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School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering
School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering |
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News from the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining EngineeringFinal Year Students win Sustainability AwardSeptember 2009
John Baulis, Lisa Lloyd, Fiona Paton and Ben Staniford have been awarded the State Student Environmental Engineering and Sustainability Award for their final year research project "Multi-objective Optimisation of Urban Water Supply Systems at the Regional Scale Incorporating Sustainability". The award is presented by the Society for Sustainability & Environmental Engineering, Engineers Australia, and is designed to encourage the development of a sustainability ethic throughout Australia. Holger Maier awarded SA Tertiary Science Educator of the YearAugust 2009
Professor Holger Maier from the University of Adelaide’s School of Civil, Environmental & Mining Engineering won the Tertiary Science Educator of the Year. Professor Maier teaches in the areas of water and environmental engineering. He is co-developer of the multi-award winning Mekong e-Sim – a computer supported role-play simulation project for second year environmental engineering students. MODSIM 09 - Commendations for Postgraduate StudentsJuly 2009
Congratulations to Fiona Paton, Joanna Szemis and Brittany Coff, who received Commendations for their presentations at the International Congress on Modelling and Simulation (Modsim 09), which was held in Cairns. Fiona received a commendation for her presentation "Considering sustainability in the planning and management of regional urban water supply systems: A case study of Adelaide's Southern system" and Jo and Brittany received a commendation for their joint presentation "Relating catchment attributes to parameters of a salt and water balance model". The conference included 90 student presentations, of which 9 were commended. Receiving 2 of these 9 awards is a great achievement for the School and follows on from success at the 4 previous Modsim conferences, including Gavin Bowden in 2001, Greer Kingston in 2003 and Jakin Ravalico in 2005 and 2007. Welcome for New Students from IraqApril 2009
21 students from Iraq have recently been welcomed to the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering. The students are funded by an AusAID program to participate in the Water Resources Masters Course for two years. Currently they are undertaking language studies and will begin the program in 2010. The students recently attended two field trips to inspect the water resources infrastructure supporting Adelaide and to appreciate the context of the recent drought for water supply. They visited Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant, Myponga Reservoir, Kangaroo Creek Reservoir, Mannum Pumping Station and the Goolwa Barrages. The School looks forward to their participation over the coming years. Sarah Jewell - Young Water Professional of the Year 2009March 2009
Sarah Jewell, who graduated from this School in 2005, and returned in 2009 to commence a PhD in coastal engineering on the Murray Mouth dredging program, has become the recipient of the inaugural Australian Water Association 2009 Young Water Professional of the Year Award. The award recognises exceptional early career achievement, a significant contribution to the water industry and outstanding academic achievement and communication skills. It is awarded to a young water professional with the potential to play a large and influential role in the water industry in the future. After graduating, Sarah worked in water treatment and desalination process design at SA Water. Since 2007, Sarah has worked as a consulting engineer with URS Australia Pty Ltd, where she has had experience in various aspects of water management, including dams engineering, hydrology and management of environmental flows in River Murray wetlands. She has volunteered with both the SA and national Young Water Professionals committees and is currently also actively involved with the AWA WASH (Sustainable Water and Sanitation for Developing Communities) Specialist Network. She has also been directly involved in the promotion of water industry and engineering careers to high school students and teachers, and undergraduate students. As the winner of the 2008 SA Young Water Professional of the Year Award, which was announced in January 2009, Sarah attended OzWater '09 in Melbourne. The 2009 Young Water Professional Award was announced at the OzWater Gala Dinner on March 17th, and presented by the national YWP president, Erin Cini. Final Year Students win Hodgson AwardDecember 2008
Liam Harnett, Jason Nicolson and Rebecca Tennant were awarded the Australian Water Association's Hodgson Medal, which is open to final year undergraduates (including Honours students) enrolled at South Australian universities and who have completed projects or investigations in a water-related subjects. Congratulations also to John Baulis, Lisa Lloyd, Fiona Paton and Ben Staniford, who made the final three out of 11 entrants, ensuring that the School had strong representation at the presentations of the three finalists tonight. The research of both groups focussed on the optimisation of the sustainability of urban water supply systems, with Liam, Jason and Rebecca concentrating on the cluster scale and John, Lisa, Fiona and Ben on the regional scale. The Hodgson Medal - won by Liam, Jason and Rebecca - honours the pioneering South Australian environmental engineer Harry Hodgson, who died in 1992 after a distinguished career in the water industry. In their research, the students demonstrated the feasibility of grey water reuse schemes at an urban cluster scale with the reclaimed water being used for toilet flushing and garden watering. James Daniell - General Sir John Monash Award winner 200926 November 2008
James Daniell, a graduate from this School in 2006, has been awarded
a General Sir John Monash Award 2009. This Award, honouring Australia's
great wartime general in WWI, is Australia's most prestigious award for postgraduate
study and is Australia's equivalent of Britain's Rhodes and the U.S. Fulbright
scholarships. Each year only 8 scholarships of $150,000 for 3 years are awarded.
