engineering 40,000
M Attard Orthotropic Hyperelastic Modelling for the Analysis of Composites UNSW Goldstar Award 40,000
L Ge Mapping decadal change of the Australian landscape from space UNSW Goldstar Award 40,000
A Russell Triaxial System for Stress Path and Dynamic Tests UNSW MREII $99,755
A Castel Equipment to develop a World class laboratory for carrying out durability tests at the material and structural level
UNSW MREII 57,545
L Ge Dedicated Computing Cluster for Near Real-Time Satellite Remote Sensing (NRT-RS)
UNSW MREII 100,000
Industry funded research undertaken by the CIES Projects team
Various 168,191
TOTAL CIES $3,451,675
OUR RESEARCH40
RESEARCH STUDENTSRESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Abdala Prata Junior, Ademir
Assessment of odours emission rate.
Stuetz, Richard / Timchenko, Victoria
Abu Shoaib, Syed
The relative importance and characteristics of Input Uncertainty in Hydrology.
Marshall, Lucy Amanda
Aghighi, Hossein
Markov random field models for classification of remote sensing data and super-resolution mapping.
Trinder, John
Ahmadian Fard Fini, Alireza
Predicting delay and minimizing its impact in construction context
Waller, S Travis/ Akbar Nezhad, Ali/ Hossein Rashidi, Taha
Ahmed, Sayeed
Micro-sensor networks for validation of remote sensing.
Ge, Linlin
Alac Barut, Ruken
Integration of InSAR with GPS & Geophysical Modeling.
Rizos, Chris
Alghananim, Ma’Mon Saeed Abdel Rahman
Site selection for solar power stations using remote sensing and GIS.
Lim, Samsung
Aliabadian, Zeinab
Dynamic fracture of rock by continuum - discontinuum coupled model.
Zhao, Gaofeng
Alipour Esgandani, Golnaz
Numerical modelling of unsaturated soils under earthquake loading.
Khoshghalb, Arman
Allan, Rebecca Jane
Backward erosion piping of dams.
Douglas, Kurt
Almohssen, Abdulaziz Saud
Tracking subcontractor reputation.
Davis, Steven Richard
Alqurashi, Muwaffaq Awadh O
Quality control in GNSS/INS/vision integration for 3D mapping.
Wang, Jinling
Alsalhi, Raed
Traffic flows in urban networks.
Dixit, Vinayak
Alsultan, Abdulmajeed Sulaiman M
Urban traffic network design.
Dixit, Vinayak / Waller, S Travis
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Amin, Ali
Steel fibre reinforced concrete.
Foster, Stephen
Amini, Nima
Transport modelling.
Gardner, Lauren / Waller, S. Travis
Arbis, David
Modelling Strategic Interactions of Driver Manoeuvres.
Dixit, Vinayak / Hossein Rashidi, Taha
Asadi Zarch, Mohammad Amin
Developing and projecting a new ecohydrolic aridity index for a nonstationary climate.
Bellie, Sivakumar / Sharma, Ashish
Asefi, Hossein
A multi-objective optimisation approach for solving a Green Two - echelon Integrated Waste Collection Location - Routing Problem (G - 2E - IWCLRP).
Lim, Samsung
Ataei, Abdolreza
Steel and composite structures.
Bradford, Mark Andrew
Azcurra, Cecilia
Isotopes in hydrology.
McCabe, Matthew / Baker, Andrew Blair
Babaee, Seyed Mahdi
Durability of geopolymer concrete in marine environments.
Castel, Arnaud / Akbar Nezhad, Ali
Bai, Yun
Coupled thermo-chemo-flow-deformation analysis of multiphase multi-porous media.
Khalili-Naghadeh, Nasser
Barati, Khalegh
Construction resources networks tracking and management.
Shen, Xuesong
Bertuzzi, Robert
Estimating rock mass strength and stiffness with particular interest in the load on a tunnel lining.
Douglas, Kurt John
Bracs, Melissa Anne
Monitoring and modelling coastal variability on a regional scale: implications for the establishment of a national coastal observing network.
Turner, Ian
Carey, David Anthony
Shared spaces and the relationship between traffic and pedestrains.
Waller, S Travis/ Hossein Rashidi, Taha
Carvajal Ortega, Guido Esteban Aquiles
Reliability assessment and management for direct potable water recycling.
Khan, Stuart / Roser, David
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Castilla Rho, Juan Carlos
Agent-based modelling of managed groundwater systems.
Andersen, Martin Sogaard / Mariethoz, Gregoire
Chakka, Mohana Naga Sai Chand
Macroscopic modelling for large urban networks.
Dixit, Vinayak / Waller, S Travis
Chang, Xiaofeng
Remote sensing for earth observation.
Ge, Linlin
Chang, Yingyue
Development and application of biomimetic high valence state iron complexes for contaminant oxidation.
Waite, David / Miller, Chris
Chen, Guangwu
City-scale Carbon Footprint accounting and decarbonisation policy analysis.
Wiedmann, Thomas
Chen, Nan
Multilayer network analysis.
Dixit ,Vinayak / Gardner, Lauren
Chen, Xiaojun
Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction Analysis in the Time Domain.
Song, Chongmin / Birk, Carolin
Choudhury, Dipayan
Assessment and correction of climate drift in decadal predictions from a hydrological viewpoint
Sharma, Ashish
Dang, Jin Jerry
Durability of construction materials, low - carbone concrete technology, time - dependent behaviour.
Shen, Xuesong
de Burgh, James Matthew
Modelling and analysis of concrete building and tunnel structures in fire.
Foster, Stephen
Dissanayake, Dilina
Automated Image Based Modelling for Elastoplasticity and Damage Analysis.
Song, Chongmin
Do, Anh Tuan
Stability of composite steel concrete T-section beams continuous over one or more supports.
Bradford, Mark Andrew
Do, Duy Minh
Stochastic interval analysis of structures with a mixture of random and interval uncertainties.
Gao, Wei
Donnelly, Nicolas Ian
Next generation datum for Australia and New Zealand: Accounting for Deformation.
Rizos, Chris
OUR RESEARCH 41
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Du, Zheyuan
New Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry for Earth Surface Deformation Detection.
Ge, Linlin
Duell, Melissa
Strategic Traffic Assignment: Models and Applications to Capture Day-to-Day Flow Volatility.
Gardner, Lauren / Waller, S Travis
Dunlop, Mark Wayne
Odour emissions from poultry litter.
Stuetz, Richard
Ebrahimi Nejad Rafsanjani, Meysam
Projects and carbon.
Carmichael, David Gordon
Eghdamirad, Sajjad
Assessing the impact of uncertainty in hydrology through numerical climate modelling.
Johnson, Fiona Michelle / Sharma, Ashish
Elhadayri, Farj
Constitutive modelling of lightly cemented unsaturated soils.
Khalili-Naghadeh, Nasser
Fabiao Dionizio, Manuel
LIDAR for carbon accounting.
Trinder, John Charles
Figueroa, Ligaya Leah
Development of a GeoWeb Tool for Education Resource Planning & Management in the Philippines.
Lim, Samsung
Fisher, Ruth Margaret
Optimisation of biosolid management.
Stuetz, Richard / Moore, Stephen
Foerster, Jean
Natural resource projects
Carmichael, David Gordon
Ghaffaripour, Omid
Numerical algorithms for penetration problems in variably saturated porous media.
Khoshghalb, Arman
Gharib, Mohammadmahdi
Numerical modelling for service life prediction and performance evaluation of deteriorated reinforced concrete structures due to climate change impacts.
Foster, Stephen James
Ghasrikhouzani, Milad
Disaggregate behavioural land use modelling: Integration of housing search, job search and households’ dynamics.
Waller, S Travis/ Hossein Rashidi, Taha
Ghosni, Nassim
Fibre reinforced concrete structures.
Vali Pour Goudarzi, Hamid Reza /Foster, Stephen James
Green, David Kristopher
Probabilistic analysis in computational mechanics with applications in civil engineering.
Gao, Wei / Douglas, Kurt
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Habaragamu Arachchige, Dinesh Mahanama
Durability of Geo-Polymer Concrete with respect to Alkali Aggregate Reaction (AAR)
Castel, Arnaud
Haji Abdul Hamid, Nor Zetty Akhtar
Advanced Management of Geocoded Address for Spatially Enabling Government: A Case in Brunei Darussalam.
Lim, Samsung
Halloran, Landon James Szasz
Groundwater.
Andersen, Martin Sogaard
Hammad, Ahmed W A
Multi-Objective Optimisation.
Akbar Nezhad, Ali
Hasan, Mohammad Mahadi
Hydrology.
Johnson, Fiona Michelle / Sharma, Ashish
Hashemiheidari, Seyedkomeil
Evaluating bridges subjected to extreme loading.
Bradford, Mark Andrew
Hassan, Asif
Mobile Phone Distraction and Traffic Safety.
Dixit, Vinayak / Waller, S Travis
Hassan, M. Mahmudul
Climate change adaptation.
Peirson, William Leslie
Hassan, Mohammad Nurul
Demand estimation for public transportation.
Waller, S Travis/ Hossein Rashidi, Taha
Hassanieh, Amirhossein
Development of steel-timber composite system for large scale construction.
Vali Pour Goudarzi, Hamid Reza
Hayes, James Emerson
Olfactory analysis of ardorous emissions.
Stuetz, Richard
He, Ke
TBA
Song, Chongmin / Birk, Carolin Claudia
Henderson, Ian Edward James
The use of innovative anchors for the achievement of composite action for rehabilitating existing and deployment in demountable steel structures.
Uy, Brian
Ho, Lam
Synthesis of activated carbon supported zero valent iron nanoparticles and application contaminant degradation in benthic sediments.
Waite, David
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Homainejad, Nina
Applications of UAVs for disaster management.
Rizos, Chris
Howe, Daniel
Coastal engineering.
Blenkinsopp, Christopher Edwin /Turner, Ian
Huang, Yue
Nonlinear long-term behaviour of high-strength concrete wall panels.
Hamed, Ehab
James, Edward Malcolm
Pavement systems on soft soils.
Oeser, Markus / Russell, Adrian
Jayakumar Nair, Divya
TLogistics of surplus food rescue and distribution.
Dixit, Vinayak / Hossein Rashidi, Taha
Jian, Sisi
Network modeling.
Dixit, Vinayak / Waller, S Travis
Jiang, Chao
Mechanism and kinetics of ferrous iron oxidation and ferric iron reduction in photolysed natural waters.
Garg, Shikha / Waite, David
Jiang, Chao
Hydraulic fracture.
Zhao, Gaofeng / Khalili-Naghadeh, Nasser
Jiang, Wei
Locata/GNSS/INS.
Rizos, Chris
Kamarulzaman, Nor Hidayaty Binti
Characterisation of Odourants from Natural Rubber Processing.
Stuetz, Richard / Moore, Stephen
Kang, Tae Ho
Piggy Back Modelling.
Sharma, Ashish
Karki, Alex
Parking Optimization.
Dixit, Vinayak / Hossein Rashidi, Taha
Karna, Barun Lal
Advanced characterisation techniques to assess seawater organic matter removal by Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF).
Le Clech, Pierre / Henderson, Rita Kay
Kearney, Edward Tah Dah
The design, application, and assessment of rapid-response airborne lidar for monitoring of storm induced beach erosion.
Turner, Ian
Khan, Mahbub Hossain
Behaviour and design of composite columns coupling the benefits of high strength steel and high strength concrete.
Uy, Brian
OUR RESEARCH42
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Khan, Mohammad Zaved Kaiser
Hydrology.
Sharma, Ashish
Khezri, Mani
Generalised RKP-FSM and it’s application in analysis of thin plates with abrupt rigidity changes and generally laminated composite plates.
Bradford, Mark Andrew
Kim, Seokhyeon
Flood forecasting.
Johnson, Fiona Michelle / Sharma, Ashish
Knight, Nathan Luke
Fault detection and quality control measures for satellite positioning.
Wang, Jinling
Kobayashi, Yumi
Life cycle assessment and risk assessment.
Peters, Gregory / Khan, Stuart
Le, Hung Viet
Fate of volatile Organo-Sulfur compounds in odour assessment.
Stuetz, Richard
Lee, Seul Ki
Estimation of microsimulation models (car following).
Dixit, Vinayak / Waller, S Travis
Lee, Seung Ho
Remote Sensing Satellite Image using Hybrid Methods.
Rizos, Chris
Li, Calvin Pengfei
Quantifying the importance of flood events for the replenishment of groundwater resources.
Andersen, Martin Sogaard
Li, Chenyang
Traffic Microsimulation and Choice Modelling.
Dixit, Vinayak
Li, Dongxu
Structure Engineering - composite structures.
Uy, Brian
Li, Jingwan
Hydroclimatology.
Evans, Jason Peter / Sharma, Ashish / Johnson, Fiona
Li, Liyuan
SAR and optical imagery registration.
Ge, Linlin
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Li, Xiang
Advanced characterisation of dissolved organic nitrogen in drinking water sources.
Henderson, Rita Kay / Khan, Stuart James
Li, Xun
Equity in transportation system.
Dixit, Vinayak / Waller, S Travis
Li, Zeyu
Vision-based Mapping and Navigation.
Wang, Jinling
Liu, Lei
Noise and vibration analysis using the scaled boundary finite element method.
Birk, Carolin Claudia
Liu, Li
TBA
Lim, Samsung
Liu, Qingxiang
Imagery-based modelling.
Ge, Linlin
Liu, Xuefen
Vulnerability analysis and evacuation simulation.
Lim, Samsung
Liu, Youtian
InSAR technique for earthquake studies.
Ge, Linlin
Lu, Xueqing
Risk.
Davis, Steven Richard
Lui, Gough Yumu
Photovoltaic powered UV diode disinfection of drinking, surface, and groundwater.
Corkish, Richard /Roser, David
Luo, Kai
Structural analysis and optimization, computational mechanics, structural safety and reliability.
Gao, Wei / Pi, Yong Lin
Luu, Trung Kien
Numerical simulation of the behaviour of composite frames at elevated temperatures.
Bradford, Mark Andrew
Ma, Xiaoming
Application of nanoparticulate zero valent iron to remediation of contaminated benthic sediments.
Waite, David
Mac, Thi Ngoc
A bounding surface viscoplasticity model for soils.
Zhao, Gaofeng / Khalili-Naghadeh, Nasser
Maheshwari, Pradeep
Optimisation of coagulant addition to submerged membrane bioreactors using computational and experimental methods.
Waite, David
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Mahmud, Kashif
Groundwater modelling, heterogeneity, transport processes, contaminated sites.
Mariethoz, Gregoire / Sharma, Ashish
Mao, Tuo
Transport network modelling and optimisation.
Dixit, Vinayak / Gardner, Lauren
Masoumi, Saeed
Multiscale modeling of FRP-Concrete interface.
Vali Pour Goudarzi, Hamid Reza
Mellati, Afshin
The Iterative Limit & Shakedown Analysis of Structures using A Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method.
Tangaramvong, Sawekchai /Tin Loi, Francis Shay Khiet
Miller, Hugh David
Nanotechnological improvements to ultra-high-performance concrete.
Akbar Nezhad, Ali / Foster, Stephen
Moalafhi, Ditiro Benson
Regional Climate Modeling for Hydrological Applications.
Sharma, Ashish / Evans, Jason
Moghaddasi Kelishomi, Hamed
Constitutive modelling ofweak rocks subject ot mechanical and moisture degradation.
Khoshghalb, Arman / Khalili-Naghadeh, Nasser
Mohd Zaki, Zaizatul Zafflina Binti
The Effect of Group Wave on Wave Setup at Estuaries.
Peirson, William Leslie
Moussavi Nadoushani, Zahra Sadat
Estimation of life cycle carbon of residential and office buildings.
Akbar Nezhad, Ali
Murray, Angus Lachlan
Structural Engineering / Concrete Technology.
Castel, Arnaud / Gilbert, Raymond Ian
Mustaffa, Nur Kamaliah
Sustainability: Carbon Emission in Construction.
Carmichael, David Gordon
Mustapha, Azwan
Dimension reduction.
Sharma, Ashish
Nahar, Jannatun
Bias correction of general circulation models.
Johnson, Fiona Michelle
Naseem, Bushra
Surface water hydrology.
Sharma, Ashish
Nguyen, Thi Thu Ha
Hydrology.
Sharma, Ashish
OUR RESEARCH 43
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Stanaway, Richard Frank
Development geodetic ref system of dynamic transformation parameters to relate the ITRF to static regional dynamic datum.
Roberts, Craig Ashley
Su, Lijuan
Lateral and post buckling with shear effects.
Attard, Mario
Sufian, Adnan
Multi-Scale Modelling of Granular Material.
Russell, Adrian
Sun, Liran
The application of remote sensing on bushfire.
Rizos, Chris / Trinder, John
Sun, Yingying
Iron and copper-mediated oxidant production in natural and engineered aquatic systems.
Pham, An Ninh / Waite, David
Sun, Zhicheng
Fracture analysis by using the scaled boundary finite element method.