James received his John Monash Award from the Governor-General, Ms Quentin
Bryce [pictured left], at Government House on November 26 and attended
a luncheon at Parliament House. Dr Matt Gibbs wins Postgraduate Research AwardNovember 2008
PhD graduate Dr
Matt Gibbs from the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering
was awarded the Postgraduate Research Award at the annual Australian Water
Association South Australian Water Awards night. The Postgraduate Research
Award is open to any post-graduate research in a water related field. Matt
won the award for his work for his work in applying Genetic Algorithms to
the optimisation of Water Distribution Systems, specifically looking at methods
to assist in the calibration of the algorithm. With a great deal of water
related research currently underway, the field was very competitive, including
fellow postgraduate students in the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining
Engineering, Robert May and Darren Broad. [Media
Release] Travelling Scholarship Awarded to Wenyan WuNovember 2008
Recently, PhD student Ms Wenyan Wu from the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering has been awarded both the Research Abroad Scholarship and the D.R. Stranks Travelling Fellowship for a visit to the Technical University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands next year from April to July. The Research Abroad Scholarship is for supporting research travel overseas by enrolled research students. The D.R. Stranks Travelling Fellowship provides assistance for meritorious students enrolled in a research higher degree at the University of Adelaide to travel outside South Australia. Ms Wenyan Wu is currently working on multi-objective optimisation of water distribution systems (WDSs) accounting for sustainability. Her supervisors are Professor Angus Simpson and Professor Holger Maier. In her research, a new paradigm for the design of WDSs, which takes into account sustainability objectives from three aspects of sustainability (economic, environmental and engineering or technical) is being developed. During her visit to the TU Eindhoven, Ms. Wenyan Wu will be working with Dr. Arris Tijsseling, Prof. Wil Schilders and Dr. Jan ter Marten. Prof. Wil Schilders and Dr. Arris Tijsseling both have extensive experience in mathematical modeling and numerical methods development for solving non-linear equations for determining flows and pressures in WDSs. Dr. Jan ter Marten has experience in multi-objective optimisation framework development. Both Prof. Wil Schilders and Dr. Jan ter Marten hold joint positions at the TU Eindhoven, as well as NXP (the mobile phone chip manufacturing unit that was spun-off in 2006 from Phillips Electronics whose world headquarters is in Eindhoven), where the performance of electronic chips is optimised accounting for multiple criteria. Ms. Wu's visit to the TU Eindhoven will promote the exchange of ideas from different multi-objective research areas and increase the prestige and involvement of University of Adelaide at an international level. . Climate Change Research31 October 2008
Work carried out as a final year research project on climate change, urban heat islands and the coast caught the attention of the Advertiser environment writer, leading to an article in Friday October 31st's edition. The article cited results derived by the group indicating the extent of the urban heat island effect and its effect on the coastal sea breeze which is occurring more frequently and is also strengthening. This, it is believed, will be important for future coastal management. The students are Ross Mc Connell, Patrick Moody, Nick Byrne and Daniel
Osborne. They have also been invited to present their work to a meeting
at the Bureau of Meteorology in November. New Engineering TextbookOctober 2008
A new textbook "Engineering Modelling and Analysis" has just been published by Taylor and Francis in the UK. It has been written by four academics from the faculty: David Walker, Michael Leonard and Martin Lambert from the School, and Andrew Metcalfe from mathematics. The book is based on material developed over the years for the School's undergraduate computing courses but also brings together the research interests of the four authors - a mix they believe is important for a good university education. Abigail Goodman wins PrizeSeptember 2008
Abigail Goodman, PhD student in the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, received the Student Prize (best presentation by a PhD or Masters student) at the Australian Society of Limnology conference, which was held in Madurah in WA from 29 September to 3 October. The title of Abby's presentation was "Investigating the impact of a pulsed salinity regime on four aquatic macrophytes". [Media Release] Research Award for Safeguarding Public BuildingsAugust 2008