Song, Chongmin
Taheriattar, Reza
Sustainability and adaptable/flexible infrastructure.
Akbar Nezhad, Ali / Carmichael, David Gordon
Tamjis, Mohammad Ridhwan
Satellite imagery processing.
Lim, Samsung
Tang, Wangwang
Removal of arsenic, fluoride, nitrate from groundwater by capacitive deionization.
Waite, David
Tang, Yating
The analysis of uncertainties in Hydrological Models.
Marshall, Lucy Amanda
Tang, Yi
Numerical modelling of foundation on unsaturated soils.
Taiebat, Hossein
Teh, Soo Huey
Integrated carbon metrics in the built environment and assessment of indirect carbon flows in Australia. Sustainability assessment program.
Wiedmann, Thomas / Moore, Stephen
Teo, Tiffany Li Lee
Risk assessment of exposure to chemical contaminants in swimming pool.
Khan, Stuart James
Tootoonchi, Arash
Numerical modelling of behaviour of unsaturated soils under large deformation.
Khoshghalb, Arman
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Rocheta, Eytan
Simulating persistence in future rainfall: correcting GCM bias in regional climate models.
Sharma, Ashish
Rong, Hongyan
Production of oxidants on photolysis of silver halides: Kinetics, mechanism and technology optimisation.
Waite, David / Garg, Shikha
Saket, Arvin
Ocean energy.
Peirson, William Leslie
Saputra, Albert Artha
Computational mechanics and structural analysis.
Song, Chongmin / Birk, Carolin Claudia
Saxena, Neeraj
Route Choice under Stop-and-Go Conditions.
Dixit, Vinayak / Waller, S Travis
Scaturro, Salvatore
CFD modelling of negatively buoyant jets.
Peirson ,William Leslie / Cathers, Bruce
Sepasgozar, Samad Mohd E
Technology adoption decision-making in construction.
Davis, Steven / Carmichael, David G
Shakeel, Kiran
Mode choice behaviour modelling with adaptive data collection method.
Waller, S Travis/ Hossein Rashidi, Taha
Shammay, Ariel Tal
Odour Abatement in Sewer Networks.
Stuetz, Richard
Shao, You
A Fusion Approach for Building Boundary Extraction using Lidar Data and Multi-spectral Images.
Lim, Samsung
Shi, Xue
Uncertain analysis of engineering structures, structural reliability analysis, structural dynamics.
Gao, Wei / Pi, Yong Lin
Shirowzhan, Sara
Development of 3-D urban form metrics using lidar in GIS environment.
Lim, Samsung / Turner, Ian
Shutova, Yulia
Monitoring of organic matter in drinking water treatment systems using fluorescence spectroscopy.
Henderson, Rita Kay / Baker, Andrew Blair
Simmons, Joshua Andrew
Real-time forecasting of storm impacts on a high energy coastline.
Turner, Ian / Splinter, Kristen
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Norzahari, Nur Fadhillah
Stem classification and modelling from lidar for a semi-automated forest inventory.
Lim, Samsung / Turner, Russell
Noushini, Amin
Low carbon concrete design.
Castel, Arnaud/ Gilbert, Raymond Ian
Nur, Ismawaty
Climate adaptation (coastal).
Peirson, William Leslie
Parvez, Md. Ahsan
Fatigue behaviour of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete beams and sleepers.
Foster, Stephen James
Pathiraja, Sahani Darshika
Improving the use of Data Assimilation for Flood Forecasting.
Sharma, Ashish
Payan, Meghdad
Study of small strain dynamic properties of saturated and unsaturated soils.
Khoshghalb, Arman
Pells, Steven Edward
Erosion of rock in spillways.
Peirson, William Leslie / Douglas, Kurt John
Peng, Yuan
Cost contingency.
Davis, Steven Richard
Perera, Weebadda Arachchilage Salinda
Improving quality performance in Australian building construction through productive construction environments.
Davis, Steven Richard
Peterson, Mark Aaron
Ground water resources in fractured rock aquifers using geochemical and isotopic methods.
Andersen, Martin Sogaard / Cendon, Dioni
Pflugrath, Brett Dean
Passage of fish through hydraulic structures.
Peirson, William Leslie / Cathers, Bruce
Phillips, Matthew Sean
Beach Recovery Following Storm Erosion.
Turner, Ian / Splinter, Kristen / Cox, Ron
Piscesa, Bambang
Ductility of reinforced concrete frames.
Attard, Mario Paul
Rana, Mohammad Masud
Behaviour of post-tensioned composite steel-concrete slabs.
Uy, Brian
Robson, Edward Nguyen
General equilibrium model to evaluate economic impact of transport projects.
Dixit, Vinayak / Waller, S Travis
OUR RESEARCH44
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Tran, Thao Minh
Performance and sustainability of membrane coupled with upflow anaerobic sludge blanket process.
Le Clech, Pierre / Stuetz, Richard
Tsarev, Sergey
Biogeochemistry.
Collins, Richard Nicholas
Vazquez Campos, Xabier
Geomicrobiological aspects of the (bio)leaching of weathered low-grade uranium ore
Neilan, Brett Anthony / Waite, David
Wang, Bei
Chemical assessment of emissions from sewage collection facilities.
Stuetz, Richard
Wang, Jun Chao
Computational mechanics.
Song, Chongmin
Wang, Kai
Implications of extracellular electron transfer by marine and freshwater phytoplankton.
Waite, David
Wang, Ke Isabella
The Applicability of Remote Sensing Techniques for Meteorological and Environmental Monitoring.
Trinder, John
Wang, Lili
Enantiospecific fate of polycyclic musks in biological wastewater treatment processes and the environment.
Khan, Stuart James
Waqas, Rumman
The Development of Efficient, robust and architecturally flexible structural systems using blind bolted connections.
Uy ,Brian
Warmate, Fubara George
Conditional Random Field Approach to Urban Growth Monitoring using Multisource Remote Sensing Data.
Rizos, Chris / Trinder, John
Wasko, Conrad Dominic
Hydroclimatology.
Sharma, Ashish
Watson, Phillip John
TBC
Cox, Ron
Wen, Tao
Transport network modelling.
Gardner, Lauren / Waller, S Travis
Wiig, Frances
Using L-Band SAR to detect and map subsurface archaeology in desert environments.
Rizos, Chris / Trinder, John
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Wijayaratna, Kasun Pradeepa
Modelling Disrupted Transport Network Behaviour.
Dixit, Vinayak / Waller, S Travis
Wijesekara, Dinusha Madushani
Prediction of Strong Ground Motions by Advanced Numerical Modelling of Seismic Wave Propagation.
Birk, Carolin Claudia
Wijesiri Pathirana, Indika Sameera
Use of innovative anchors as shear connectors in composite steel-concrete beams for the rehabilitation of existing structures and deployment of new structures.
Uy, Brian
Wu, Binhua
Advanced methods for structural analysis, structural safety and reliability, structural dynamics and optimization.
Gao, Wei
Wu, Di
Limit and shake down analysis, uncertain methods and non-deteministic analysis, structural analysis and optimization.
Tangaramvong, Sawekchai / Gao, Wei
Wu, Hao
Optimisation of excess sludge dewatering and phosphorus recovery in submerged membrane bioreactors.
Wang, Yuan / Waite, David
Xiang, Tingsong
Scaled boundary finite element analysis of plates and shells.
Song, Chongmin
Xiao, Wei
Biogeochemical processes in natural waters.
Bligh, Mark William / Waite, David
Xin, Yongjia
Effect of calcium and iron(III) on membrane fouling under conditions typical of submerged membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewaters.
Waite, David
Xing, Guowei
Generation of Oxidative Products in Quinone-mediated Cu/H
20
2 system.
Waite, David
Xu, Wenhua
Global flood forecasting.
Johnson, Fiona Michelle / Marshall, Lucy Amanda
Yang, Chengwei
Nondeterministic analysis of linear and nonlinear structures.
Tangaramvong, Sawekchai / Gao, Wei
Yang, Yang
Upheaval buckling.
Bradford, Mark Andrew
Yeung, Anna Chi Ying
Factors influencing the growth and toxicity of cyanobacteria in drinking water supplies.
Neilan, Brett Anthony / Waite, David
RESEARCH STUDENT / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Yin, Peijie
Micromechanics of Unsaturated Flow in Fractured Porous Medium.
Zhao, Gaofeng
Yousefnia Pasha, Amin
Study of soil-water characteristic curve in deformable porous media.
Khoshghalb, Arman / Khalili-Naghadeh, Nasser
Yu, Huijie
Contaminant degradation by supported Ag nanoparticles.
Waite, David
Yuan, Fang
Climate change impacts on coastal shoreline erosion processes.
Cox, Ron
Yvanes-Giuliani, Yliane Auriane Morgan
The geochemistry of aluminium in coastal lowland acid sulfate soils (CLASS): exchangeability, complexation and partitioning.
Collins, Richard Nicholas / Waite, David
Zainuddin, Nur Syahiza
Sources and mobility of arsenic in alluvial river sediments.
Andersen, Martin Sogaard
Zhang, Xiang
Transport modeling.
Waller, S Travis/ Rey, David
Zhang, Xinlei
Alternative project management practices.
Carmichael, David Gordon
Zhang,Yang
Natural hazards analysis.
Lim, Samsung
Zhang, Zhenghua
Phosphorus removal and membrane fouling and cleaning in iron-dosed submerged membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewaters.
Waite, David
Zhou, Peiyuan
Ionosphere modelling for precise GNSS positioning.
Wang, Jinling
Zhou, Yuening
Research on China-Australia construction supply chain.
Bernold, Leonhard Emi l/ Davis, Steven Richard
Zhu, Jianbei
Lateral buckling analysis of oil and gas pipelines.
Attard, Mario
Apologies to Sachin Singh, we used the wrong photo in last year’s annual report when he graduated.
His topic was fluorescence as an online monitoring tool or water recycling. His supervisors were S Khan / R Stuetz, R Henderson.
OUR RESEARCH 45
RESEARCH 2014 GRADUATES PHDRESEARCH 2014 GRADUATE / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Agarwal, Ankit
Behaviour of steel-CFRP adhesively bonded connections under thermal loading.
Foster, SJ & Hamed, E
Allis, Michael James
The speed, breaking onset and energy dissipation of 3D deep-water waves.
Peirson, W
Alvarez Gaitan, Juan Pablo
Comprehensive development of process, hybrid and consequential life cycle inventory models with demonstration in the water industry chemicals sector.
Moore, S & Peters, G
Boland, Daniel
Fe(II)-accelerated Fe(III) oxyhydroxide transformation: geochemical controls and implications for contaminant reduction.
Waite, TD & Collins, R
Chiong, Irene
The development of a polygon based numerical technique for structural analyses: scaled boundary polygons.
Song, C
Cholathat, Rattanasuda
Mapping the impact of CO2 sequestration
using NDVI time-series from multi-sensor optical satellite data.
Ge, L
Chowdhury, Morsaleen Shehzad
A non-deterministic fracture analysis tool by extending the scaled boundary finite element method.
Song, C
Ershadi Esmaeilabadi, Ali
Evapotranspiration: application, scaling and uncertainty.
McCabe, M & Evans, J
Esfahani Kan, Mojtaba
Seismic Deformation Analysis Of Earth And Rockfill Dams.
Taiebat, H
Gholamhoseini, Alireza
Time-dependent behaviour of composite concrete slabs.
Gilbert, RI
Gui, Yilin
Desiccation cracking in unsaturated soils.
Khalili, N
He, Di
Biotic and abiotic interactions of silver nanoparticles: Aggregation, dissolution and reactive oxygen species generation.
Waite, TD
Islam, Md Kamrul
Stochastic Modelling for evaluation of impacts of headway variability of public transit performance.
Vandebona, U
RESEARCH 2014 GRADUATE / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Rancic, Aleksandra Sanja
Reconstruction of bore hydrograph trends in fractured rock aquifers using data mining techniques.
Acworth, I
Salimzadeh, Saeed
Numerical modelling of two-phase fluid flow through deformable fractured porous media.
Khalili, N
Siew, Yung Jhien Renard
Evaluating and enhancing the impact of sustainability reporting tools (SRTs).
Carmichael, DG & Balatbat, M
Sriskandarajah, Sanchayan
High temperature behaviour of reactive powder concrete (RPC).
Foster, SJ
Tran, Trong Binh
The relationship between staffing levels and performance in manufacturing organisations.
Davis, S
Vo, Thanh Liem
Interaction between a rigid retaining wall and unsaturated soils.
Russell, A
Wang, Chen
Stochastic interval analysis of structures with uncertainties.
Gao, W
Wang, Xin
The feasibility of using satellite SAR images to monitor pasture in Australia.
Ge, L
Woldemeskel, Fitsum Markos
A framework for quantifying and incorporating climate data uncertainty into water resource assessments.
Sharma, A
Yang, Hongwei
In-Situ Testing Of Unsaturated Soils.
Russell, A
Yang ,Ling
Fault Detection And Isolation And Its Application In GNSS/Locata/INS Integrated Navigation System.
Rizos, C
Yap, Russell Kong Leng
Polymer-coated Bubbles in Dissolved Air Flotation for Processing Algae-laden Water.
Henderson, R & Stuetz, R
Yuan, Xiu
Kinetics and Mechanism of Copper Transformations in Natural Water at Circumneutral pH.
Waite, TD
RESEARCH 2014 GRADUATE / TOPIC / SUPERVISORS
Jiang, Yiping
Receiver autonomous integrity monitoring schemes for global navigation satellite systems.
Wang, J
Kaboli, Seyed Alireza
Cost and emissions analysis of earthmoving operations.
Carmichael, DG
Khajeh Samani, Ali
Ductility In Reinforced Concrete Columns.
Attard, Mario
Khan, Urooj
A new framework for process based computationally efficient semi-distributed hydrological modelling.
Sharma, A & Tuteja, N K
Li, Chao
Fracture analysis of Piezoelectric composites using scaled boundary finite element method.
Song, C
Liu, Nengguang
Dynamic analysis of vehicle-bridge interaction system with uncertain parameters.
Gao, W
Ma, Jianjun
Coupled flow deformation analysis of fractured porous media subject to elasto-plastic damage.
Khalili, N
Ma, Tian
Oxidant generation on photolysis of silver chloride suspensions: implications to organic contaminant degradation.
Waite, TW
Maghrebi, Mojtaba
Using machine learning to automatically plan concrete delivery dispatching.
Waller, ST & Sammut, C
Mazumder, Maruful Hasan
The anchorage of deformed bars in reinforced concrete members subjected to bending.
Gilbert, RI
Mohamad Abas, Fairul Zahri
Strength of fibre reinforced concrete composite slabs with deep trapezoidal profiled steel decking.
Gilbert, RI
Moon,Sungkon
Dynamic control of supply chain quality to improve process performance in construction.
Bernold, L & Davis, S
Park,Hong Joo
Analysis of full waveform airborne LIDAR remote sensing data for the individual tree inventory in Australian forest.
Lim, S
Rahnamayie Zekavat, Payam
Performance assessment of agile communication in construction.
Bernold, L
OUR RESEARCH46
CERSA 2014
The Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
Student Association (CERSA) is the student body which
represents postgraduate research students within the
School.
2014 CERSA Committee
Conrad Wasko, Milad Ghasrikhouzani, Nima Amini, Guido
Carvajal Ortega, Seyedkomeil Hashemiheidari, Xabier
Vázquez Campos, Arvin Saket, Juan Carlos Castilla
In 2014 the number of students within the school
swelled again with the total number of students tipping
200. CERSA kicked off the year with a welcoming
BBQ to meet and greet the new students and elect a
representative committee for the coming year. All in all,
2014 turned out to be a big year for CERSA. Among
the usual social events which included a Board Game
Night, Movie Night and several End of Month Drinks, two
new sporting events were added to the social calendar.
This year saw CERSA host the inaugural CERSA Table
Tennis Tournament and CERSA Futsal Tournament. Both
events proved to be a huge success with even a couple
of staff members showing up to compete for spoils that
come with being crowned a CERSA sporting champion.
Continuing from feedback received from students,
past and present, CERSA also facilitated a two-day
Academic Writing Workshop run by Pam Port where
students were invited to come and improve their
journal and thesis writing skills. Finally, this year also
saw CERSA make its annual pilgrimage to the Water
Research Laboratory at Manly Vale for a tour of the
laboratories and a BBQ by the picturesque Manly Dam.
Without the generous support from both the school’s
staff and students, CERSA would not have had as
successful year as it did. Thank you for attending our
events and we look forward to seeing you all in 2015!
L-R Guido Carvajal Ortega, Conrad Wasko, Xabier Vázquez Campos, Arvin Saket, Nima Amini, Milad Ghasrikhouzani, Seyedkomeil Hashemiheidari. Absent: Juan Carlos Castilla’
OUR TEACHING
OUR TEACHING48
THE TEACHING AND LEARNING REPORT
The Teaching and Learning Committee (TLC) of the
School is responsible for all academic matters relating
to all undergraduate and postgraduate coursework
programs; these involve:
\ encouraging teaching quality,
\ providing teaching aids to staff,
\ monitoring courses through student focus group
surveys,
\ interaction with student representatives of CEVSOC
and research student tutors through CERSA,
\ setting policy regarding academic aspects of
undergraduate and postgraduate examinations and
enrolments,
\ providing a focal point for student assistance in
undergraduate and postgraduate coursework
matters.
The major drive behind the Committee’s agenda is
to improve the learning experience of students. The
members of the committee in 2014 were:
Teaching and Learning Committee 2014
Dr Steven Davis Chair
Stephen MooreDeputy Chair &Environmental Eng Program Coordinator
Associate Professor Mario Attard
Assoc Head (Academic)Civil Engineering Program Coordinator
Julijana Baric/ Kristy Guia
Student Services Manager
Dr Johnson Shen Year 2 Coordinator
Dr Carolin BirkStructures Representative & Elite Student Coordinator
Dr Kurt Douglas Geotechnical Representative
Dr Lauren GardnerCivil with Arch Program Coordinator
Dr Bruce Harvey Surveying Representative
Dr Arman Khoshghalb CIT & ET Liaison
Dr Ehab Hamed Year 3 Coordinator
A/Prof Bill Peirson Water Representative
Dr Taha Rashidi Year 4 Coordinator
Dr Hossein TaiebatPostgraduate Coursework Coordinator
Dr Hamid Valipour Year 1 Coordinator
Dr Upali Vandebona Industrial Training Coordinator
A/Prof Jinling Wang Faculty IRC Rep
In Feb the TLC strongly supported the School’s one
day staff retreat focused on ‘Efficacy & Quality in
Teaching’. All academic staff attended, and the
OUR TEACHING 49
programme was very effectively MC-ed by Ian McIntyre,
Principal of Evans & Peck (now Advisian), and Chair
of the School’s Industry Advisory Committee. Topics
explored and shared included current innovations in
School online and blended teaching and learning;
improving the student experience with field work,
excursions and laboratories; upcoming curriculum and
program changes; supporting independent student
learning; managing large classes; and how to measure,
acknowledge and reward good teaching.
In 2014 the Committee administered the second year of
the innovative School Teaching Initiative Grant Scheme
(STIGS) – the aim being to develop and implement
innovations in School teaching and learning, and to
support the improvement of the student experience
through teaching related activities.
Six teaching initiatives applications were successful
in receiving funding commitments for 2014. These
initiatives ranged from continuing with online teaching
innovations and improvements within undergraduate
and postgraduate courses, to providing a more hands-
on approach in water quality laboratory classes, and
to supporting a fourth year student-industry showcase
forum on sustainable infrastructure design.
TEACHING EQUIPMENT GRANTS
An initiative for 2014 was the introduction of the
“Teaching Equipment Grants”. Modelled on the School’s
longstanding call for Research Equipment grants
for the support of research facilities, a School grant
scheme was introduced through its Teaching and
Learning Committee for the support of in-class teaching
equipment to improve teaching to large classes and
improve student experience by bringing the laboratory
to the classroom. The following grants were awarded for
2014:
Ehab Hamed: Physical structural modelling in large classes
Johnson Shen: Miniature construction equipment
Carolin Birk: Instructional Shake Table II Workstation
Stefan Felder and Bill Peirson: Upgrade hydraulic flow meters
This initiative will be continued to be developed for 2015.
OUR TEACHING50
SELECTED STUDENT PROFILES
Joseph Babana James Dunn Afrida Salman
Jotham Young Nurinda Triwahyuni Suastha
Our hardworking and high achieving students come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but they share a common desire to be of real use in the world. We asked five of them to tell us their stories.
“After the experience with Design Thinking I feel a greater ability to innovate and become an entrepreneur,”
James’s interest was sparked when he attended a UNSW function for high achievers as a high school student.
Afrida has enjoyed sharing her passion for engineering by facilitating workshops and engaging with high school students.
Nurinda Triwahyuni Suastha is one of UNSW’s most outstanding students, having collected no less than four academic awards in the last three years.
“More than just a sum of money, the scholarship was what allowed me to pursue my dreams of studying engineering at a world-class institution like UNSW”
OUR TEACHING 51
UNSW function for high achievers as a high school student. He says the scholarship has allowed him to pursue his goal of studying at UNSW without a large financial burden.
“It is a great privilege to be awarded such a major scholarship,” says James. “Having met my donor on a couple of occasions and learnt the background of the scholarship, it really pleases me to be chosen out of the many applications that were received.”
James is now a second year resident at Philip Baxter College on campus. “I can easily say that my first year of university study and living in college was the best year of my life. I knew no one before I moved to Sydney but after just one year I have already met an enormous amount of people.”
Asked about his career aspirations, James says he would like to revolutionise the way environmentally friendly constructions are undertaken and build an appreciation for the unique qualities of green technology designs.
“I would like to be a part of a design team that creates something that truly makes a difference to the community in which it resides and is recognised worldwide as a step forward in a sustainable future.”
Afrida SalmanYear 5
From Hornsby Girls’ High to final year Engineering
Honours student and Student Ambassador for the
Faculty of Engineering, Afrida Salman has had quite an
academic journey. Having first enrolled in Engineering/
Arts so she could continue studying languages, Afrida
switched to Civil/Enviro in her second year after a taste
of environmental engineering in a first year elective.
She discovered the degree was quite flexible and could
easily accommodate her interest in German.
Afrida has also been Student Ambassador for UNSW
Engineering for two years.
This involves representing the faculty to prospective
students and parents at a range of on- and off-campus
events. Afrida has enjoyed sharing her passion for
engineering by facilitating workshops and engaging
with high school students.
“I think it has given me the opportunity to develop
strong communication and leadership skills,” she
says. This year Afrida spoke to an audience of around
300 at the Faculty of Engineering presentation on
UNSW Information Day. She also represented UNSW
at the National Youth Science Forum in Canberra and
presented to an audience of 200 keen students.
Joseph BabanaYear 3
Winning a scholarship offers much more than financial assistance, as Joseph Babana can attest. Thanks to his Future Direction Network (FDN) scholarship, Joseph was able to attend the International Design Thinking Week in Berlin last year – an experience which has been life changing.
The FDN is a private foundation run by former NRL star Corey Payne. It focuses on supporting young people from Sydney’s South West. In 2013, Joseph was one of three students awarded the scholarship, which recognises both academic achievement and socioeconomic disadvantage.
However, Joseph says, the scholarship has provided much more, with great mentors to help guide him though his studies.
“After the experience with Design Thinking I feel a greater ability to innovate and become an entrepreneur,” he says.
The trip to Germany was Joseph’s first time overseas, and it has encouraged him towards further travel. He is now on track to spend a semester on exchange at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and his sights are set on a second exchange in Europe.
Joseph chose the double degree in civil and environmental engineering because he sees sustainability principles as being more and more a part “of everything we build.” He feels a responsibility to future generations for wiser management today of Earth’s finite resources. He dreams of one day being behind the creation of a Sydney public transport and roads system that is the best in the world. He would love to travel and work on projects overseas, reconstruct war or disaster-torn cities and eliminate poverty caused by lack of infrastructure.
James DunnYear 2
It wasn’t until the middle of his HSC year that McCarthy College Tamworth’s vice captain, James Dunn, decided what type of engineering he wanted to do. Having always been environmentally conscious, he was drawn towards a degree related to renewable energy; but he also had a keen interest in design.
James received scholarship offers from several institutions and chose the Bernard William Gould Rural Scholarship at UNSW because it allowed him to do a double degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. It also meant the fulfillment of a desire to study at one of the top ranked engineering schools in the country. James’s interest was sparked when he attended a
OUR TEACHING52
Afrida says University has been a great experience.
“In a span of five years I’ve met some amazing people,
spent a year studying in Switzerland, become involved
with Engineers Without Borders, and now have the
opportunity to do research in an area of choice
(groundwater) with the final year Honours thesis. Every
year has been a new and different experience.”
As for the future? Afrida would like to enter the field of engineering consulting. Her dream for the industry is to see more women in senior engineering positions.
Nurinda Triwahyuni SuasthaYear 3
Nurinda Triwahyuni Suastha is one of UNSW’s most
outstanding students, having collected no less than four
academic awards in the last three years.
In 2013 she was won the Jacob Frenkel prize for
outstanding first year. The Prize is awarded for the best
achievement in Civil Engineering for a first year student.
Nurinda has also won the Faculty of Engineering Dean’s
Award – twice. The Dean’s Award recognises the top
two per cent of students across the Faculty with a
minimum WAM of 85 (High Distinction).
“Obtaining these awards has meant the world to me,”
Nurinda says. “I am truly grateful to be able to make my
parents and community proud. It boosts my confidence
and self-respect, and motivates me to keep persevering
to achieve the best I can. ”
The final feather in Nurinda’s academic cap (so far) is
the JK Geotechnics Prize for the best performance in
CVEN2201 Soil Mechanics, which she won in 2014.
Nurinda’s many achievements reflect her capability,
diligence and avid interest in the field of civil
engineering. However, excellence in academia is
not Nurinda’s only passion. She is also involved in
the Indonesian Student Association (ISA), which she
says has helped her develop important ‘soft’ skills
and expand her social network. Although Nurinda
herself is fluent in English, she understands that some
common issues faced by Indonesian students are
the “language barrier, home-sickness, and different
learning approach.” Of her time so far at UNSW, she
truly treasures meeting new people and making new
friends from several cultural backgrounds. She strongly
believes that relationship skills, “soft skills” are just as
crucial as academic excellence.”
Nurinda’s dream is to be a successful entrepreneur and
property developer, building structures that are advanced,
sustainable and meeting clients’ needs. Once she has made
her mark, she would like to give back to the community and
build amenities to help the less fortunate.
Jotham YoungYear 3
Jotham Young says it is hard to comprehend how
different his life would be if he didn’t have the financial
support of the Stockton Drilling Services Award, which
he won in 2013.
“More than just a sum of money, the scholarship was
what allowed me to pursue my dreams of studying
engineering at a world-class institution like UNSW,” he
says. Without the scholarship, Jotham believes he would
never have packed his bags and left his hometown on
the Mid-North Coast.
“I am incredibly grateful to my industry sponsors for
providing this life-changing opportunity.”
He is certainly making the most of it. A New Colombo
Plan Scholarship will send him to Malaysia for a year,
starting Semester 2, 2015. The New Colombo Plan is
a government initiative that aims to build knowledge of
the Indo-Pacific Region within Australia by supporting
undergraduates to relocate to the region. Jotham
will undertake 12 months of study in Malaysia, and
pursue language training, research and internship
opportunities.
Jotham likens his double degree to a peanut butter and
jam sandwich – an unlikely combination that works. He
says Engineering provides tools to develop and design
solutions to problems, while Commerce teaches the
financial know-how and big-picture perspective to bring
those solutions to life.
“Everything, from the 9am lectures to the late nights
out, has made my University experience one massive
adventure and, as the saying goes, one of the best
times of my life.”
Asked about his wildest career dreams, Jotham says:
“Over 750 million people lack access to clean drinking
water, more than 840,000 people die each year from
water-born diseases, and more people worldwide have
access to a mobile phone than a toilet. I would like to
build and manage infrastructure solutions that make a
difference to those numbers.”
OUR TEACHING 53
2014 admissions, enrolments, graduates
Undergraduate Commencing Enrolled Graduated3620 BE Civil Engineering 209 686 2003624 BE Civil with Architecture 53 195 383625 BE Environmental 20 71 14Combined Degrees3146 BE Civil/BE Mining 33 133 103621 BE BA (Civil/Arts) n/a 3 33626 BE BA (Environmental/Arts) n/a 3 03631 BE Civil/ BE Enviro 40 116 123703 BE BA (Engineering/Arts) n/a 8 03704 BE BA (Engineering/Arts) 3 13 03715 BE/BCom 88 317 413730 BE BSc (Civil/Science) 12 50 33735 BE BSc (Environmental/Science) 5 17 03741 BE Surveying n/a 0 13746 BE Surveying and SIS/Science 2 1 03742 BE Surveying & Geoinfo Systems 24 52 144776/4777/4778 BE/LLB (Engineering/Law) 5 17 4Total Undergraduates 494 1682 340Postgraduate Coursework Commencing Enrolled Graduated5338 Graduate Diploma 22 37 57338 Graduate Certificate 4 16 38538 MEngSc 184 452 2488539 MEngSc (Extension) 80 118 8Total 290 623 265
OUR TEACHING54
TUNNELLING DELIGHTS
Fourth year construction students in the undergraduate
course CVEN4102 Operations and Projects visited
the North West Rail Link (NWRL) Project at Bella Vista
in Semester 2, 2014. They were accompanied by
their course coordinator Dr Johnson Shen who had
organised the site visit – and three other academic staff
members Prof David Carmichael, Dr Steve Davis, and
A/Prof Linlin Ge.
During the visit, NWRL Project Manager Tim Burns gave
students a one hour talk introducing the entire project and
tunnelling method using tunnel boring machines (TBM).
Jodie Grant, NWRL Community Place Manager, led
the site tour to the TBM launching shaft and precast
concrete plant on the site. Students were very
impressed. Ranie Nguyen felt ‘it was truly an informative
tour that gave me the opportunity first hand to see how
a construction site is operated’ – while Jovin Saymontry
declared it was ‘by far the best field trip I have been
part of during my university career.’
The $8.3 billion North West Rail Link is Australia’s
largest public transport infrastructure project currently
under construction and a priority rail project for the NSW
Government. The project includes construction of twin
15 km tunnels from Bella Vista to Epping – Australia’s
longest rail tunnels.
Pics authorised by Thiess/John Holland/Dragados
OUR TEACHING 55
In June 2014 the School held a showcase event to
celebrate the work of our creative and forward thinking
young engineers. For three months, sixty-five Year 4
students enrolled in CVEN4701 Planning Sustainable
Infrastructure had looked at the environmental issues
associated with the proposed Ranger uranium
mine extension in Kakadu. In addition to this, they
designed more sustainable infrastructure to support
the transformation of the nearby town of Jabiru into an
ecotourism destination by the year 2030.
The four components of regional infrastructure of
materials and waste, water, energy and transport, were
included in the students’ brief. It is a sensitive area;
there have been environmental problems with past
mining; consultation and negotiations with Indigenous
landholders will be required; and the climate creates
problems for water management and comfortable living.
The engineers needed to practise critical thinking,
creative problem solving, and teamwork skills to meet
these challenges. For the showcase event – organised
by School academic and course coordinator Stephen
Moore – students created posters to display their
findings and make their recommendations.
These were judged by special guests and industry
partners including leading international waste
management expert Professor Shinichi Sakai from Kyoto
University; Professor Nakata from Nura Gili, Centre for
Indigenous Programs at UNSW; and Safiah Moore, a
planner from Arup, a leading global engineering design
consultancy, and industry partner of the School.
SHOWCASE- EVENT: PLANNING OF SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE.
The winning team were Belinda Lau, Fatima Raposo,
Lisa Teng and Clayton Wills.
Highly Commended Teams: Annie Mak, Caio Muraki de
Sa, Dariane Miranda Pereira; and Marc Beckett, Carlos
Navarro Mingarro, Siddhartha Padhye and Shaoxiong Yu.