Dr Chengqing Wu and Professor Deric Oehlers have been awarded a grant of $220k to help design buildings that can withstand terrorist attack from explosive devices. Chengqing and Deric will lead a national project to safeguard high-risk public buildings against terrorist attach by developing construction guidelines for new, ultra-strong concrete that is ten times stronger than conventional construction materials. The University of Adelaide will partner with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), international company VSL Australia and the State University of New York on the three-year project. Federal Defence Science and Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon said the program would evaluate and develop materials and engineering solutions to minimise the effects of terrorist explosions aimed at civilian and military facilities. Australian Learning and Teaching Council CitationsAugust 2008
This year's Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning 2008 include three members of staff from the Faculty: Assoc Prof David Walker (School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering) Dr Katrina Falkner and Prof Hemanta Sarma. The awards were presented by Tim Besley, AC, Chair of the ARC and Professor Richard Johnsone, Executive Director of the ALTC, at a ceremony in the National Wine Centre on 7 August. Assoc Prof David Walker's citation was for providing a supportive learning environment while improving learning outcomes through the implementation of a self-paced learning program for engineering modelling and analysis. Second Best Paper Award on Water Distribution Systems and Sustainability - WDSA ConferenceAugust 2008
Recently Professor Angus Simpson of the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering presented a paper at the 10th International Water Distribution Systems Analysis (WDSA) Conference of the American Society of Civil Engineers held in South Africa 17-20 August, 2008. There were 106 papers presented at the conference. A paper written by Wenyan Wu, Angus R Simpson and Holger R Maier entitled "Water distribution system optimisation accounting for a range of future possible carbon prices" won an award for the 2nd best paper at the conference. Criteria for the selection of the best papers included 20 points for the written paper (4 categories including 1. Knowledge Contribution and 2. Innovation and Originality) and 20 points for the presentation (4 categories including 1. Communication and Clarity and 2. Preparation and Organization). The paper is based on Ms. Wenyan Wu's PhD work on Multi-objective Optimisation of Water Distribution Systems Accounting for Sustainability that she commenced in February 2007. Professor Simpson and Professor Maier are joint supervisors of Wenyan's PhD work. Considerable research has been carried out on the optimisation of water distribution systems at the University of Adelaide over the last 18 years. In previous research genetic algorithm optimisation has been used given to minimise the cost of water distribution system networks. There has been a recent increase in the awareness of climate change, especially in relation to global warming, that has led to consideration of accounting for sustainability in the optimisation of the design of water distribution systems. Carbon dioxide equivalent gases are generated during the mining, manufacture and installation of components in a water distribution system. In addition electricity usage for pumping produces greenhouse gases. Research into multi-objective genetic algorithm optimisation of water distribution systems from a sustainability perspective where more than one objective is considered is being pioneered at the University of Adelaide. Objectives to be optimised include 1) the minimisation of cost, 2) the environmental sustainability criterion of minimisation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 3) the minimisation of risk and 4) the maximisation of robustness of the system to changes in parameters of the design. Results of the research to-date indicate that the inclusion of GHG emission minimisation as one of the objectives in addition to cost results in significant tradeoffs between the economic and environmental sustainability objectives in terms of a Pareto-optimal front. The tradeoffs generated during the optimisation process can be presented to decision makers so they can understand the implications of their decisions on both the cost of the network and on the potential greenhouse gases that will be produced during the lifetime of the project. The abstract of the award winning paper follows: Abstract Chevening ScholarshipAugust 2008