1ST
2ND
3RD
OUR TEACHING56
University Medal
\ University Medal in Civil Engineering: Han Su
\ University Medal in Civil Engineering: Timothy
Cheung (pictured page 57 far right)
\ University Medal in Civil Engineering with
Architecture: Nell B Hardy (pictured page 57 centre
right)
\ University Medal in Environmental Engineering:
Kelvin Nguyen (pictured page 57 left)
Engineering Prizes
\ The Alexander Wargon Prize – Timothy Cheung
\ The Jacob N Frenkel Prize – Jason Lam
\ The Welding Technology Institute of Australia Prize
– Yang Yu
\ Engineers Australia Civil and Structural Engineering
Prize – Joel Willey
\ The ASI Undergraduate Steel Design Award –
Jonathan CHAN
\ The Full Time Class of 1962 Civil Engineering and
Surveying Alumni Prize – Lynette Qian
\ The George Bennett Millenium Prize – Hannah
Pearce
\ The Institution of Surveyors New South Wales
Incorporated Prize – Amanda Nicholas
\ The EGM Memorial Prize – Robert Dicker
\ The JK Geotechnics Prize – Nurinda Suastha
\ The Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute Prize –
Shuyi Liu & Robert Dicker
\ The Association of Consulting Surveyors’ NSW Prize
in Land Development – Amanda Nicholas
\ The BOSSI Medal – Peter Boorer
\ The Association of Public Authority Surveyors’ Prize
– Hannah Pearce
\ The R S Mather Memorial Prize – Amanda Nicholas
\ The Crawford Munro Memorial Prize – Jonathan
Chan
AWARDS AND PRIZES
SCHOOL INDUSTRY TRAINING
GHD
OUR TEACHING 57
Dean’s Awards
Deans Awards in 2015 for
students from the School of Civil &
Environmental Engineering – studies
completed in 2014
\ Mr Ahmed Abdul Matheen
\ Mr Tomas Beuzen
\ Mr Matias Braga San Martin
\ Mr Jonathan Chan
\ Mr Ming Chin
\ Ms Mingyi Dong
\ Ms Jingting Duan
\ Mr James Dunn
\ Mr Josiah Fajardo
\ Ms Faiza Kazmi
\ Mr Abhikaar Kishor
\ Mr Jason Lam
\ Ms Monica Laut
\ Mr Xiao Li
\ Mr William Manning
\ Mr Daniel Setioso
\ Ms Karina Siems
\ Miss Nurinda Suastha
\ Miss Kelly Tang
\ Mr Anh Tran
\ Mr Atheththan Vigneswaran
\ Miss Camellia Wong
\ Ms Sum Wong
\ Mr Hubert Xiao
\ Mr Koray Yurt
Year 4 Industry sponsored Prizes
\ Civil with Architecture – Prize
sponsored by Arup – Winner: Michael
Chernyavsky
\ Civil & Environmental Engineering
Practice – Prize sponsored by Cardno
– Winner: Matthew Bugden
\ Construction Management – Prize
sponsored by Brookfield Multiplex –
Winner: Ravi Kaberwal
\ Environmental Engineering – Prize
sponsored by Royal Haskoning
DHV– Winner: Ellen Howley
\ Geospatial Engineering – Prize
sponsored by AAM Group – Winner:
Amanda Nicholas
\ Geotechnical Engineering – Prize
sponsored by PSM – Winner: Koray
Yurt
\ Industrial Training – Prize sponsored
by CVEN – Winner: Alison Goddard
\ Structural Engineering – Prize
sponsored by Aurecon – Winner:
Timothy Cheung
\ Surveying – Prize sponsored by
Jacobs – Winner: Peter Boorer
\ Transport Engineering – Prize
sponsored by AECOM – Winner:
Jarrah Duckhs
\ Water Engineering – Prize sponsored
by GHD – Winner: Nell Hardy
AECOM
CARDNO
PSM
BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX
OUR TEACHING58
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING SOCIETY (CEVSOC)
Presidents Report 2014
CEVSOC this year has aimed to hold more frequent,
social and professional events with a goal of promoting
both the academic and social side of University
life. Online membership increased by 40% to 1780
members – evident by the increased turnout to events
and participation in everything CEVSOC. Expansion has
enabled growth in new regions of study and social life.
CEVSOC began the year in style with a start of session
pizza night enabling all students to meet and greet the
new 2014 committee. Immediate weeks to follow saw
frequent BBQ’s including CEVSOC’s first Breakfast
BBQ, which was a major success! 2014 also saw
CEVSOC join with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition
(AYCC) Charity raising money for the villages of Nepal.
The 4th consecutive First Year Camp was run early in
2014 accommodating over 100 first year students. This
event has yet again proved a major hit enabling first
years to meet a range of new people, including those in
their own year as well as older years. With engineering
challenges, mini Olympics and nights to socialize the
camp is a great initiative run by CEVSOC in order to get
students involved in CEVSOC and University life.
CEVSOC’s annual Harbour Cruise saw both the
Architecture Society (ARCSOC) and Interior Architecture
Society (INTASOC) join together holding over 200
people on a night theme “Sailors on the Blue”. The night
proved successful permitting the three clubs to expand
friendship circles and develop essential networking skills.
By holding events such as IT and Electives Night,
Employment Skills Seminar, Industry BBQ’s, Thesis
Night and Alumni Night, CEVSOC has a powerful tool
for students. With outside sources such as industry
partners and alumni students as well as internal tools
including senior lecturers and Head of School, Steve
Foster, CEVSOC has held these events in order to
enable students to get the most out of their University.
Whether it be conversing with industry representatives
about future professional prospects or third and
fourth years debating thesis topics with supervisors
and lecturers, there has been a massive opportunity
presented and that is what CEVSOC is about.
CEVSOC looks back on a great 2014 and towards an
exciting and promising 2015. Having succeeded in
growing and improving upon past events, we look to the
future and see even more gains to be had with new and
innovative ideas.
Sam McCormickCEVSOC President 2014
The office bearers for 2014 are as follows:President: Sam McCormick
Vice President: Georgia Harmey
Secretary: Jono Lustre
Treasurer: Teresa Tran
WHS Representative: Catriona Tait
Arc Delegate: Ravi Kaberwal
Sports Representative(s): Adam Refki and Joel
Chapman
2014 CEVSOC Executive and team: Back L-R: Jono Lustre, Teresa Tran, Catrionia Tait, Leila Bowe, Sam McCormick, George Chard, Alex Warren, Ravi Kaberwal, Celine El Khouri, Georgia Harmey, Adam Refki Front row (kneeling) Claudia Burbidge, Chris Mundy(reclining), Joel Chapman, Karina Baumber
OUR TEACHING 59
The Surveying Society (SURVSOC) is an undergraduate
student society for students enrolled in the BE Surveying
and BE Geoinfo systems programs. We aim to enrich
the university experience for students by hosting social
events that cater to what the students want out of the
society and their time at university. This ranges from
barbeques and pizza nights to jumpers and shirts.
Furthermore, we strive to give students the opportunity
to meet representatives of the industry and inform them
of the opportunities that exist during and after their
degree. These events give students of all years the
opportunity to meet and share their experiences and
ideas over food and drink. It also gives students and
staff the chance to get to know each other outside the
classroom.
2014 – 2015 SURVSOC Office-BearersPresident: Henry Deng
Vice President: Phillip Dao
Treasurer: Simon Yu
Secretary: Mitchel Bradac
ARC Delegate: Jacky Chan
AUSIM/Industry Representative: John Ngyuen
4th Year Representative: Jerom Vanderstappen
3rd Year Representative: Luke Chidzy
2nd Year Representative: Hanna Jayne
SURVEYING SOCIETY (SURVSOC)
You may not hear it all that often (as an ex-teacher I know it is rare to
hear back from students) but I wanted to let
you know my daughter Julianne really enjoyed
studying at UNSW and has left an extremely
confident and capable person. She had some
really terrific lecturers and tutors who guided
and helped her in what are arguably the most
difficult subjects anyone can take at University.
I was looking at the web site for CVEN and saw
the lovely group photograph of her (RHS in the
black and white outfit) with her friends that had
been taken at the special Year 4 dinner. The
students looked so poised and professional.
It was such a great photograph also because
it showed both males and females in the shot
because that is the future of Engineering.
The School can be very proud of its
achievements and it is wonderful to see that all
the hard work has paid off in its very high world
ranking. Congratulations to all of you and may
the new intake for 2015 have as much enjoyment
as Julianne did.
Kind regards
Mrs Lyndy Lipman
In 2014 Julianne Lipman, a BE Civil with Architecture student, won one of only five scholarships through the MADE by the Opera House program. The scholarship allowed students of the built environment including engineers, architects and designers to work in Denmark on a multidisciplinary project. Julianne is currently doing an internship with Arup Italy in Milan.
OUR TEACHING60
YEAR 4 DINNER
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY62
Ian McIntyre Principal and Service Lead, Contractual Services, Advisor
As a consultant for the past 27 years, Ian has advised in relation to project delivery processes on a wide range of infrastructure, building and systems integration projects throughout Australia and South East Asia. His previous experience was in project management and construction engineering for a contractor on major civil engineering and multi disciplinary projects throughout Australia and in Hong Kong.He is frequently retained in “trouble shooting”, independent review and due diligence roles and has considerable experience in analysis of the reasons for project delivery problems, and of the factors which are typically associated with successful project delivery strategies leading to successful project outcomes. He is an experienced expert witness in relation to project performance issues.
Deirdre Agnew Student Careers AdvisorSt Aloysius Kirribilli
Deirdre has worked in banking, insurance broking and market research in UK. She has also been employed in public relations/events management role for international conferences at the University of the Witwatersrand. She taught at Hornsby Girls’ High School, before moving into careers counselling. She spent fifteen years at St. Ignatius’ College, Riverview and has been at St. Aloysius College at Milsons Point since 2005. Deirdre is also a director of Australian Careers Advice, a professional careers consultancy.
Eric de Rooy General Manager, Service Delivery - Sydney Water
Eric was appointed General Manager, Service Delivery, Sydney Water in July 2012, prior to which he was General Manager, Maintenance from November 2008. Since joining Sydney Water in January 1975 as a trainee civil engineer, Eric has worked in many of the asset-re-lated areas, including construction, design, treatment operations/maintenance, capital projects and network operations. In 1998 Eric took up the role of Water Networks Manager and was later appointed as Manager Strategic Operations in 2004. He was appointed as the General Manager of the new Service Delivery Division in 2012, with responsibility for the planning, operation, maintenance and renewal of all of Sydney Water’s service related assets.
Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Greens NSW MP
CVEN alumnus Dr Mehreen Faruqi joined the NSW Legislative Council in June 2013. She has worked in leadership positions in local government, consulting firms and higher education institutions including UNSW - in Australia and internationally. Mehreen has delivered major engineering projects such as stormwater reuse and recycling infrastructure, cycle ways, hydropower generation and rainforest rehabilitation. She has chaired a number of panels and committees on sustainability, water and waste management for industry, local, state and federal government .She is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia and a member of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand
Laurie Foy, Regional Director, Construction + Development, Brookfield Multiplex
Laurie has over 30 years construction industry experi-ence gained both locally and in South East Asia. Laurie joined Brookfield Multiplex in 1991 to lead the Sheraton on the Park project. Since then he has provided leader-ship to teams on some of Brookfield Multiplex’s most challenging projects, among them the $287m Parramatta Justice Precinct, the $360m BER Schools Program and more recently, Lifehouse at RPA and the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. Laurie works closely in skills training of junior staff members and is also involved in development of op-portunities for long term unemployed in the Indigenous population
INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Industry Advisory Committee is an important means
by which links between the School and industry are
maintained. Members of the IAC are drawn from private
sector, government and consultant organisations. Its
main function is that of “sounding board” for the School
in regard to undergraduate and graduate programs,
and research directions.
The IAC membership represents a broad cross section
of relevant industry sectors at a senior and influential
level. This year, 2014, a year of significant change, we
welcomed Dr Mehreen Faruqi, (NSW MLC), Laurie Foy
(Brookfield Multiplex) , Dr James Glastonbury (Laing
O’Rourke), Iain Scoular (Leighton Holdings), Dave
Stewart (Transport for NSW – subsequently returned
to Queensland) and Athena Venios ( AECOM) to our
Committee. With the honourable exception of Laurie all
are alumni of the School.
The IAC and the School have taken a long term
approach to improving the standing of the School
within the awareness and perception of possible future
students, their parents, teachers and careers advisers.
As a consequence, the School now reaches out to these
groups in several practical ways: Presentation of maths
prizes in primary schools, Year 10 visits to engineering
projects and activities as an alternative form of “industry
work experience” for high school students, and
sponsorship of attendance by school careers advisers
at industry awards dinners for engineering excellence.
Each of these means of outreach continues to receive
very favourable feedback from participants.
For 2014, the Committee requested the School to put
extra efforts into reaching regional careers advisers,
and meeting three of these at the EA Awards evening
was a particularly rewarding experience. Also rewarding
was the visit of a dedicated Sydney careers adviser,
Lorna Charters, to our last meeting of the year where
she analysed and demonstrated for the IAC the road, we
believe, to engineering ruin. That is, the almost systemic
ways in which students are being turned away from
studying higher level maths in our secondary schools.
Finally, our sincere and grateful thanks to departing
IAC members: Stephen Boss and Adrian Bull (both
longstanding members of the Committee - from 2006
to 2013), Ian Hosking and Bruce Munro for all their
support and service. We wish them all the best as they
continue to serve their industry and community with
great distinction.
Ian McIntyre
Chairman
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY 63
Dr James Glastonbury, Engineering Director, Laing O’Rourke
For his PhD in geotechnical engineering at UNSW James developed slope risk management tools that have been used by various agencies for better managing landslide risk, igniting a passion for innovation which has remained to this day. He now works with a global team of technical specialists that seek smarter ways to do things, to challenge traditional practice. He relishes the conversations he has with clients about how new ideas and technologies could be integrated into projects to provide greater efficiency, quality and performance,
Mark Gordon Principal Surveyor - RMS NSW
In 2008 Mark was named the NSW Professional Sur-veyor of the Year. Mark was Chairman of the NSW Sur-veying & Mapping Industry Council from 1999 to 2013 and Chairman of UNSW Australia School of Surveying & Spatial Information Systems Advisory Board from 2008 to 2013. Mark was also the Assistant Congress Director for the World Surveying Congress held in Sydney in the year 2010, which attracted 2000 delegates and for which he received the Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute’s President’s Award.From 2011 to 2013, Mark was the convenor of the Standards Australia committee for the development of an Australian Standard in Subsurface Utility Information. The new Standard was published in May 2013.
Andrew Johnson Principal, ARUP
Andrew leads an integrated buildings design team in the Sydney Arup office delivering bespoke high level multi-disciplinary design to achieve better and more sustainable buildings.Andrew is a structural engineer with a passion for design philosophies combining innovation with efficiency in ho-listic building or structural solutions, and his experience designing and delivering projects in Australia, the UK, and around the world over 17 years.His specific structural expertise includes tall buildings, hybrid structures, long-term serviceability of structures, seismic analysis and design, and long-span lightweight roof structures.
Dr Kourosh Kayvani Building Structures Leader and Head of InnovationAurecon
Dr Kourosh Kayvani is Aurecon’s global Head of Innovation. Over a 20+ year career, he played key roles in the design of many innovative and award-winning structures including Wembley National Stadium (Arch and Roof), London; the ANSTO OPAL Reactor Building, Lucas Height, NSW; and State Hockey Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney.Kourosh has been listed in Engineers Australia Top 100 most influential engineers in 2009 in recognition of his Engineering Expertise. He is also a Laureate of the IABSE Prize awarded by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering for his contribution to design of long span structures worldwide. Kourosh is a Fellow of Engineers Australia, a Director of Australian Steel Institute (ASI) and a Director of Association of Structural Engineers, NSW (ASCE).
David KinniburghGlobal Market Lead-er – TransportationGHD
David Kinniburgh is responsible for overseeing the development and delivery of GHD’s global transportation strategy. David has worked with GHD for more than 16 years and has strong experience ranging from concept development to detailed design and construction management, predominantly in the transportation sector. Previously, he was the Operating Centre Manager for GHD’s Sydney operations, responsible for business in Sydney, Wollongong, Dubbo and Orange.
Garry Mostyn Principal, PSM
Garry worked with the NSW Department of Public Works and with consulting geotechnical engineers from 1970 until 1986.He then joined the School of Civil Engineering at UNSW where he lectured in civil and environmental engineering practice and geotechnical engineering. He joined PSM in 1997 as a Principal Consultant. Garry’s fields of specialist expertise include slope engineering; foundation engineering; rock mechanics; geo-technical risk analysis; and forensic engineering. He has authored or co-authored over 60 journal and conference papers. He has worked on major projects throughout Australia and in Thailand and PNG. He has been an active member of several national and international code and practice com-mittees and been involved at the highest levels of the Australian Geomechanics Society and the International Society for Rock Mechanics.
Iain Scoular, General Manager, Group Services, Leighton Holdings
Iain graduated from UNSW with an Hons degree in civil engineering in 1980. Leighton has a long and proud partnership with UNSW having offered engineering scholarship programs and prizes worth a total value of over $750,000 since 2004, and Iain has been at the heart of it all. He was also one of the leaders responsible for establishing the award winning MEngSc in project management developed by the School for the Leighton Group.
Dave Stewart, Secretary, Transport for NSW
As the Secretary of Transport for NSW, Dave Stewart led 25,000 people employed by the state’s Transport cluster, shaping the policy and delivery of public transport, roads and freight across NSW. Dave brought more than 30 years of experience in identifying and meeting the needs of the transport cluster’s diverse customers, in-cluding time as Head of Projects in Queensland’s Treas-ury and Director-General of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. He has worked within the private sector, in Queensland and the United Kingdom, on a range of road, construction and geotechnical and advisory roles. He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia.
Athena Venios, Technical Director – Transport Group, AECOM
Athena graduated from UNSW with a BE (Civil) Honours degree in 1997. She currently manages a team of 240 consulting professionals at AECOM servicing the trans-port market in NSW, including roads (including bridges and tunnels), rail, ports & marine and aviation.
Left to Right: Professor Stephen J Foster (Professor, Head of School); A/Prof Ron Cox (Co-Chair, External Relations Committee, Convenor, ACCARNSI); Dr Kurt Douglas (Co-Chair, External Relations Committee); Dr Mary O’Connell (Manager - External Relations)
IAC School Members
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY64
Associate Professor Ron Cox Co-Chair
Dr Kurt Douglas Co-Chair
Dr Lauren Gardner
Dr Fiona Johnson
Dr Mary O’Connell External Relations Manager
Dr Craig Roberts
Dr Kristen Splinter
Dr Sawekchai Tangaramvong Scholarships Officer
Ms Tricia Tesoriero Special Projects Administrator
The strategic objectives of the External Relations
Committee (ERC) of the School of Civil & Environmental
Engineering include the development of effective
outreach and marketing programs, as well as building
good relationships with industry and our alumni
community.
ERC members represent and promote the School at
many presentations and functions on and off campus.
These include UNSW and Engineering Information Days,
UNSW Open Day, High School visits on and off campus,
the Indigenous Australian Engineering Summer School
and UNSW Nura Gili Winter School, and working closely
with the Women in Engineering camp – an annual week-
long event coordinated by the Faculty of Engineering.
As well as liaising with the School’s Industry Advisory
Committee, the ERC also administers the Industry
Partner Program and within that portfolio organises
an annual Industry Partners Careers Market, an
Elite Student/Industry breakfast at Sydney’s Botanic
Gardens, a Year 10 work experience week, and the
Maths Primary Prize.
To continue to raise the profile of the profession
amongst high school students, the ERC also sponsors
careers advisors’ attendance at the gala night of
Sydney EA’s annual Engineering Excellence Awards.
In 2014 the ERC made a special focus on regional
careers advisors and, as well as hosting a table for 8
Sydney school careers advisers, and three staff from
the NSW Department of Education and Communities,
were also joined by three regional careers advisers.
The ERC also supported School EA award entrants
from the research centres – rCITI and WRC with co-
production of new videos about their work – the WRL
restoration of the Tomago Wetlands and the rCITI
creation of a ‘self-driving’ car by fitting sensors and
other technology to a vehicle owned by car sharing
service GoGet.
2014 saw the continuation of promoting the Surveying
degrees following the integration of the School of
Surveying and Geospatial Engineering into the larger
School in 2013. In October members of the ERC, IAC,
Faculty digital marketing team, surveying alumni and
industry reps met to discuss marketing strategies and
synergies, in particular using digital platforms. Back
on the ground, Craig Roberts was part of Maths in
Surveying day held at Homebush for high school
students - linking them with industry practitioners. A
new poster was designed for UNSW Info day (pic) while
work began on collating email and address data on
SAGE alumni resulting in 600 SAGE alumni now being in
email connection with the School.
The Careers Advisors Association of NSW and ACT
held their Annual Conference in October 2014 in Darling
Harbour. Drs Kurt Douglas and Craig Roberts ably
represented the School with a stall focusing particularly
on getting the surveying message across. Craig Roberts
reported a constant stream of interest hovering around
the School table. There were ‘lots of questions about
EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT 2014
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY 65
EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT 2014
the technical side of the career but also how to get in,
pathways etc. We got the feeling that people already
knew a bit about surveying and we were reinforcing the
message. Unlike the others, Kurt and I stood in front of
our stand and accosted people…. And let’s face it, we
are both also very good looking.’
In 2014 we produced a Research Excellence @
Civil & Environmental Engineering booklet which
showcased fourteen current research projects – ranging
from water recycling to self-driving cars, and including
improving the safety and stability of our infrastructure,
pursuing sustainability in construction materials and
processes, improving geotechnical engineering design
tools, and extending the geospatial revolution.
The Year 10 work experience bus tour, which was
held in June, and coordinated by Tricia Tesoriero and
Ron Cox, is another clear ERC success. In 2014 we
accepted 60 students from 59 high schools around
NSW. Student feedback comments were overwhelmingly
positive: ‘- incredibly enjoyable and instructive and
probably one of the best times of my life.’ ‘I will cherish
my memories here and also work harder to meet you
all back here at UNSW’, while parents were equally
appreciative: ‘I can see since this opportunity my
son has gained lots of confidence...and a foundation
towards his career ambition of becoming an Engineer.’:
‘George had a terrific week and learnt so much! He
met a bunch of super people, all likeminded and has
his heart set on UNSW now, so I know you all made an
impact!’ : ‘The best thing was seeing Dom out of bed ,
keen every morning right through the whole week, and
taking responsibility for getting where he needed to be.
It showed how relevant he found your programme.’
A total of 47 NSW primary schools participated in the
CVEN Maths Primary Prizes also ably coordinated
by Tricia Tesoriero. Members of the School’s Industry
Advisory Committee, School staff and some illustrious
alumni presented 132 students with their awards at end
of year ceremonies, further raising the profile of the
profession to hundreds of young people, their families
and community. See full list of winners on page 70.
The ERC continues to develop the School’s relationship
with graduates through the Annual Report and the
annual CVEN Alumni newsletter - distributed to all
engineering alumni through the University’s alumni
magazine UNSWorld. The 2014 alumni newsletter
profiled six of our innovative alumni: Dave Stewart,
Secretary Transport for NSW; Dr Jacqueline Thomas,
a Water research scientist in Tanzania; Dr James
Glastonbury part of the Engineering Excellence Group
at Laing O’Rourke; Narelle Underwood, Geospatial
Technologies, RMS; Lisa Thom; Graduate Engineer at
Lend Lease with expertise in timber technology; and
Dr Yen Lei Voo, who builds innovative IHPFRC bridges
in Malaysia. Alumni reunions – the shining diamonds
of 1954 and the golden ones from 1964 were also
supported by the ERC admin team.
Other School success stories reached all UNSW
engineering alumni through UNSW Engineers magazine.
The ERC works with Faculty and UNSW media offices
to identify positive and useful stories coming from the
School. For further information on external relations,
alumni, the IAC and School Industry Partnership
Program contact Dr Mary O’Connell at m.oconnell@
unsw.edu.au
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY66
The School has strong active links
with industry and is very committed
to continuing and developing
these ties. Our Industry Partners
Program is one of the ways these
relationships are maintained and
nurtured.
Funds raised through the Industry
Partners Program is administered
by the School’s External Relations
Committee and used to raise
the profile of the profession at
primary and secondary schools.
We do this in a variety of ways
including delivering a Primary
School Mathematics Prize, running
a highly sought after Year 10 work
experience tour of engineering
sites, and through building
ABOUT OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERSwhere our top students engage with
Industry Partner representatives in a
relaxed setting. The School will also
directly email career information
on behalf of Industry Partners to
all relevant undergraduate and
postgraduate students.
List of Industry Partners and
Supporters for 2014
AAM Group, Advisian, AECOM, ANSTO,
ARUP, Aurecon, Brookfield Multiplex,
Cardno, GHD, JK Geotechnics, Jacobs,
Laing O’Rourke, Leighton Contractors,
Leighton Holdings, Parsons
Brinckerhoff, Pells Sullivan Meynink
PSM, Royal HaskoningDHV, SMEC
Australia, Taylor Thomson Whitting
(TTW),
relationships with careers advisers.
We work in conjunction with the
UNSW Faculty of Engineering and
the School’s Industry Advisory
Committee (IAC) which represents
a broad cross section of relevant
industry sectors at a senior and
influential level.
The annual Industry Partners
Careers Market is an important
activity where Industry Partner
representatives meet with Year
3 and Year 4 students. This
allows Industry Partners to
identify students for industrial
training placements or graduate
employment. The School also hosts
an annual Elite Student Breakfast
at the Sydney Botanic Gardens
As part of our mission to raise
the profile of the profession and
to inspire the next generation, the
School hosted tables at the 2014
Sydney EA Excellence Awards
Night event for careers advisers
from 9 Sydney schools and several
key vocational guidance staff from
the NSW Department of Education.
As one of our delighted guests
said, the SEA Awards were ‘a really
enjoyable and eye-opening event,
celebrating such a fantastic range
of achievement and such a variety
of areas of expertise. It amazes me
that engineering is such a diverse
profession!’
REGIONAL REACH OUT
We also sponsored the visit of three
regional careers advisors to the
Awards Night –Erin Gibson from
Orange and Helen Pinkerton from
Tamworth and Anna Bergamin from
Griffith, (pictured l-R with members
of the IAC; Iain Scoular, Ron Cox,
Mary O’Connell and Ian McIntyre,
Chair)
Anna Bergamin wrote back to
us: ‘It was very clear, both during
my visit to UNSW and at the gala
evening, that the School of Civil and
Environmental Engineering staff are
very passionate about what they
do and that UNSW Engineering is
unrivalled. Thank you for giving me
the opportunity to expand my own
horizons so that I can, hopefully,
expand those of my students.’
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY 67
In 2014 we welcomed JK
Geotechnics as a new industry
partner for the School.
JK Geotechnics is one of four
trading companies of the JK
Group, established as Jeffery
and Katauskas Pty Ltd in 1976.
Their geotechnical engineers and
engineering geologists undertake
investigations and assessments
and prepare geotechnical
reports for various residential,
commercial, retail and infrastructure
developments. Specialist areas
include: geotechnical investigations:
slope stability: groundwater
assessment and modelling:
construction supervision: finite
element modelling of shoring,
tunnels and raft foundations:
route assessments, pavement
appraisal and design, landfill and
quarry evaluation, and dam/levee
investigation and design.
Andrew Jackaman, Senior
Associate, said “As a UNSW
alumnus, I am proud of our
association with the School of Civil
and Environmental Engineering.
In the last two years, we have
experienced significant growth
with the purchase of new drilling
rigs and the employment of six
WELCOMING NEW INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS
Jacobs Prize presented by Josh Cowley Daniel Krumiel AAM GroupAndrew Jackaman of JK Geotechnics
graduates. Our total number of
employees is in the order of 70,
making us one of the largest
geotechnical groups in Sydney. The
majority of our junior staff are or
have been enrolled in the UNSW
MEngSc program; our structured
training program complements the
post-graduate studies. Our links
with UNSW have also resulted in
our being invited to present lectures
this year, and meeting students who
may in the future consider a career
with JK Geotechnics.”
We also welcomed three new Year 4
dinner industry supporters
AAM Group who sponsored a
prize in geospatial engineering,
won by Amanda Nicholas in 2014,
presented by Daniel Krumiel,
Jacobs who sponsored the prize
for surveying, won by Peter Boorer,
prize presented by Josh Cowley,
NSW Survey Manager for Jacobs
And Royal HaskoningDHV
who sponsored the prize for
environmental engineering, won by
Ellen Howley. Prize presented by
Sally Hunton (pictured right).
We are very grateful for all our
industry supporters participation
in the Year 4 dinner and support of
our students.
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY68
Dr Robert Care, AM, (BE Hons
’73, PhD ’78) Principal at Arup
(pictured above), was awarded the
2014 Engineers Australia National
Professional Engineer of the Year
Award.
In the Australia Day Awards 2014,
alumnus John ‘IronMan’ Holt - BSurv
’75 was awarded the Order of
Australia Medal for his ‘service to
ALUMNI 2014 HONOURS AND SUCCESSES
Six surveying alumni from Hong
Kong came to say hello to Professor
Chris Rizos while he was visiting for
a conference. They are very proud
UNSW Graduates. From L-R: Mark
Tse (BE ‘99, MRE ‘00), Ken Siu Tong
Ching (BE ‘97), George Leung (BE
’98 MEngSc ‘05), Professor Chris
Rizos, Jenny Chow ( BE ‘01), Henry
Ng (BE ‘99), Vicki Sui Lau (BE ‘98)
sport, administration and competition
in surf lifesaving and triathalon’.
In the Queen’s Birthday Honours
2014, Col Nicholson, MEngSc’84
and valued member of the School’s
Industry Advisory Committee from
2006 – 2013, was awarded the
Public Service medal for outstanding
public service to the quality of water
and wastewater services across
Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the
Illawarra region.
Four of our alumni were included
in EA’s Top 100 Most influential
Engineers in 2014 – we congratulate
them all.
Grant King, (BE Civil ’77) Managing
Director, Origin Energy, Sydney
Bruce Munro, (BE Civil Hons ’75)
Managing Director, Thiess Pty Ltd,
Brisbane
David Stewart, (MEngSc ’99)
Secretary, Transport for NSW, Sydney
Elizabeth Taylor, (BE ’78) Chair RedR
Australia and RedR International,
Sydney
In the 2014 NSW Excellence in
Surveying and Spatial Information
(EISSI) Awards, Professional of the
Year Award went to Robert Harrison,
(UNSW BSurv’73) - Principal at
Harrison, Friedmann and Associates.
At home, Dr Jacqui Thomas (phD
2012) Senior Scientist, Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene Research, at
Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania was
awarded the 2014 UNSW Alumni
award in Science and Technology,
while Maha Sinnathamby, BE
’62, Brisbane property developer
-received the 2014 UNSW Alumni
award in Design, Engineering and
Sustainability
In November, we welcomed a golden
jubilee group of alumni led by the
indefatigable Rod Jeffery to the
L-R: Rod Jeffery, Rob Schwarzer, Paul Gwynne, Lab Manager, Peter Connolly, Klaus Teichart, Phil Johnston, and Greg Connolly
School for a talk about past and
present, lab tour and lunch. The
proverbial good time was had by all.
Rod wrote to us: ‘On behalf of all the
1964ers who attended on last Friday
I sincerely thank you for being so
welcoming, well organised, giving
an excellent summary of past years
of UNSW and making the lunch a
very enjoyable and sociable time. I
can assure that virtually every aspect
we experienced at Civil School has
changed very much for the better
since our days …. Thanks again from
us all, Rod J.
Golden Jubilee BE ‘64
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY 69
VALE DAVID EVANS
During a career that spanned
more than 40 years, David
Evans demonstrated time and
time again a remarkable vision for
what Australian innovators could
achieve. Working with innovators
Fund (Uniseed) with an initial
capitalisation of $20 million.
David was made a Member of
the Order of Australia in 2013 for
‘significant service to science and
innovation through commercialising
and developing new technologies.’
David clearly made his mark in
the world from a very early age.
As a graduating civil engineering
student, he is seen here giving a
talk in front of UNSW founding Vice-
Chancellor Phillip Baxter (right) and
Founding Head of School Professor
Crawford Munro.
Information gathered from Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia (KCA) http://www.kca.asn.au/blog
Picture: David Evans 1962 UNSW Archives
School Alumnus Dr David Alexander Evans, AM (1941 – 2014).and commercialisation
professionals David supported,
facilitated or encouraged new
technologies in IT, physical
sciences, engineering and
biotechnology that have
delivered hundreds of millions
of dollars to the Australian
economy and generated
significant social and
environmental benefits.
David was instrumental in
transforming Uniquest at
UQ in the mid-90s into a leading
powerhouse. David was also
the visionary who went on to
pioneer UniSeed, Australia’s first
university based Venture Capital
There were sixteen hopeful
young men at the UNSW BE civil
engineering graduation in 1954 – it
was only the third year of graduation
ceremonies for their equally hopeful
and even younger University. The
actual ceremony had to take place
at the Great Hall of the University
of Sydney because UNSW (then
known as NSWUT – NSW University
of Technology) had no such room or
place for ceremonial occasions.
It was a time of post war austerity
and great future hopes. Building
materials were scarce, structural
steel almost unobtainable, and the
new university short on space and
cash. Yet morale was high. UNSW
historian Patrick O’Farrell has noted
that the university ‘had an apostolic
vision of itself, serving the worldwide
cause of science and technology,
not to be obstructed by mere lack
of money.’ Founding academic Stan
Hall would write, ‘the standard of
our students was the envy of other
schools. So despite the chaotic
material conditions, teaching was
a pleasure and there was good
rapport between students and staff.’
Sixty years later, nine of the student
comrades: Les Bagust, Sydney
Cashman, Bill Copeland, Colin
Dudgeon, Ron Fletcher, Ken Griffiths,
Bruce Jenkins, Trevor Newton
(chief organiser), and Alan Wells
gathered for a celebratory luncheon
at UNSW with friends and family
– as guests of the School of Civil
& Environmental Engineering. The
Chancellor David Gonksi AC, and the
Head of School Professor Stephen
Foster were able to share with them
the new landscape of UNSW and
CVEN achievement and success,
in students, reputation, research,
international rankings – a landscape
which they and all our founding staff
and students worked so hard to
manifest.