Ashley Kingsborough, who graduated from the school in 2004, has been awarded a 2008/09 British Chevening Scholarship. He will undertake a Masters in Science (Environmental Change and Management) at the University of Oxford beginning in October 2008. Since graduating Ashley has been employed as an environmental engineer in KBR's Natural Resource Management group in Adelaide, gaining experience in environmental management and hydrology. In 2006-2007, Ashley completed a 15-month placement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Hanoi, Vietnam as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development, where he managed the cultural heritage component of a feasibility study to upgrade the water system within the Hue World Heritage Area. In addition, he worked with Halong Bay Management Board to improve their management capacity and the Hoi An Centre for Monuments Conservation to improve their disaster preparedness planning. The Chevening Scholarships programme is funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and administered by the British Council of Australia. Teaching Prize24 July 2008
Staff from across the Faculty came together on Thursday 24 July to celebrate the teaching achievements of Dr Cheryl Pope and Associate Professor Martin Lambert. Dr Cheryl Pope from the School of Computer Science was awarded a Faculty Prize for Teaching Excellence and the Executive Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching, while Associate Professor Martin Lambert from the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering was awarded a a Faculty Prize for Teaching Excellence and a Faculty Award for Excellence for Higher Degree by Research Supervision. Awards were presented by the Faculty's Executive Dean, Professor Peter Dowd, and were followed by a celebratory morning tea. Adelaide Living Beaches StudyJuly 2008
A research project, supported by the Adelaide Living Beaches initiative, is in progress on the local beaches. The aim is to assess the suitability of significant deposits of fine sand as a source for beach restoration. The work is being carried out by a group of final year students with some assistance from a visiting French engineering student who is in Adelaide to work with Dr Walker. The photo shows (left to right) Brendan Scott (PhD student), James Koronis (final year student), Camille Couzi (French engineering student) and Ryan Buckley (final year student) carrying out infiltration and penetrometer tests at Henley Beach. The Water Down Under ConferenceApril 2008
The conference was very successful, with a large number of delegates (~450), many of whom commented that this was one of the best organised and best run conferences they had ever attended. This is primarily due to the hard work and expertise of the organising and technical committees, including Graeme Dandy as Committee Chair, Trevor Daniell and Martin Lambert as Co-Chairs of the Technical Program Subcommittee, and Michael Leonard, Alex Osti and Steven Need as members of the Technical Program Subcommittee. Well done to everyone involved. Trevor Daniell was selected to give the Munro Oration, which is a great Honour and a reflection of the many great achievements and contributions Trevor has made in the field of Hydrology over his career. Trevor's oration was outstanding, which was acknowledged by many of the delegates. 
Martin Lambert and Angus Simpson (with Pedro Lee, Dalius Misiunas and John Vitovsky) were recipients of the G.N. Alexander medal best paper award. This award is well-deserved recognition of Angus and Martin's groundbreaking work on leak detection using transients, which they have taken from the conceptual stage, to laboratory trials to contract work with SA Water. This award was also won by Bernie Foley and Trevor Daniell in 2003 for their work on sustainability, further highlighting the quality and innovation of the research in water engineering occurring in our School. 
Michael Leonard received the award for best presentation by a recent graduate. This adds to a long list of awards for our postgraduate students, the last of which was the Best Presentation award Jakin Ravalico received at the Modsim conference in Christchurch last December. Many of our past graduates were at the conference, one of whom Katherine Daniell, received the award for best poster presentation. Engineering Challenge and BBQMarch 2008
The tradition of the Engineering Challenge, a design competition for all the School's students, continued with an event that was held in the first week of semester. The Challenge culminated with a Welcome BBQ followed by the testing session on the Barr Smith Lawns on Friday 7th March. This year the event involved the construction of a structure, made only of newspaper and sellotape capable of supporting a 2kg weight. The catch was that all elements of the structure had to fit inside a standard 5 ream photocopy paper box (a 35cm cube approx.) and be assembled on the day in only 5 minutes. The event was generously sponsored by Parsons Brinckerhoff who provided cash prizes for the teams based on the final height of the structure. The winning team, who took away $500, finished with a structure 2.22 metres high. Most teams worked with a fairly traditional truss type structure but there were some very innovative designs too, showing real engineering flair. Professor Graeme Dandy Elected to FellowshipNovember 2007
Professor Graeme Dandy was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in November 2007, placing him among Australia's leaders of technology and engineering. Professor Dandy was one of 30 new Fellows elected to the Academy, and one of only three from South Australia. Prof Dandy was honoured for his international achievements in the development and commercial application of genetic algorithms and AI techniques in water resources engineering. The Academy is an independent body of eminent Australian engineers and scientists established to promote the application of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes. The Academy's President, Professor Robin Batterham, said the new Fellows were "joining the ranks of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists in Australia". "Our Fellowship is comprised of world-class performers and all are acknowledged as leaders in their field," he said. Engineering Text Book LaunchNovember 2007
A second edition of the popular "Planning and Design of Engineering Systems" by Professor Graeme Dandy, Associate Professors David Walker and Trevor Daniell and Emeritus Professor Robert Warner was launched by the Vice Chancellor at a function on Tuesday 20th November in the Barr Smith Library. In launching the book, the Vice Chancellor outlined the history of the first edition with its emphasis on problem solving, creativity in design, environmental assessment, decision making and optimisation. He noted it had been used widely by universities in Australia, the UK and the USA and that the demand had led to the need for a reprint by the original publishers. The Vice Chancellor suggested that the second edition reflects some of the changes that have occurred in engineering over the years, with new chapters on management skills, project management, communication, ethics and law and risk and reliability. The launch was attended by representatives from industry and the university and included a good number of current and former students who have benefited from their introduction to engineering through the first edition. Student Annual Awards Dinner 2007August 2007
The School's annual awards dinner regularly attracts over 200 people made up of current students, alumni, industry presentatives and staff. Pictured right is Luke Luey, Michael Quince, Nicole Anderson and James Daniell being awarded the Structural/Geotechnical Research Group Award for 2006, awarded by Professor Deric Oehlers. 
The dinner provides a formal occasion where students can meet prospective employers, graduates can renew contact with classmates and academic staff, and for industry to catch up with the achievements of students and staff of the School over the past 12 months. Pictured left is Hamish Banks being awarded the Steel Reinforcement Institute of Australia Award for 2006, awarded by Dr Togay Ozbakkaloglu. Hamish was also awarded the Robert Warner Medal for outstanding achievement in Structural Design III (Concrete) James Daniell wins the Honours Alumni University Medal 2007 of the University of AdelaideJuly 2007
James Daniell, who graduated in Civil and Structural Engineering (First Class Honours) and Science in 2006, has been named the Honours Alumni University Medallist 2007. This medal is given for outstanding academic merit and is the highest award for an Honours graduate of 2006 across all the Faculties of The University of Adelaide. James was also awarded a University Medal for Civil Engineering and Science at the same commemoration ceremony on the 31st July. As well as his academic awards, James has excelled in sport, representing the university at numerous university games and receiving a Blue for volleyball in 2005 and a Bob Heddle Sports Scholarship in 2006. This year James worked as a geophysicist with Santos Pty Ltd. In September he commenced a Masters in Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology at The European School for Advanced Studies in Reduction of Seismic Risk (ROSE School) incorporating the University Degli Studi di Pavia, Italy, and the University Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France. James won the John Crampton Travelling Scholarship, the George Murray Scholarship and a MEEES (European Union) Scholarship for his postgraduate studies in Europe. South Australia's New Mining Engineers - Field TripJune 2007
The new mining engineering programme in the University of Adelaide has been successfully launched and it has attracted 58 students this year. The mining engineers have recently embarked on a 10 days field trip to visit mining operations and mineral processing plants around the area. Their first stop is Zinifex's lead smelter in Port Pirie, followed by two days visit to BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam operation. The group then visited Leigh Creek coal field and Beverley uranium mine before spending two days in Broken Hill, visiting Perilya southern operation and CBH's Rasp mine. BeMaX's mineral sand processing plant at Broken Hill and Ginkgo operation at Pooncarie were also on their exploration menu. 