SCHOOL ALUMNI CELEBRATE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF GRADUATION
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY70
Alexandria Park Community SchoolCian Cameron-GleesonGregory KokkinisPeter LimAndrew NguyenWilliam ZamanyAnnandale North Public SchoolFour studentsAvondale SchoolTy DoubikinBalgowlah North Public SchoolJayden AgapoiuBalmain Public SchoolYou Qi XueMarie SchlesingerBankstown West Public SchoolAbid ArimanLouisa FangKhiem NguyenTiffiny NguyenBeauty Point Public SchoolAngus BendallMatthew BrittonXavier FosterAlexander SinBeecroft Public SchoolRaymond YuBelrose Public SchoolJordan HiscoxClaudia JackaCharlie FaircloughIshan ShahBellevue Hill Public SchoolTom AhronElan BlausteinBerowra Public SchoolJai CarlsonMatthew ClaytonDaniel CookeAaron Munro
Loquat Valley Alec SeniorLiam VauxManly West Public SchoolJoseph GayTristan Harland-PetersonFionn McMorrow-DermodyJames NgaiMosman Public SchoolJacques MathotMount Colah Public SchoolMatthew HieblMinha LeeNarrabeen North Public SchoolHannah DavidWilliam VincentNorth Haven Public SchoolMikha EveringhamBrad SmithNorthmead Public SchoolDaniel BalmerSamantha GonzalesKaelan NahIsabel Szatmary SullivanPennant Hills Public SchoolPatrick AdjiPicnic Point Public SchoolFrederick DingFelix LamEdward LamAndy LinRandwick Public SchoolNicholas ChanRoselea Public SchoolDarcy BarlowCindy WangSt Christopher’s Catholic Primary SchoolSebastian Cerecedo
Elliot KirganJoshua SilkJonathan TranSt Declan’s Primary SchoolJet EliasTara KapilaKristian LisicaTom MihaljevicSt Joseph’s Primary SchoolJacob CorrySamantha HendersonJames HizartTacking Point Public SchoolAlice BarnabyAlexander GreenToongabbie West Public SchoolDaniel KimAnmol SimkhadaTurramurra Public SchoolPippa DayAnne PanWest Pennant Hills Public SchoolConnor GoodsellRachael LeeMatthew PosenerSeth SweeneyWheeler Heights Public SchoolAnna DahlstromCian HayKai TurnerMaya TurnerWollondilly Anglican CollegeAmy HvejselHarrison OllisWoollahra Public SchoolIsaiah IliffeEsme PowerFreja ReadLuis Soncini
2014 MATHS PRIZE CERTIFICATES
In 2014, 132 students from
47 schools were awarded
our Primary School
Prize in Mathematics.
The key objective of this
prize is to encourage
a lifelong interest in
mathematics, as one of
the key requirements for
a rewarding, fulfilling and
socially useful career in
engineering.
Cammeray Public SchoolCharlotte DavisTarin LeslieCharles LongmoreHarry MortonCarlton South Public SchoolAndrew JurukovskiVanessa YanChifley Public SchoolHermione MarzukieCowra Public SchoolMarcus O'ConnorArchie OsbourneCrescent Head Public SchoolCoen MooreNitin NaikCroydon Public SchoolAngela FangBenjamin HamerCathy LiDerek TanDaceyville Public SchoolDylan NguyenBill RenSanskriti SharmaNicholas ThomasDouble Bay Public SchoolCem DoganEastlakes Public SchoolNabeena ChowdhuryMohammad MayazMuhammad idraki Mohd RadziOditi ShahiEpping Heights Public SchoolNoah BywaterJaeho JungDaniel ParkDaniel XingGlenhaven Public SchoolAnnabelle KittoHarbord Public SchoolFinn HarteKlaudia HerlihyJulia JiangSally OatesJasper Road Public SchoolJeffrey ChenAiden HawronNikki LiangWill LiKambora Public SchoolHamish KemmersJensen SchramkoCallum WattsKensington Public SchoolNirooshan AthithanTri NguyenRowen SaputraEdward Xu
OUR CENTRES
OUR CENTRES72
THE AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION RESEARCH NETWORK FOR SETTLEMENTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE (ACCARNSI) continued to consolidate its position in 2014 with the negotiation of key funding as one of four research networks confirmed by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility NCCARF as part of their Phase 2 operations.
ACCARNSI’s new 2 ½ year contract with NCCARF will start in 2015 and will focus on climate change adaptation for settlements and infrastructure with host institution UNSW and partner universities, Griffith University, the University of South Australia and the University of Canberra each bringing access to researcher expertise and capabilities in coastal management, planning and adaptation of infrastructure, risk assessment and adaptation, in both urban and regional contexts.
ACCARNSI will support NCCARF in matters related specifically to coastal settlements and infrastructure including the development of a National Coastal Adaptation Framework, the synthesis and
distribution of adaptation knowledge and stakeholder engagement.
2014 industry activities included training support for the ‘Learning to Adapt’ master-class, EIANZ’s innovative and certified climate change adaptation professional development program.
ACCARNSI Convenor Associate Professor Ron Cox continued to be a sought after speaker at local and international conferences, congresses and meetings in 2014 with an invitation to participate in the ‘Working with Nature’ Initiative and a paper on ‘Climate Change Risk Assessment for Ports in the Pacific’ at the International PIANC Congress in San Francisco in June followed by the International Conference on Coastal Engineering (ICCE) in Seoul authoring and presenting papers on coastal adaptation, beach nourishment and climate change implications for coastal design storms in eastern Australia. In October, Ron presented at an international workshop to over 200 participants from across the Philippines on the importance of Climate Change to Ports and Coastal Infrastructure. Closer to home, papers were authored and presented by Ron and Bill Peirson, at the NCCARF Conference in October on extreme water levels, adaptation of sea walls and the relative importance of wave climate change and sea level rise. Ron also presented a summary of Coastal Processes and Responses research being undertaken for the NSW Office of Environment and
Heritage (OEH) Climate Adaptation Research Hub (CARH) . In Mandurah Western Australia, Ron chaired sessions at the Australian Coast to Coast Conference as well as organising and presenting a one-day training workshop for local and state government participants in the application of the Engineers Australia Climate Change Guidelines for Coasts, Sustainability and Adaptation. In November, Ron gave the keynote address at the Engineers Australia Practical Responses to Climate Change Conference on ‘The Challenges of Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal Environments’.
ACCARNSI in partnership with the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) is undertaking a 3 year research program as the Coastal Processes and Responses Node funded under the CARH by NSW OEH. Specific research is being undertaken in regard to beach erosion and recovery, effective application of beach nourishment and upgrading sea walls as means of adaptation to climate change. Targeted research is also being undertaken on the physical and environmental/ecological aspects of climate change within estuaries.
2015 promises to further strengthen ACCARNSI’s climate change adaptation research base with the first in a series of themed Early Career Researcher Forums, review of the National Adaptation Research Plan and Stakeholder Panel workshops.
OUR CENTRES 73
About us
We are the leading internationally
recognised research centre
in the region for investigating,
understanding and predicting the
safety and behaviour of engineering
infrastructure under in-service and
overload (or limit) conditions.
We aim to be the nexus of the
various scientific disciplines in
the broad fields of engineering
infrastructure; its design, evaluation,
performance and retrofit.
We recognise that existing
infrastructure in the developed world
is aging, and strengthening and
rehabilitating bridges, buildings,
dams and other critical infrastructure
is a demanding challenge to creative
engineering solutions.
We recognise the challenge of
engineering for climate change and
the need for advanced and high
performance materials to meet the
needs of society’s infrastructure
within looming carbon constraints.
The demands of new structures,
and the use of new or advanced
materials require advanced
solutions, which challenge and unite
creativity and scientific rigour.
Providing solutions to all of the
above is fundamental to CIES
activities.
Specifically, we apply our skills to:
Development of new technologies
and materials such as advanced
fibre composites, high performance
cementitious materials and
geopolymers; for engineering and
safety assessments and with the risk
management of buildings, bridges,
dams, roads and other infrastructure
when subjected to both in-service
conditions and overload (or limit)
conditions, such as may occur in
fire, earthquake, cyclone or blast
situations, or when structures are
exposed to hostile environments.
Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety
ADVANCED ENGINEERED MATERIALS
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
PAVEMENT ENGINEERING
COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICS
OUR CENTRES74
CIES RESEARCH FUNDING SUCCESS
CIES ARC LINKAGE GRANT SUCCESS
CIES Researchers Prof Nasser
Khalili, Dr Arman Khoshghalb and
Mr John A Rubsov - Engineering
Services Manager, Roads & Maritime
Services have been successful in
securing an ARC Linkage for the
period 2014-2017. The project titled
“ Experimental investigation and
constitutive modelling of weak rocks
subject to mechanical and moisture
degradation” aims to advance
the experimental, theoretical
and computational bases for the
mechanics of weak rocks, and will
provide scientists and engineers
with much-needed predictive tools
for the quantitative evaluation and
assessment of their behaviour in
geological settings.
CIES has also received ARC Linkage
Project funding to develop innovative
Blast Mitigation Technologies. CIES
Director Professor Brian Uy along
with colleagues from UWS and
Qingdao Technological University
in China were successful with the
Shandong Zhihua Construction
Group Company in receiving close
to $270,000 to carry out research on
“Development of novel viscoelastic
sprayed material for the effective
blast resistance of critical and
resource infrastructure”. The project
will also utilise the National Facility
for Physical Blast Simulation due to
be commissioned at UNSW in early
2016.
Best of the best – School and CIES - one of the highest UNSW achievers in ARC research grants
The School and CIES remained at
the top of the research game having
won ARC grants in the latest round
(with funding to commence in 2015).
With 4 new Discovery grants and
1 new LIEF grant, CIES won more
than half the School’s total and
more than any other research centre
in its discipline nationwide. These
wonderful results consolidate CIES’
position as the leading infrastructure
centre in Australia.
Discovery Project Grants:
Professor Mark Bradford - DP
150100446 -To investigate the
capacity of high-strength steel (HSS)
flexural members by undertaking
physical tests and numerical
simulations, and proposes to craft
innovative overarching design
guidance for them within a paradigm
of Design by Advanced Analysis.
Professor Stephen Foster & Dr
Hamid Valipour - DP 150104107 -
TO investigate the moment-rotation
performance of steel fibre reinforced
concrete ( SFRC) beam-column
connections containing economical
fibre dosages.
Associate Professor Adrian Russell,
Prof David Muir Wood – DP
150104123 - To make discoveries for
modelling initiation, rate of progression
and consequences of seepage
induced internal erosion through soils
which make up critical water retaining
infrastructure like dams
Professor Chongmin Song, Emeritus
Professor Francis Tin-Loi, Dr
Sawekchai Tangaramvong - DP
150103747 - To develop, directly
from computer-aided design models
or digital images, an automatic
numerical simulation approach
for the safety assessment of
engineering structures in three
dimensions.
LIEF – Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities
Russell, A/Prof Adrian R; Khalili,
Prof Nasser; Zhao, Dr GaoFeng;
Khoshghalb, Dr Arman; Sloan, Prof
Scott W; Kouretzis, Dr Georgios;
Indraratna, Prof Buddhima N;
Rujikiatkamjorn, A/Prof Cholachat;
Cassidy, Prof Mark J; Gaudin, Prof
Christophe; Williams, Prof David J;
Scheuermann, Dr Alexander LE
150100130 - To develop Australia’s
most advanced earthquake shaking
table to investigate soil-structure
interactions.
Dr Gaofeng Zhao and Professor
Khalili were also involved
in a successful LEIF grant
(LE150100058) administered by
Monash University.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
Professor Les Field welcomed the
result.
“This impressive result in ARC grants
recognises the calibre of research
underway at UNSW. Our position as
number one in the country this year
is a testament to the importance and
impact of the work we are doing,” he
said.
OUR CENTRES 75
CIES RESEARCH COLLABORATIONSCIES – Promoting Sustainable Concrete Technology
CIES continues to promote a sustainable concrete technology within the CRC for Low Carbon Living under the
leadership of A/Professor Arnaud Castel and Professor Steve Foster.
In July 2014, this new project was approved by the CRC-LCL Board with a cash contribution of $1,100,000 in
combination with the In-kind contributions from partner organisations of $1,900,000.
Geopolymer concrete has an 80% lower carbon footprint compared to the conventional Portland cement concrete.
Using field and laboratory data, a comprehensive Handbook for geopolymer specification will be developed and
published through Standards Australia.
Partner organisations include CIES at the UNSW, Swinburne University of Technology, ADAA, ASA, AECOM, Sydney
Water and Standards Australia. The project coordinators also obtained letters of support from the main Australian
geopolymer concrete suppliers: Zeobond Pty Ltd, Wagners Concrete Pty Ltd, Milliken Infrastructure solutions as well
as RMS Pavement Structures, Transport and Main Roads QLD, Vicroads.
ASCE Presidential visit: Mark Bradford explaining some of the test work associated with his Australian Laureate Fellowship during the delegation’s visit to the Heavy Structures Research Laboratory at Randwick
In February 2014, CIES hosted a visit
by the Governors of the American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
The visit included an inspection
of the Heavy Structures Research
Laboratory at Randwick, where it
provided an excellent opportunity
for our PhD students and staff to
showcase CIES’s structures activities
to the top executive group of ASCE.
Some PhD students had the good
fortune to explain their work to the
ASCE leaders.
CIES Research Director Professor
Mark Bradford - one of ASCE’s
only two Australian Distinguished
Members and also President-Elect
of the ASCE Australia Section, was
ASCE GOVERNORS’ VISIT TO CIESinvolved in this group’s Australian
visit. The ASCE delegation included
its President and its Chief Executive
and expressed positive feedback
on the facilities at Randwick Heavy
Structures Laboratory as well as the
high calibre and groundbreaking
research activity being carried out
there.
OUR CENTRES76
Scholarly Works
Emeritus Professor Ian Gilbert,
Deputy Director of CIES, published
his latest text book (CRC Press –
USA).
The book titled “Structural Analysis –
Principles, Methods and Modelling”
is co-authored with A/Professor
Gianluca Ranzi of the University
of Sydney. It is intended as a text
for undergraduate students of Civil
or Structural Engineering about
to embark on the adventure of
learning how to analyse engineering
structures. It provides a unique and
in-depth treatment of structural
analysis where fundamental aspects
and derivations of the analytical and
numerical formulations are outlined
and illustrated by numerous worked
examples.
UNSAT2014
The best and brightest geotechnical
engineering scholars and engineers
visited Sydney during July 2014 to
take part in the Sixth International
Conference on Unsaturated
Soils. The event was chaired and
organised by CIES academics
Professor Nasser Khalili, Dr Arman
Khoshghalb and Associate Professor
Adrian Russell.
The conference was a great
success, showcasing the latest
research on unsaturated soils
from around the world on topics
including unsaturated soil behaviour,
experimentation, modelling, case
histories, multidisciplinary problems
and emerging research areas.
Impact and innovation – peers recognise geotechnical engineering research at UNSW
The research of CIES geotechnical
engineering academics Professor
Nasser Khalili and Associate
Professor Adrian Russell has
been awarded for its impact and
innovation.
Professor Khalili received the
Outstanding Paper Award for
his constitutive modelling work
presented in the paper “A fully
coupled flow deformation model for
cyclic analysis of unsaturated soils
including hydraulic and mechanical
hysteresis”. The paper, published
in Computers and Geotechnics in
2008, was judged to have made
a highly significant impact to
geotechnical engineering, based on
citations over a five year period and
the opinion of the journal’s Editors.
A/Professor Adrian Russell received
the International Innovation Award
for his physical modelling research
in the field of unsaturated soil
mechanics. At UNSW A/Professor
Russell developed with colleagues
a calibration chamber, lateral earth
pressure rig and shallow foundation
rig to conduct full scale cone
penetration tests, retaining wall tests
and shallow foundation tests to study
the influence of soil suction.
Dr Arman Khoshghalb (L, secretary), Professor Nasser Khalili (C, chair) and Emeritus Professor Somasundaram Valliappan (R, honorary chair)
CIES member Professor Nasser Khalili was among the three recipients of the prestigious Chandra S Desai Medal awarded by the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG) in 2014. For story please see p10
OUR CENTRES 77
CIES 2014 Symposium - “NATIONAL ROAD AND RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE - Structural Engineering Perspectives for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure”The November symposium
brought together an array of local,
national and international leaders
working in the area of road and
rail infrastructure to try and bring a
focus to this issue and the potential
remedies to this situation.
The speakers discussed the current
state of road and rail infrastructure
systems, the areas of primary need
and future areas of research and
potential government investment.
Inherent in much of this future
L to R Back Row: A/Prof Wei Gao; Prof Chongmin Song; A/Prof Alex Remennikov; Dr Stephen Hicks; Adj. Prof Wije Ariyaratne; Prof Mark Stewart; Richard Hitch; Prof Ian Gilbert; Prof Hong Hao
NATIONAL ROAD AND RAIL INFRASTRUCTUREStructural Engineering Perspectives for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure
CIES SYMPOSIUMinvestment is that structures must be
both sustainable and resilient.
PRESENTERS:Ian Pedersen - Managing Director,
Pedersen Engineers.
Professor Mark A Bradford CIES
A/Prof Alex Remennikov - UoW
Professor Stephen Foster - CIES
Professor Hong Hao - Curtin
University
Adj. Professor Wije Ariyaratne - RTA/
RMS
Dr Stephen Hicks – HERA NZ
Professor Tommy Chan - QUT
Professor Mark Stewart - The
University of Newcastle
Mr Richard Hitch - Transport, NSW’s
Asset Standards Authority
Mr Peter Runcie - NICTA (National
ICT Australia Ltd).