"The mining companies we visited were very supportive and the students did get a very positive message out of this trip. The students can almost hear the crying of the industry for qualified mining engineers", said Professor Ian Plimer, who lead the field excursion. "A lot of time and effort from both members of staff and personnel from industry have been spent to make this trip happen and I am glad the trip went well and that the students enjoyed it. I am sure the knowledge the students gathered will be extremely beneficial to their studies in the next couple of years as well as motivational for them", commented Professor Mike Griffith, head of the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide. Some students have also commented: "It was simply great!", "It's really great to have the chance to see what is really like in the mining industry and talk to the real people working in the mines.", "I now have much better idea what this course is really for. Just can't wait to finish the course and to start my career in such an exciting industry.", "The scale of the industry is phenomenon. Can't image our industry without mining. It is so great to be part of something so big!" The program was inaugurated in August 2006 at National Wine Centre and was attended by State Government representatives, industry personnel, community leaders, teachers and school students. 
Holger Maier receives the Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Engineering Education' AwardDecember 2006Professor Maier has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to Engineering Education by receiving the 'Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Engineering Education' award from the Australasian Association for Engineering Education, which is a Technical Society of Engineers Australia. The award was presented at the 17th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education, which was held in Auckland, New Zealand from December 10-13. During the conference, Associate Professor Maier also received a High Commendation for his presentation titled 'Meeting the challenges of engineering education via online role-play simulations' [more details]. 
Holger Maier wins National Teaching Prize28 November 2006Associate Professor Holger Maier was today presented with a $25,000 Australian University Award for Teaching Excellence by the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education at a ceremony in Parliament House, Canberra. [more details] [article from Adelaidean, Dec issue] 
Michael Leonard Awarded The AWA's 2006 Postgraduate Research Award20 October 2006Michael Leonard, who is a PhD student in the School, won this award for his project titled: 'Rainfall Modelling Techniques for Engineering Risk Assessment'. The Australian Water Association SA Water Awards were established in 1996 to recognise outstanding recent contributions related to water in South Australia. Judging of this award is based on a written submission and a 15 minute presentation. The written submission is to be of 1000 words, describing the nature and benefits of the research. 
James Daniell Awarded Rod McGee MedalSeptember 2006James Daniell (final year student) has been awarded the national 2006 Rod McGee Medal and $2000 prize, for his submission the importance of public works engineering and the contribution of engineering to the community. [media statement] Three of the School's Academics Win Teaching AwardsThree of the School's academic staff have recently been awarded national, university and faculty prizes for excellence in learning and teaching. Assoc Prof Holger Maier and Dr Mark Jaksa have both been presented with the Carrick Institute's 2006 Inaugural National Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning. These build on Holger's many learning and teaching related awards, including those from the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education, Commonwealth of Learning Awards for Excellence in Distance Education, UniServe Connections and Stephen Cole the Elder Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. In 2005, Mark was also presented with the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Stephen Cole the Elder Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the ECMS Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. In addition, Dr David Walker has recently been awarded one of the 2006 ECMS Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching. This award recognises David's contributions to outstanding teaching in the School's undergraduate program. Jakin Ravalico wins the IEMSS Student PrizeAugust 2006Congratulations to Jakin Ravalico, who is a PhD student in the School, for receiving the IEMSS (International Environmental Modelling and Software Society) Student Prize at the recent World Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software, which was held in Burlington, Vermont, USA.Jakin received the prize for her paper and presentation titled 'Rank-Equivalence Method for Sensitivity Analysis of an Integrated Model of a River Catchment' .Jakin's success follows a string of High Commendations for PhD students from the School at related conferences, including Gavin Bowden (MODSIM 2001), Greer Kingston (MODSIM 2003) and Jakin herself at MODSIM 2005. 