CIES PROMINENCEPlenary Meeting ISO TC 71
Concrete, Reinforced Concrete
and Pre-Stressed Concrete
Technical Committee
CIES & The Faculty of Engineering
were major sponsors of the Plenary
Meeting of ISO TC71 held in Sydney
January 2014.
As part of activities, CIES also
hosted a workshop on: “Robustness
of Concrete Structures”
ISO (International Organization for
Standardization) is the world’s largest
developer of voluntary International
Standards and in Australia, is
represented by Standards Australia
- recognised by the Commonwealth
Government as the nation’s peak
Standards body.
OUR CENTRES78
2014 CIES STAFF
Director
Professor Brian Uy, BE PhD UNSW CPEng, CEng, PE, MIE Aust, MASCE, MIStructE, FICE, MAICD
Research Director
Scientia Professor Mark Bradford, BSc BE PhD Syd DSc UNSW FTSE PEng CPEng CEng FIEAust FIStructE MAICD MASCEt MACI
Deputy Directors
Emeritus Professor Ian Gilbert, BE PhD UNSW CPEng FIEAust MACI
Professor Chongmin Song, BE ME Tsing-hua, DEng Tokyo
Centre Management
Centre Manager
Irene Calaizis, BCom UNSW
Administrative Officer
Patricia Karwan
Other Academics
Professor Stephen Foster, BE NSWIT, MEngSc PhD UNSW, FIEAust
Professor Nasser Khalili, BSc Teh MSc Birm PhD UNSW Professor Yong Lin Pi, BE Tongji ME Wuhan PhD UNSW CPEng MIEAust
A/Professor Mario Attard BE PhD MHEd UNSW, MIEAust, CPEng
A/Professor Arnaud Castel BE, MEngSc, PhD Toulouse
A/Professor Wei Gao BE HDU, ME PhD Xidian, MIIAV, MAAS
A/Professor Linlin Ge, PhD UNSW, MSc Inst of Seismology, BEng WTUSM
A/Professor Adrian Russell BE, PhD UNSW, PGCert Bristol
Dr Carolin Birk BE DEng Dresden
Dr Kurt Douglas BE Syd. PhD UNSW, MIEAust
Dr Ehab Hamed, BSc MSc PhD Technion
Dr Arman Khoshghalb BE ME Sharif Uni of Tech, PhD UNSW
Dr Kostas Senetakis, BEng, MSc, PhD AUTh
Dr Hossein Taiebat BSc Isfahan M.E.S. PhD Syd
Dr Sawekchai Tangaramvong BEng Chulalongkorn, MEngSc PhD UNSW, MIEAust
Dr Hamid Vali Pour Goudarzi BSc MSc Tehran, PhD UNSW
Dr Ghaofeng Zhao,BSc MSc CUMT, PhD EPFL
Other Research Staff (alphabetical order)
Dr Ankit Agarwal, B-Tech IIT Kanpur PhD UNSW
Dr Farhad Aslani, BSC, MSc, PhD UTS
Dr Huiyong Ban BE PhD Tsinghua University, Beijing
Dr Zhen-Tian Chang, BE ME Hunan PhD UNSW
Dr Yue Huang, BE MPhil CityU HK, PhD UNSW
Dr David Kellerman BE, PhD UNSW
Dr Inamullah Khan, BE MEngSc PhD University of Toulouse
Dr Nima Khorsandnia, BSc MSc BIHE, PhD UTS
Dr Brendan Kirkland BE PhD UWS
Dr Jean Xiaojin Li, PhD UNSW, BEng WTUSM
Dr Xinpei Liu BE SCUT, MEngSc MPhil PhD UNSW
Dr Michael Man, BE PhD UNSW
Dr Sundararajan Natarajan BE Mech Eng, PhD Cardiff
Dr Alex Hay-Man Ng, PhD UNSW, MEngSc UNSW, BE UNSW
Dr Ean Tat Ooi, BE UTM, PhD NTU
Dr Vipulkumar Patel, BE, ME, PhD VU
Dr Saeed Salimzadeh, BSc MSc Sharif SU) PhD UNSW
Dr Babak Shahbodaghkhan, BSc. IKIU, MSc. Univ. of Tehran, PhD Kyoto Univ.
Dr Hossein Talebi, BSc, MSc, PhD Bauhaus-University Weimar BUW
Dr Tai H. Thai, BE ME HCMUT, PhD Sejong
Dr Thanh Vo, BE/BCom Syd, MEngSc, PhD UNSW
Dr Guotao Yang, BE PhD Tongji
Technical Team
John Gilbert
Greg Worthing
Ron Moncay
Emeritus Professor
Somasundaram Valliappan BE Annam, MS Northeastern, PhD DSc Wales, CPEng, FASCE, FIACM
Francis Tin-Loi BE PhD Monash, CPEng MIEAust
UNSW Members
Professor Alan CroskySchool of Materials Science & Engineering
Professor Gangadhara PrustySchool of Mechanical Engineering
Dr Mahmud AshrafSchool of Engineering and Information Technology (SEIT), UNSW Canberra.
OUR CENTRES 79
Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre
The Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre (CWI)
operates a wide portfolio of research projects across
the faculties of Science, Engineering and Law. As a
cross-faculty centre, the CWI rotates between presiding
faculties, and at the end of 2013 the Centre rotated from
Engineering to the Faculty of Science.
2014 saw the end of an era with the conclusion
of funding in June from the ARC / National Water
Commission co-funded centre for excellence, the
National Center for Groundwater Research and Training.
PhD researchers which have been part-funded by
the NCGRT will continue to graduate over the next
two years. Funding for the national groundwater
infrastructure program continues, funded from the
Federal Government National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy NCRIS program, and is managed
by the CWI. (http://www.connectedwaters.unsw.edu.
au/ncris). In 2014 Prof Ian Acworth and Dr Martin
Andersen participated in the NCRIS capabilities
workshop on the 2-3rd of September in Canberra.
On the 30th of September Prof Andy Baker and Dr
Martin Andersen represented UNSW Groundwater
Infrastructure at the NCRIS Showcase in Parliament
House, Canberra.
Some of our 2014 Research Highlights
1) Coal Seam Gas (Dr Bryce Kelly (BEES)) and surface water groundwater interactions (Dr Martin Andersen- CVEN)
Cotton RDC - Baselining Groundwater Condition in the Condamine Alluvium and Assessing Coal Seam Gas Development Impacts.
This project is using a combination of hydrogeological
modelling, groundwater geochemistry and methane
in air measurements to map hydraulic connectivity
between the Walloon Coal Measures and the
Condamine Alluvium. In collaboration with Royal
Holloway, University of London, extensive air methane
surveys around CSG development, coal mines, the
Condamine River, and irrigated farmlands have been
conducted. Reference to this work was recently made
in the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer
review of CSG developments in NSW.
OUR CENTRES80
Cotton RDC (scholarship top-up and operating costs) -
Spatial and temporal importance of diffuse and stream
recharge in semiarid environments: implications for
integrated water management.
The scholarship was awarded to CVEN PhD student
Calvin Li. The project aims to quantify aquifer recovery
via stream recharge during the transition from drought
to a wetter (La Niña) period using NCRIS groundwater
infrastructure and publicly available monitoring data.
It will also assess the importance of groundwater
recharge via streams relative to diffuse recharge
through the general land surface by developing
numerical ground- and surface water transect model
for quantifying groundwater recharge pathways during
various climatic and management scenarios. The results
will provide groundwater managers with improved data
to inform science based policy.
2) Karst hydrogeology and isotope geochemistry (Professor Andy Baker (BEES)/ Dr Wendy Timms (Mining) / Dr Martin Andersen (CVEN))
ARC Discovery – The ARC Discovery project to
develop novel lipid membrane and lignin biomarkers for
karst processes concluded in 2014, with postdoctoral
researcher Dr Catherine Jex leaving in May to start a
new life in Denmark. Dr Jex retains an affiliate status
with CWI, and presented the final lipid membrane
project results at the AGU Fall Meeting in December.
CVEN honours researcher Ellen Howley presented the
results of her groundwater lignin research. Publications
from this project have targeted Organic Geochemistry
and further are anticipated through to 2016.
ARC Linkage – Work commenced on the ARC
Linkage Project looking at the impact of fire on karst
hydrogeology in July, with the arrival of Research
Associate Katie Coleborn.
ARC LIEF - The ARC LIEF grant to procure an isotope
ratio mass spectrometer with high temperature
elemental analyser and gas chromatograph has
resulted in the procurement of a Thermo DeltaV –
GC – HTEA system. This was delivered to the Mark
Wainwright Analytical Centre on 30th October and
commissioned in November. The instrument is likely to
see most use in the analysis of carbon and nitrogen
isotopes in organic materials, with extensive interest
already from colleagues in CES.
You can read more about the centre at www.
connectedwaters.unsw.edu.au
Andy BakerDirector, CWI Research CentreJanuary 2015
Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre - People 2014
Director
Professor Andy Baker
School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences
(BEES)
Associate Director
Dr Martin Andersen
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CVEN)
Centre Manager
Mr Antonio Woo
Academics
Prof Ian Acworth, CVEN
Dr Wendy Timms, MINE
Dr Bryce Kelly, BEES
Dr Cameron Holley, LAW
Post-doctoral Researchers
Hoori Ajami, CVEN; Steve Bouzalakos, MINE;
Alessandro Comunian, BEES; Richard Crane, MINE;
Mark Cuthbert, CVEN; Catherine Jex, BEES; Sanjeev
Jha, BEES; Ander Guinea Maysounave, CVEN; Gabriel
Rau, CVEN; Hamid Roshan, CVEN; Helen Rutlidge
MWAC.
Professional Staff
Evan Jensen, CVEN; Dayna McGeeney, CVEN; Mark
Whelan, MINE
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About Us
The Research Centre for Integrated Transport
Innovation’s (rCITI) aim is to become a world-leading
organisation in integrated interdisciplinary transport
research and development. In three short years since
rCITI’s launch, we can see that the centre is now well
on its way to achieving its goals through a range of
research initiatives made possible through the groups
investigation of sustainable approaches to transport
infrastructure and operations and rCITI’s extensive
liaison with industry and government.
Research based around five pillars
rCITI’s vision is to reshape the field of multi-modal
transport engineering and planning by introducing
new innovative techniques and technologies. This will
enhance society by integrating methodologies across
disciplines and contextual considerations.
The Centre bases its research activities around
five core research pillars:- Transport Planning – ITS
Communications – Infrastructure – Energy/Fuel –
Computational Sustainability.
Overview for 2014
2014 has been a stellar year for the centre. rCITI’s
intake of research funding, students and staff has
again increased, which made 2014 a busy and
successful year. Staff and students participated in
multiple new and ongoing research projects, seminars
and conferences held on the UNSW campus and
externally during the year. Significant achievements
for 2014 include the award of three new grants from
Australia’s most prestigious scientific organisations.
This included one Australian Research Council (ARC)
Discovery Project Grant where rCITI is the administering
organisation, one ARC Discovery Project grant jointly
with the University of Sydney, and one NHMRC Project
grant jointly with UNSW School of Public Health and
Community Medicine. These new grants augment
rCITI’s current research portfolio, which already include
an ARC LIEF grant for major infrastructure, two ARC
Linkage grants (which include industrial support) as
well as substantial research contracts with Transport for
New South Wales (TfNSW), Roads & Maritime Services
(RMS), and the US. Department of Transportation as
part of a consortium with Booz Allen Hamilton. In total,
since being launched in November 2011, rCITI has
attracted over $5M in external research support.
The core rCITI staffing grew to 14 professionals in
2014. This is comprised of 4 continuing academics, 4
contract/adjunct/conjoint academics, 5 researchers and
one centre administrator. In addition, 7 additional visiting
researchers helped augment the centre’s capabilities.
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The rCITI group published 53 research papers in
journals and proceedings in 2014. Throughout 2014,
the core academic staff supervised and supported 25
PhD, 3 Masters by Research and 9 Honours students.
In addition, rCITI hosted four visiting students including
1 Practicum Exchange Program student, 1 Research
Internship student, and 2 visiting students.
Grants awarded in 2014
The Australian government is committed to building
an education and research sector that is world class
by providing funding towards grants that is applied
to excellent basic and applied research. rCITI
successfully won three competitive Research Grants in
2014:-
1. Prof S.T Waller (rCITI, UNSW) was awarded a
2015 ARC Discovery Research Grant funding
the project “Adaptive Stochastic Dynamic Traffic
Assignment”. [Australian Research Council,
Discovery Project – DP150104687, $275,200]
2. Prof M. Bliemer (USyd), Prof S.T. Waller (rCITI,
UNSW), Prof D. Hensher (USyd), Dr V. Dixit (rCITI,
UNSW), Prof E. Rutstrom (Georgia State), Prof S.
Hess (Uni Leeds) and Prof H. Van Lint (TUDelft
Nederlands) were awarded a 2015 ARC Discovery
Research Grant funding the project “Investigating
travel choice behaviour: a new approach using
interactive experiments with driving simulators”.
[Australian Research Council, Discovery Project –
DP150103299, $677,800]
3. Prof. R. MacIntyre (Public Health and Community
Medicine, UNSW), Dr L. Gardner (rCITI, UNSW)
and Dr A. Heywood (Public Health and Community
Medicine, UNSW) were awarded a 2015 NHMRC
Project grant funding the project “Real time models
to inform prevention and control of emerging
infectious diseases”. [National Health & Medical
Research Council, Project Grant APP1082524,
$532,796]
Current projects
Current projects for the rCITI group in 2014 include:-
1. Prof S.T. Waller, “A Collaboration to Develop and
Deploy Novel Integrated Network Techniques to
Enhance the NSW Transport System.” [Transport for
NSW, $1,500,000]
2. Dr T. Hossein Rashidi, “Complex Adaptive System
Theory and rule-Base Methods for Novel Travel
Activity-Based Models: A Sydney Metropolitan
Area Demonstration.” [UNSW Engineering Faculty,
Research Grant / Early Career Researcher Grants
Program, $20,000]
3. Prof S.T. Waller, “Identification & Evaluation of
Transformative Environmental (AERIS) Applications
and Strategies Project. Booz Allen Hamilton (USA).”
[United States Department of Transport contract
with Booz Allen Hamilton Inc, $275,000]
4. Prof S.T. Waller, Dr V. Dixit, Dr L. Gardner, Mr B.
Jeffreys, Dr T. Hossein Rashidi, “Integrating Network
modelling with Observed Choice Data for Multi-
Criteria Optimization of Complex Carshare systems:
Cost, Mobility and Transit Usage.” [LP130100983
Australian Research Council - Linkage Project/
GoGet CarShare - ARC Linkage Project Industry
Partner Contribution, $520,738]
5. Prof S.T. Waller, Prof M. Bliemer, Dr V. Dixit, Prof
M.G. Bell, and Dr A.Torday, “Methodologies for
the Incorporation of Congestion Propagation and
System Reliability into Transport Network Models for
Consistent Multi-Scale Planning.” [ LP130101048
Australian Research Council - Linkage Project /
TSS-Transport Simulation Systems Australia Pty Ltd
- ARC Linkage Project Industry Partner Contribution,
$845,604]
6. Prof S.T. Waller, Dr V. Dixit, Prof M. Bliemer, Prof
D.G. Del Favero, “TRAvel Choice Simulation
LABoratory (TRACSLab): A visualisation laboratory
to study travel behaviour and drivers’ interactions.” [LE130100113 Australian Research Council / LIEF /
UNSW, $680,000]
7. Prof S.T. Waller and Dr V. Dixit, “Review of Managed
Motorway Control Technology System.” [Roads and
Maritime Service, $200,000]
New Staff
We welcomed 3 new staff members to its team. Dr
Hanna Grzybowska was appointed as a Research
Associate in January, her key research interests include
vehicle fleet management, city logistics, real-time and
dynamic vehicle routing problems, decision support
systems and simulation and dynamic traffic assignment
models. Dr Mojtaba Maghrebi was appointed as a
Research Associate in April, his key research interests
include innovative branching techniques in mixed
integer programming, supervised and ensemble
learnings and intelligent decision support systems. Dr
Emily Moylan was appointed in August as a Research
Associate; her research interests include stochastic
treatment of travel time and the incorporation of travel
time reliability into transportation policy decisions.
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Conferences
rCITI hosted 3 conferences in 2014. The International
Symposium on Activity-Based Modelling (10 March
2014) and The Center for the Economic Analysis of
Risk (CEAR)/ rCITI - Risk in Transport Systems (20-
21 March 2014), both brought together distinguished
international and local speakers from academia and
industry in activity based modelling and transportation
risk. The third conference, the 32nd Conference of
Australian Institutes of Transport Research (CAITR)
(17-18 February 2014), provided a forum for young
transportation researchers from over 14 different
universities, institutes and research groups, and with an
opportunity to present their paper.
Finalists at the Sydney Engineering Excellence Awards 2014
Researchers at rCITI were finalists at the Sydney
Engineering Excellence Awards 2014 in the
categories of Research and Development, and Welfare,
Health and Safety, for the project “Instrumented Vehicle
Technology to Promote Safer and Fuel Efficient Driving
Behaviour”.