Launch of the new Bachelor of Engineering in Mining Degree17 August 2006State Government representatives, industry personnel, community leaders, teachers and school students joined with staff from the University of Adelaide to launch the new Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) degree at the National Wine Centre on Thursday, 17 August 2006. State Government representatives, industry personnel, community leaders, teachers and school students joined with staff from the University of Adelaide to launch the new Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) degree at the National Wine Centre on Thursday, 17 August 2006. Professor Peter Dowd, Executive Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences chaired the event. Speakers on the day included the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Adelaide, Professor James McWha, the Honourable Paul Holloway, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Dr Roger Higgins who is the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (Australia) of BHP Billiton, and Professor Ian Plimer who is the Professor of Mining Geology at the University of Adelaide. Also in attendance was the Honourable Paul Caica, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, and Mr Mitch Williams, Shadow Minister for Mineral Resources Development indicating the strong endorsement from both sides of the State Government for the new degree. The clear message from speakers at the launch was mining is critical to the sustained growth of South Australia and the nation, and the University is committed to supporting the development of both the skills and capabilities necessary to build this strategic sector. Minister Holloway said, "South Australia was experiencing an exploration and mining boom, unprecedented in the State's history. More and more local, national and international mining companies are turning their attention to our State, and our rich mineral and resource deposits. The new mining degree at the University of Adelaide will play a significant role in ensuring that skilled workers are available to meet the increasing demand for our resources. The degree will also prepare young South Australians for rewarding careers in the State's mining industry." Professor Plimer said, "Australia has been producing just 40% of the mining engineers required to satisfy industry needs. The new four-year Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) degree is designed to help redress the nation's serious shortage of mining engineers." The Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) Degree
A new degree to be offered by the University of Adelaide in 2007 will position South Australia at the forefront of mining education in the country. Up to 30 students will be offered places in the inaugural Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) intake in the first semester of 2007. The University recruited Professor Ian Plimer from the University of Melbourne early in 2006, specifically to develop mining geology courses and lead the recruitment drive for the new mining engineering degree. He holds a joint appointment in the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences and the Faculty of Sciences. "This University - in conjunction with the State Government - has been incredibly astute to realise that the world is undergoing a global restructuring of commodities and we can play a huge role in that," Professor Plimer said. "The population explosion in India and China - which collectively numbers more than two billion people, had placed pressure on the world to supply their energy and manufacturing feed-stock needs. What we're experiencing is not a mining boom or bubble, but a fundamental re-evaluation of commodities against real estate and cash. It means we will have to do a lot more exploration and to do that we need highly skilled people." Professor Plimer has spent the past two months on a statewide recruiting drive
for the first cohort of mining engineering students. Details of the new degree can be found a on the Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) page. 
Katherine Daniell wins SA Young Achiever Environment Award8 April 2006On Saturday night April 8th, Katherine Daniell, who graduated in 2004 from our School, won the South Australia Young Achievers Environment Award sponsored by SA Water. This was one of eight categories for which the awards were given for young achievers between the ages of 14 and 26 years. The Awards applaud high achievement, vision and commitment while fostering the pursuit of excellence and highlighting the efforts and success of young people making meaningful contributions to their field of endeavour. Well done Katherine! Paper Award29 March 2006 PhD student, Darren Broad,
has received the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment 'Excellent Publication
Award' for the paper: 
Staff v Student Softball Match27 March 2006The annual Staff - Student softball match was held on Monday 27th March. The School's hydrology guru Trevor Daniell had been busy in the morning checking the latest weather radar data from the Bureau of Meteorology and predicted flooding north of Clare but dry conditions at the Graduate's Oval. The match started with a BBQ cooked, as usual, by the very capable laboratory staff under the direction of 'Chef' Greg Atkins. Following frenzied practice (mainly by the students) a coin was found, tossed and the first of six innings was underway. Despite the lack of match practice there were 38 runs in total over the day with the staff winning narrowly by 20 to 18. As in life, it's amazing what four or five academics can do when amply supported by a host of postgraduate students and professional staff!! Passing of a Former Academic27 March 2006Dr Maurice Arnold, Former Senior Lecturer in the School, passed away today. Maurice is well known in the Geotechnical Engineering Community for his work on the mineralogy of clays, expansive soils and the pressure meter test. Our sincerest condolences to his family. 
Winners of the WH Warren Medal 2004presented August 2005In August 2005, Professor Andrew Downing presented the 2004 Warren Medal to Ms Bernadette Foley and Associate Professor Trevor Daniell for their joint winning papers: 'A Sustainability Tool for Intrasectoral and Intersectoral Water Resources Decision Making' and 'Are Traditional Thinking and Decision-Making Techniques Adequate for Developing Sustainable Water Systems?' The Warren Medal perpetuates the memory of Professor WH Warren who was the first President of the Institution of Engineers Australia. Established in 1929, this award is given annually by the Civil College of Engineers Australia for the best paper in the discipline of civil engineering. Congratulations to Bernadette and Trevor. |
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© 2009 The University of Adelaide Last Modified 26/11/2009 Civil & Env Engineering CRICOS Provider Number 00123M |