We congratulate Dr Dixit, Prof. Waller, Dr Xiong and their
GoGet Carshare partners for their cutting edge work.
CORE CENTRE STAFF – 2014
Director
Professor S. Travis Waller, Evans & Peck Professor of
Transport Innovation
Deputy Director
Dr Vinayak Dixit, Senior Lecturer
Academics
Dr Upali Vandebona, Senior Lecturer
Dr Lavy Libman, Senior Lecturer (Computer Science
and Engineering)
Dr Lauren Gardner, Lecturer
Dr Taha Hossein Rashidi, Lecturer
Dr Ken Doust, Adjunct Lecturer
Dr Chen Cai, Conjoint Lecturer
Researchers
Dr Hanna Grzybowska
Dr Mojtaba Maghrebi
Dr Emily Moylan
Dr David Rey
Dr Zhitao Xiong
Centre Manager
Ms Maria Lee
Adjunct & Visiting Academic Staff
Visiting Fellow
Dr Peter Hidas, Transport for New South Wales, Bureau
of Transport Statistics (BTS), Sydney, Australia.
Mr Alireza Ermagun, Researcher, Sharif University of
Technology, Iran.
Dr Jean-Luc Ygnace Research Engineer, French National
Institute for Transportation Research (INRETS), France.
Associate Professor Hillel Bar-Gera, Department of
Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Mr Haiyang Liu, Researcher, School of Transportation
Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology
(HIT), Harbin, China.
Senior Visiting Fellow
Professor Sahotra Sarkar, University of Texas at Austin,
Department of Philosophy, Section of Integrative
Biology, Austin, Texas, USA.
Visiting Professorial Fellow
Professor Chi Xie, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean
and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University,
Shanghai, China.
OUR CENTRES84
water@UNSWwater research centre
The UNSW School of Civil and Environmental Engineering has a 60 year
history of leading development of water technology in Australia. Apart
from maintaining the largest postgraduate and undergraduate teaching
programmes in water engineering in Australia, the School remains active
in Australian fundamental water research:
\ surface and groundwater hydrology – ongoing Australian leadership
of the quantifying of rainfall, runoff and groundwater flows at
catchment scales (This history includes development of the lead
Australian design document, Rainfall and Runoff, now published and
developed by Engineers Australia).
\ public health and water treatment – fundamental investigations of
the chemistry and microbiology of water for urban use have been
focussed within the Centre for Water and Waste Treatment over the last
20 years.
\ civil and environmental hydraulics – practical Project-based and
theoretical hydraulics research undertaken using the unique large-
scale facilities of the Water Research Laboratory at Manly Vale.
There are two primary centre nodes: at Kensington with staff and students
accommodated within the Vallentine annex; and, at the Water Research
Laboratory at Manly Vale. The centre is co-supervised by Richard Stuetz
and Bill Peirson, who are respectively responsible for each node.
Centre activities are grouped around three dominant research themes:
1. Water SupplyAustralia is a continent of low rainfall and its development and economic
robustness is constrained by presently available and potential water
supplies.
2. The CoastOver 86% of the Australian community live in the coastal zone with
consequent environmental impact and climate vulnerabilities.
3. SustainabilityTo maintain Australia’s current level of population and economic growth,
water and contamination management need innovative solutions in terms
of environmental, energy and social considerations.
About Us
OUR CENTRES 85
WRL HIGHLIGHTSIn 2014 the Water Research Laboratory celebrated 55
years of providing leading-edge expertise, research
and training for industry and government, both in
Australia and overseas.
The continuing high quality of WRL’s research was
acknowledged by our industry peers withan Engineers
Australia’s (Sydney Division) Excellence Award
(Environment and Heritage) for the Tomago Wetlands
Restoration project, achieved in collaboration with NSW
National Parks and NSW Fisheries. The project was
also a finalist at Engineers Australia’s National Awards.
Dr. Will Glamore, Duncan Rayner and Jamie Ruprecht
have been guiding major wetland rehabilitation
projects in several estuaries using environmental
engineering design techniques. These approaches
have successfully re-established major tracts of
critically endangered saltmarsh habitat. Indeed, the
Tomago project recently attracted over 5000 migratory
shorebirds in a single day
2014 has been a strong year for continued leadership in
Australia’s water engineering profession at WRL:
\ During February and August, WRL hosted meetings
of representatives of major dam owners from around
Australia and internationally. These organisations
are sponsoring a major Australian Research Council
Linkage grant at UNSW led by Professor Robin
Fell, Professor Chongmin Song, Dr. Kurt Douglas,
Associate Professor Bill Peirson. The purpose of this
project is to establish new engineering guidelines
for managing erosion risks within major dams and
on their spillways. PhD students Steven Pells and
Rebecca Allan played a major role within these
meetings.
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\ This year the National Flood Risk Advisory Group
(NFRAG) released a landmark publication for
floodplain management in Australia, the Australian
Emergency Management Institute Handbook 7
Managing the floodplain - a guide to best practice
in flood risk management in Australia. WRL’s
Grantley Smith and Ron Cox were advisors to
NFRAG and lead authors of the Technical Flood
Risk Management Guideline on Flood Hazard, which
directly supports Handbook 7.
\ In early November, Alexandra Badenhop and Doug
Anderson hosted a workshop on groundwater
management for coastal local governments.
A specific focus of the workshop included the
management of groundwater extractions and
recharge, construction dewatering, acid sulphate
soils, groundwater contamination and the assessing
the impacts of climate change.
\ In November, Ron Cox, James Carley, Matt Blacka
and Bill Peirson hosted a Coastal Climate Adaptation
workshop at WRL. Senior figures from Australian
coastal engineering and science joined with
specialist coastal engineers Rod and Heidi Moritz
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss
pressing coastal problems in both the United States
and Australia. This workshop has been a major
activity of the Coastal Adaptation Research Node
established by the NSW Office of Environment
and Heritage last year and the Australian Climate
Change Adaptation Research Network for
Settlements and Infrastructure – now in its 5th year.
Members of the Tomago Project Team (L-R), Rob Williams, Kylie Russell (NSW Fisheries), Will Glamore (WRL), Ann Lindsey (Hunter Bird Observers), Jamie Ruprecht (WRL), Duncan Rayner (WRL), Jann Williams, Bill Peirson (WRL), Doug Beckers (National Parks & Wildlife Services).
OUR CENTRES 87
Project and Research Highlights
Pioneering the use of UAVs in Coastal and Environmental Engineering
WRL are pioneering the use of unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) drones for rapid and cost effective surveying in
the coastal and environmental engineering sectors. A
short 20 minute flight provides in excess of 30 million
data points which has comparable accuracy to a
traditional RTK-GPS survey. Over the past year WRL
has deployed a fixed wing UAV over several locations
including the Narrabeen-Collaroy embayment to monitor
beach change, over the Big Swamp wetland near
Taree to assess tidal inundation, and over Harrington
Breakwater for asset management.
WRL Wins Large ARC Discovery Project
Coastal erosion is confronting societies and the natural
environment. The economic value in Australia of built
assets at risk includes roads, commercial buildings
and homes. Hard engineering entire coastlines is
rarely feasible, with beaches providing the best coastal
defense along the great majority of sandy coastlines.
This project aims to deliver advanced understanding
and the best available solutions to storm erosion
prediction. Led by Prof Ian Turner, this $423K three year
grant will bring together an international team of coastal
scientists and engineers from the UK, the Netherlands
and Australia.
Old Swamps and New Ideas – Project Update
Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone
(THPSS) are unique wetlands listed as endangered
ecologic communities by both the NSW and
Commonwealth Governments. These slow growing
swamps have distinct ecological characteristics and are
located throughout the Blue Mountains, Newnes Plateau
and the Sydney Basin. The WRL report prepared for the
Commonwealth Government has just been released and
summarises:
\ Available information on THPSS and similar swamp
communities and the way in which longwall mining
can affect these communities.
\ Existing techniques used by industry for mitigating
impacts on swamps.
\ Potential remediation techniques.
A major fieldwork research program is now underway.
ICCE2020
The ASCE Coastal Engineering Research Council
recently awarded the peak conference in coastal
engineering, the International Conference on Coastal
Engineering (ICCE) to Sydney in September 2020.
This is a major coup for the local coastal engineering
fraternity as bidding for the conference faced robust
competition from several excellent international teams.
Led by A/Prof Bill Peirson, a strong Australasian
team had been promoting ICCE2020 Sydney on
behalf of Engineers Australia’s National Committee
of Coastal and Ocean Engineering, Business Events
Sydney, PIANC Australia, the Institution of Professional
Engineers New Zealand, and the New Zealand Coastal
Society. The awarding of the conference to Sydney is a
tribute to efforts of the entire bid team.
OUR CENTRES88
Riverbank Vulnerability Assessment using a Decision Support System: Lower Hawkesbury River (Wisemans Ferry to Spencer – 29kms) in partnership with Hornsby Shire CouncilShoalhaven River Floodplain Drainage Remediation Action Plan
The lower Shoalhaven River estuary contains 39 large
drainage sub-catchments, with many significantly
impacted by acid sulphate soil drainage. remediation
action plans are based on an estuary wide approach and
outline the recommended on-ground works required to
reduce or eliminate acid drainage from each site.
Groundwater Project News
It has been a productive 12 months for WRL’s
groundwater team in the water resources, coal seam
gas and coal mining space. During this time we have,
amongst many other projects, submitted the third and
final report in a major international review of the impacts
on water related to coal seam gas and coal mining
developments. These studies are being undertaken for
the Department of the Environment on the direction of
the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal
Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (IESC).
Since March, WRL has finalised a comprehensive
review of major projects underway or completed
in Australia, Canada, China, India, Russia, United
Kingdom, and the USA for the period 2000-2014.
\ We also prepared a background paper on coal
seam gas resources to inform the NSW Office of the
Chief Scientist and Engineer independent review of
coal seam gas activities in NSW.
\ Using WRL’s geotechnical centrifuge we have been
able to fill in critical knowledge gaps in research and
engineering practice on the vertical permeability
of aquitards. Measures of vertical permeability
are critically important for identifying competent
aquitards that will protect water resource aquifers
from the impacts of coal mining, coal seam gas and
mineral resource development.
The Physics of Bubbles in Destratifying Reservoirs
Staff at WRL have been solving problems associated
with stratified water bodies with a specific focus on
water quality issues in reservoirs for approximately 50
years.
New Coastal Imaging Stations on the Gold Coast
In March two new Coastal Imaging stations were
installed on the Gold Coast. The new stations are
located at Palm Beach and Surfers Paradise, and now
takes the total number of Coastal Imaging cameras
operated by WRL to 32.
Narrabeen Coastal Imaging Station Upgrade3D Physical Modelling of Clump Point Jetty Breakwater
The project was targeted at improving protection of the
Clump Point Jetty near Mission Beach, approximately
100 km south of Cairns. from waves and improve
berthing conditions.
Caseys Beach Seawall Upgrade
Eurobodalla Shire Council engaged WRL in partnership
with Aurecon to prepare the design for the Caseys
KENSINGTON
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Water Research Centre 2014 – People
MANLY (WRL)
Beach seawall upgrade. approximately 5 km south-east
of the CBD of Batemans Bay.
WRL-Developed Barochambers Showcased at the Powerhouse Museum
In February the Powerhouse Museum opened the
exhibition “Engineering Excellence Awards 2013”
showcasing innovative Australian engineering projects.
One of the five projects showcased in the display was
the specialist barochambers developed at WRL to
test the amount of decompression that Australian fish
species can safely tolerate.
Examining the Biological Impacts of SeawallsBig Problems Require Big Solutions at Big Swamp, Lower Manning River, NSW
A two year collaborative project has turned a large
acidic landscape into a new tidal wetland. WRL working
with Greater Taree City Council and WetlandCare
Australia, have undertaken a comprehensive scientific
study to identify and remediate high priority acid
farmlands on the Big Swamp floodplain, near Taree,
NSW.. Based on Council’s preliminary monitoring, the
water quality has significantly improved and the wetland
vegetation is recovering.
PILAR Award Recognition
WRL was recently nominated for the UNISDR’s inaugural
Pacific Innovation and Leadership Award for Resilience
(PILAR) for the recent work that we have undertaken
in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Led by Principal Coastal
Engineer Matt Blacka, WRL’s work investigated hazards
and risks from cyclone storm surge and waves for the
township of Avarua (the capital of the Cook Islands).
The award was presented at the Pacific Platform for
Disaster Risk Management in Suva Fiji, with Matt
receiving a Certificate of Recognition.
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Co-Directors
Associate Professor Bill Peirson
Professor Richard Stuetz
Deputy Director (WRL)
Professor Ian Turner
Business Managers
Grantley Smith (WRL)
Robert Steel
Academics
Professor Ashish Sharma
Professor David Waite
Associate Professor Ron Cox
Associate Professor Stuart Khan
Associate Professor Tommy Wiedmann
Dr Stefan Felder
Dr Fiona Johnson
Research Staff
Associate Professor Sivakumar Bellie
Associate Professor Sven Lundie
Dr Hoori Ajami
Dr AJ Anceno
Dr Radoslaw Barczak
Dr Xavier Barthelemy
Dr Mark Bligh
Dr Peter Brady
Dr Richard Collins
Dr Juan Pablo Alvarez Gaitan
Dr Shikha Garg
Dr Michalis Hadjikakou
Dr Sanjeev Jha
Dr Adele Jones
Dr Andrew Kinsela
Dr Peter Kovalsky
Dr Nhat Le
Dr Tongxu Liu
Dr Lucy Marshall
Dr James McDonald
Dr Rajeshwar Mehrotra
Dr Christopher Miller
Dr Kate Murphy
Dr Gavin Parcsi
Dr Robert Parinussa
Dr An Ninh Pham
Dr David Roser
Dr Hazel Rowley
Dr Eric Sivret
Dr Kristen D Splinter
Dr Jacqueline Stroud
Dr Xinguang Wang
Dr Yuan Wang
Dr Fitsum Woldemeskel
Michael Allis
Judith Shinabeck
Professional Engineers WRL
Principal Project Engineers Brett Miller
Grantley Smith
Senior Project EngineersDoug Anderson
Matt Blacka
James Carley
Dr William Glamore
Project EngineersAlexandra Badenhop
Ian Coghlan
Erica Davey
Chris Drummond
Dr Francois Flocard
Nathan Guerry
Duncan Rayner
Priom Rahman
James Ruprecht
Technical and Administration
Jodi Adams
Lila Azouz
Anna Blacka
Robert Jenkins
Coral Johnson
Patricia Karwan
Larry Paice
Ross Mathews
Hamish Studholme
Joan Terlecky
Robert Thompson
Water Reference LibraryCaroline Hedges
Visiting Academics
Professor Nicholas Ashbolt, University of Cincinnati, USA
Professor Gary Jones, eWater Limited, Australia
Professor Ian King, Member ASCE
Professor Gregory Peters, Chalmers University, Sweden
Associate Professor Ian Cordery, UNSW, Australia
Associate Professor Mark Davidson, Plymouth University
Associate Professor Gregoire Mariethoz, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Associate Professor Matthew McCabe, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
Associate Professor Andrew Rose, Southern Cross University, Australia
Assistant Professor Mamoru Arita, Osaka University
Dr Magdalena Bosnjak, Croatian National Institute of Public Health, Croatia
Dr Baichuan Cao, Beijing Jiaotong University, China
Dr Bruce Cathers, UNSW Australia
Dr Heather Coleman, University of Ulster, United Kingdom
Dr Stuart Dever, GHD, Australia
Dr Manabu Fujii, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan
Dr Weijia Gong, Harbin Institute of Technology, China
Dr Jing Guan, Beijing Origin Water Technology, Beijing
Dr Xiaomin Li, UNSW, Australia
Dr Heng Liang, Harbin Institute of Technology, China
Dr Simin Maleknia, UNSW, Australia
Dr Michael Short, University of South Australia, Australia
Dr Gareth Swarbrick, Pells Sullivan & Meynink, Sydney Australia
WRC STAFF
Congratulations Ian
Ian Turner is to be congratulated on his recent
promotion to Professor.
Congratulations Kristen Splinter
on her promotion to Senior Research Associate, as well
as for securing a $20K Early Career Research Grant
from the UNSW Australia Faculty of Engineering;
Two Engineers Celebrate 10 Years at WRL
Principal Coastal Engineer Matt Blacka and Project
Engineer Alexandra Badenhop are both celebrating 10
years working at WRL.
Thank you to all of our many supporters throughout
industry and government. We look forward to continued
collaboration in 2015. If you would like to find out more
about our activities in 2014, please visit: www.wrl.unsw.
edu.au, and follow the link to subscribe to our quarterly
newsletter.
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Partners and Sponsors
Mr Gary Johnston for the Gary Johnston Chair of Water Management
Funders of Academic Positions
School Industry Partners School Industry Supporters
Never Stand Still Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering