An ARC Special Research Centre
Particulate Fluids Processing Centre (PFPC)

Awards & Achievements

 

David Boger named an inaugural Bragg Member of the Royal Institution of Australia

The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is Australia's first national science hub and was launched on Thursday 8th October in Adelaide. The launch was attended by a number of dignitaries including Premier Mike Rann, HRH The Duke of Kent, RiAus Inaugural Director, Professor Gavin Brown, Chair of RiAus, Peter Yates, as well as Director of sister institution, RIGB, Baroness Professor Susan Greenfield. Professor David Boger was named as an Inaugural Bragg Member of the RiAus and was invited to take part in Science "in" the Square - What do you believe is true but cannot prove? as part of the event.

 

A Victorian Young Tall Poppy Science Award for Alison Funston

Dr Alison Funston who was announced as one of the recipients of a 2009 Young Tall Poppy Science Award. The prestigious Young Tall Poppy Science Awards aim to recognise the achievements of Australia's outstanding young scientific researchers and communicators. More information on the awards is available at the Australian Institute of Policy & Science website.

 

Two PFPC members awarded prestigious ARC Future Fellowships

Drs Rachel Caruso and Ray Dagastine were awarded ARC Future Fellowships in the first round of this new scheme. The aim of the Fellowships is to promote research in areas of critical national importance by giving outstanding researchers incentives to conduct their research in Australia. The aim of ARC Future Fellowships is to attract and retain the best and brightest mid-career researchers. Rachel's Fellowship will further her research engineering materials for energy technologies. Ray will use his award to continue his work understanding soft matter on the nanoscale. A full description of the Future Fellowship scheme is found on the Australian Research Council website.

 

Geoff Stevens is one of Australia's most influential engineers

PFPC Director, Professor Geoff Stevens, is again listed as one of Engineers Australia Magazine's 100 most influential engineers. The list focuses on present influence rather than historical achievements. All of the 100 engineers are currently in leadership positions, either in organisations or by virtue of their engineering expertise. view issue
Chemical Engineering article

 

Sally Gras wins a prestigious Victoria Fellowship

The Victorian Government annually awards up to six Victoria Fellowships to emerging leaders in engineering, science or technology. Each Fellow receives a travel grant of up to $18,000 to undertake a short-term overseas study mission to assist in developing a commercial idea, undertaking specialist training or career development. Dr Sally Gras won her Fellowship to allow her to pursue her interest in the understanding and control of diary product microstructure.The Fellowship was presented at Government House on 28 July 2009.

 

Dr John Provis is awarded a Brian Robinson Fellowship

In June 2009 the Banksia Environmental Foundation awarded Dr John Provis the Brian Robinson Fellowship. The Fellowship, first awarded in 2005, is an annual grant created to encourage future environmental leaders. The objective is to nurture young people (under 35) with the potential to contribute to the future sustainability of Victoria, Australia or even globally.
[source: Banksia Environmental Foundation]

 

Professors Frank Caruso and Paul Mulvaney are elected Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science

In March 2009 Professors Caruso and Mulvaney were honoured by election to the Australian Academy of Science. The Academy was founded in 1954 by Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London with the distinguished physicist Sir Mark Oliphant as founding President. It was granted a Royal Charter establishing the Academy as an independent body but with government endorsement. The Fellowship of the Academy is made up of over 400 of Australia's top scientists, distinguished in the physical and biological sciences and their applications. Each year sixteen scientists, judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field, are elected to Fellowship of the Academy.
[source: Australian Academy of Science]

 

Colin Scholes, Fulbright Scholar

Dr Colin Scholes is one of two winners of the inaugural Fulbright Victoria Scholarship. The Fulbright Victoria Scholarship was established in 2008 by the Victorian State government and Victorian based universities to support research of benefit to the state. The Fulbright Victoria Scholarship provides an opportunity for a talented Victorian resident to undertake postgraduate study or research in the United States for eight to twelve months. The Scholarship is open to any field of study. Colin will spend four months at University of Texas at Austin, Department of Chemical Engineering, working on a technique that will lead to cheaper ways to mitigate carbon emissions from large stationary sources of carbon dioxide, such as coal-fired power plants.
[source: Australian-American Fulbright Commission]

 

Professor Geoff Stevens is elected President of the Academic Board, University of Melbourne

In August 2008 Professor Geoff Stevens was elected President of the University of Melbourne's Academic Board. The Board has as its primary responsibility "the supervision and development of all academic activities of the University, including the maintenance of high standards in teaching and research". Geoff has been serving as Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice President of the Academic Board for the last two years and begins his role as President in January 2009. In this position he becomes a member of the Senior Executive of the University.
[source: PFPC News Issue 2, 2008]

 

Professor Frank Caruso is awarded the Woodward Medal in Science and Technology for 2008

The Woodward Medal in Science and Technology is awarded annually to a member of staff for research published in hard copy up to 31 December of the preceding year, but not published in the current year of the application that is considered to have made the most significant contribution by a member of staff to knowledge in a field of science and technology.

 

The PFPC congratulates its successful ARC grant recipients

The following researchers (PFPC members are highlighted) were successful in winning funding in the latest ARC grant round totally over $3.7M:

Discovery Projects Proposals for Funding to Commence in 2009
Dr RA Caruso; Prof Y Cheng
Flexible dye-sensitised solar cells on polymer substrates
$670,000

Prof DY Chan; Dr RR Dagastine; Prof F Grieser; Prof GW Stevens; Dr S O'Shea; Prof Dr H Butt; Dr E Klaseboer
An integrated study of dynamic interactions in soft matter systems
$420,000

A/Prof GV Franks; Prof WA Ducker; Prof FF Lange
Controlling anisotropic growth of metal oxide crystals in aqueous solution by selective adsorption of small molecules
$295,000

Prof WA Morrison; Dr AJ O'Connor; A/Prof EW Thompson
Tissue distraction: A novel approach to enhance tissue growth for soft tissue engineering purposes
$450,000

Prof P Mulvaney
Nanocrystal electronics: A sol-gel approach
$690,000

A/Prof JE Sader
The mechanics of nanoscale devices
$380,000

Dr GK Such
Synthesis and functionalisation of advanced polymer films and particles.
$300,000
(Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship)

Linkage Projects Proposals for Funding to Commence in 2009
A/Prof SE Kentish; Prof GW Stevens
The treatment of galvanizing wastewater: Delivering an environmentally and economically sustainable approach
$121,000
Collaborating/Partner Organisation: Industrial Galvanizers


Prof PJ Scales; Dr M Rudman
Thickener operation optimisation and design for the minerals industry
$397,000
Collaborating/Partner Organisation: AMIRA International Ltd


A/Prof M Ashokkumar; A/Prof SE Kentish; Dr B Zisu
Ultrasonics as a new platform technology in dairy processing
$365,000
Collaborating/Partner Organisation: Dairy Innovation Australia Ltd


Dr JL Provis; Dr P Duxson
Tailoring geopolymer concretes for sustainable development
$600,000
Collaborating/Partner Organisation: Zeobond Research Pty Ltd

 

Associate Professor John Sader is the inaugural winner of the Barry Inglis Medal

The Barry Inglis Medal is an annual award presented by Australia’s National Measurement Institute (NMI) to commemorate World Metrology Day. Awarded for the first time in 2008, it acknowledges and celebrates outstanding achievement in measurement research and/or excellence in practical measurements by an individual (or group) in the fields of academia, research or industry in Australia.

The award is named in honour of Dr Barry Inglis, inaugural Chief Executive and Chief Metrologist of the National Measurement Institute, which was established in 2004.

Associate Professor John E Sader of Melbourne University is the inaugural recipient of the Barry Inglis Medal. Professor Sader’s work in the invention of a non-invasive technique to calibrate the stiffness of Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) cantilevers has led to significant improvement in one of the chief tools of nano science, thereby enabling the AFM to become a quantitative tool for measuring forces on the nano scale.
[source: National Measurement Institute]



Peter Duxson wins INNOVIC's Best New Thing award

E-crete, a cementless-concrete made from waste produced by power stations, has won INNOVIC's 2008 Next Big Thing Award. INNOVIC's International Next Big Thing Award™ is a competition and annual award to find and showcase new inventions and innovations that have the potential to become 'the next big thing'.

 

Professor Tom Healy is a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Engineering

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 65 new members and nine foreign associates, NAE President Charles M. Vest announced today. This brings the total U.S. membership to 2,227 and the number of foreign associates to 194.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

 

Professors David Boger and Rob Lamb selected within the top 100 Melburnians

David Boger and Robert Lamb have been selected for inclusion in The Age Melbourne Magazine's list of the 100 most powerful, innovative and entertaining Melburnians of 2007. The list includes the people who have made a significant contribution to public life in 2007 based on nominations from a panel of experts.

 

Professor Frank Caruso is one of the world's most cited authors

Frank Caruso has been selected to appear on ISIHighlyCited.com because of his exceptional citation count in the field of Materials Science. Thomson Scientific's ISIHighlyCited.com is a free, publicly available website intended to highlight the world's most cited authors from the past 25 years and to create a network of highly cited researchers across diverse disciplines. Less than half a percent of all publishing authors meet the criteria for inclusion on ISIHighlyCited.com. The website includes over 5,000 researcher profiles in 21 categories.

 

Professor Tom Healy wins the Antoine M. Gaudin Award 2008

Tom Healy has been awarded the Antoine M. Gaudin Award 2008 of the Minerals and Processing Division of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (USA).

The Antoine M. Gaudin Award is for scientific or engineering contributions that further understanding of the technology of mineral processing. Eligible areas for contributions are agglomeration, classification, comminution, electrical and magnetic separation, flocculation and sedimentation, froth flotation, hydrometallurgy, particulate behavior, and other related mineral processing operations.

Since it was established in 1975 only two other Australians have received the Award, Bill Trahar of CSIRO in 1989 and Alban Lynch of UQ in 1999

 

Dr Rachel Caruso recognised as one of the top 10 scientists under 40

Dr Rachel Caruso an Australian Research Fellow working in the PFPC School of Chemistry has won a Cosmos Bright Sparks Awards, an annual tribute to the brightest young science minds Australia has to offer. The Bright Sparks Awards recognise outstanding achievement in young Australian scientists under the age of 40 and are awarded annually by Cosmos magazine.

 

A professorial appointment for Kerry Landman

One of our senior academics, Kerry Landman from the Department of Mathematics & Statistics was promoted to Professor in July this year. We congratulate Kerry on her well deserved promotion and also on becoming the first female Professor in the Department. Kerry was also successful in gaining an ARC Australian Professorial Fellowship in the latest funding round.

 

Geoff Stevens is one of Australia's top 100 engineers

PFPC Director, Professor Geoff Stevens, is one of Engineers Australia Magazine's 100 most influential engineers in 2007. This year's list included many engineers in very senior positions, not only in engineering but also in other areas of leadership such as finance and politics. The list focuses on present influence rather than historical achievements. All of the 100 engineers are currently in leadership positions, either in organisations or by virtue of their engineering expertise.

 

Former PFPC Director David Boger is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society

Professor David Boger was amongst forty-four scientists recognised for their exceptional contributions to society, with his election to the Fellowship of the Royal Society on 17th May 2007. This prestigious honour recognises David's leadership in the field of fluid mechanics. David is distinguished for his work on fluid mechanics.  Highlights of his research include the discovery of constant viscosity elastic liquids (now widely known as Boger fluids'), developing novel methods for flow property measurement and the linking of the basic research to significant industrial outcomes in the petroleum, food and minerals industries.

 

A second Federation Fellowship for Frank Caruso

PFPC Executive Committee Member, Professor Frank Caruso was awarded his second Federation Fellowship by the Australian Research Council (ARC) in May. Federation Fellowships provide opportunities for outstanding Australian researchers to return to, or remain in, key positions in Australia. This is a highly prestigious award with only 25 fellowships available each year.

 

Tom Healy: a lifetime of mentoring

Australian colloid and surface science is ranked among the best in the world, thanks in large part to Professor Tom Healy, the winner of Nature's lifetime award for mentoring excellence. He has cultivated generations of high-performing scientists that have excelled both nationally and internationally.

“Tom Healy is an example of a person who not only mentors his own students, he also succeeds in mentoring an entire field of science,” says William Ducker, of the University of Melbourne. It is not only the supportive “family-like” atmosphere he creates for his own students and colleagues, but his selfless generosity in guiding others that is exceptional.

“Mentoring is a way of life for Tom,” says Calum Drummond, of CSIRO Industrial Physics, who was mentored by Healy during his undergraduate and postgraduate training.

Healy's supportive and collegial approach fosters scientific excellence and collaboration amongst students and colleagues.He is renowned for bringing people together from diverse fields, such as applied mathematics, physics, chemical engineering, and biology.

An outstanding feature of Healy's legacy is a student conference in colloid and surface science, held every two years, which he established nearly 40 years ago to help young researchers network with their peers. A testament to its success, aside from its longevity, is the fact that it has been emulated elsewhere around the world, including Europe, the United States and Japan.

Healy is renowned for fostering a nurturing environment and creating opportunities for his students, such as encouraging them to get a taste of overseas experience during their candidature. In fact, an award bearing his name was established at the University of Melbourne to fund a student to travel to an overseas conference or research centre. He is also credited with bringing back to Australia's shores some of the finest minds in the field.

He has guided people across academia, government laboratories and industry, thus extending his mentoring beyond traditional boundaries. “In today's world, Tom's interest and enthusiasm for forging strong collaborative links with industry might be seen as nothing unusual, but in the 1960's and 1970's his approach was groundbreaking and innovative,” says Brian Kavanagh, of the Water Corporation , who was mentored by Healy during his undergraduate studies and throughout his career.

“Tom is the benchmark from which I rate all mentors,” says Drummond, a sentiment echoed by all of Healy's nominators. This year's winners of Nature's Australasia awards set a gold standard in mentoring excellence.
[source: Nature]

 

Victorian Young Tall Poppy Science Award to Australian Research Fellow

Dr Rachel Caruso an Australian Research Fellow working in the PFPC School of Chemistry has won the prestigious Victorian Young Tall Poppy Science Award.  The Tall Poppy Campaign was created by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science in 1998 to recognise and celebrate Australian scientific and intellectual excellence. The Young Tall Poppy award identifies and acknowledges outstanding young Australian researchers.

 

Fresh Science Selection Highlights PFPC Research

Dr Ray Dagastine was selected to participate in the national program Fresh Science. This event which promotes research brings together Australia 's brightest young scientists, the media and the public. As one of 16 scientists chosen in this year’s program Ray had the opportunity to promote PFPC research that is examining the behaviour of oil droplets. Fresh Science is hosted by the Melbourne Museum and sponsored by the Federal and Victorian governments, New Scientist, The Australian and Quantum Communications Victoria.

 

ExxonMobil Award for PFPC Executive Member

The ExxonMobil Award for 2006 has been won by PFPC Executive Member Professor Jannie van Deventer. The ExxonMobil Award is presented jointly from The Engineers Australia Chemical College, Institution of Chemical Engineers (Australia), Society of Chemical Engineers New Zealand and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. This award is in recognition of Jannie’s contribution to the field of chemical engineering.

 

PFPC Director Appointed Shell Chair Professor at Tsinghua University, China

PFPC Director Professor Geoff Stevens was appointed Shell Chair Professor at Tsinghua University, China. Geoff has conducted collaborative research in the area of separation science with Professor Weiyang Fei at Tsinghua University for over 20 years. Geoff as Shell Chair Professor will visit China later this year to strengthen and further develop their joint research activities in solvent extraction and will present a series of lectures to students. This distinguished Chair is in recognition of the significance of the collaboration between the PFPC and Tsinghua University.

 

Grimwade Prize for Industrial Chemistry

The University of Melbourne’s Grimwade Prize in Industrial Chemistry has been awarded to Dr Muthupandian Ashok kumar for his research activities on the industrial applications of ultrasound, in particular for his recent collaborative activities with Food Science Australia and Dairy Ingredients Group of Australia. The Grimwade Prize in Industrial Chemistry was established to promote the study of industrial chemistry for the best original research embodying the results of an investigation pursued in Victoria in connection with some branch of industrial chemistry.

 

Professor Tom Healy receives Senior Fellowship from JSPS

Professor Tom Healy, Chair of the Centre’s Science Board, has been awarded a Senior Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). As a JSPS Senior Fellow Tom will spend one month in Japan during 2006 further developing the PFPC’s collaborative network. Tom will visit the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials at Tohoku University as well as present lectures at a range of institutes including Kyoto University, the Science University of Tokyo, the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Frontier Research RIKEN Institute in Tokyo.

 

Professor David Boger wins 2005 Prime Minister's Prize for Science

The 2005 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science has been won by former PFPC Director Professor David Boger. The Prime Minister's Prize for Science is Australia ’s most highly regarded award for excellence in science. David received the prize at an award ceremony held at Parliament House, Canberra on Tuesday 4 October 2005 .

The impact of David’s research on the field of rheology and particularly non-Newtonian fluid mechanics has been significant . Highlights during his research career have been numerous, but he is perhaps most well known in rheology circles for his discovery of constant viscosity elastic liquids (referred to as Boger fluids). Other research highlights have included studies using Boger fluids to define fluid elasticity effects in flow, the linking of surface chemistry to the continuum properties and the processing of particulate fluids as well as the linking of basic research to significant industrial outcomes in the petroleum, food and minerals industries.

He has received numerous national and international awards in recognition of his contributions to both fundamental and applied research, now capped with the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science. David has been funded continuously by the Australian Research Council (ARC) for his research since its inception as the ARGC in 1967. He was Director of the PFPC from 2000 until 2004 and Deputy Director of its predecessor (the Advanced Mineral Products Research Centre). David is a Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Science and Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

He continues to play an important role in the PFPC as Chair of the Advisory Board and acts as a mentor for researchers of all ages.

 

ExxonMobil Award for PFPC Director

Professor Geoff Stevens, PFPC Director, has been awarded the ExxonMobil Award, jointly from The Engineers Australia Chemical College, Institution of Chemical Engineers (Australia) , Society of Chemical Engineers New Zealand and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. This award is in recognition of Geoff’s significant contribution to the field of chemical engineering.

 

Victoria Fellowship from State Government of Victoria

Postgraduate student Thanh Tam Chau is the recipient of a 2005 Victoria Fellowship from the State Government of Victoria. Ms Chau is one of six recipients to receive a Fellowship. Each Fellowship provides up to $18K in funding. Ms Chau who is studying the behaviour of emulsions using atomic force microscopy will be heading to the UK later this year to undertake research into a novel emulsion system at the University of Bristol. This research has the potential to increase the efficiency of dairy, food and pharmaceutical processing.

Ms Chau also received a 2005 AFAS-FEAST France Fellowship as a supplement to her Victoria Fellowship.

www.innovation.vic.gov.au/awards/award.asp?id=45

 

ARC Federation Fellowship for A/Professor Paul Mulvaney

PFPC Executive Member Associate Professor Paul Mulvaney is among an elite group of researchers to be awarded a Federation Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. Paul was awarded a Federation Fellowship in the recently announced 2005 funding round. Paul will undertake the project "Energy Conversion and Signal Transduction in Nanomechanical Systems" during his Fellowship.

He will focus on one of the great challenges in nanoscience, namely how to build mechanical devices such as valves, switches, pumps and motors with sizes approaching molecular dimensions. To create such miniature structures, scientists must learn how to harness energy on nanoscale levels and how to assemble molecules so that they may perform mechanical actions. This Fellowship will explore the possibilities for creating such structures using state-of-the-art microscopy and nanofabrication techniques. The aim will be to open up the new field of molecular mechanics and will examine ways to make smaller, portable devices that can be used for personal health monitoring, environmental sensing and detecting disease and pathogens. www.arc.gov.au

 

Professor Tom Healy awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia

Professor Tom Healy has been awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia in the recently announced Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Tom has been recognised for his service to science as a researcher and academic in the area of physical chemistry, and to the community through support for the activities of the Ian Potter Foundation and Philanthropy Australia.

 

Professor Franz Grieser elected to Australian Academy of Science

PFPC Deputy Director Professor Franz Grieser has been elected to the Australian Academy of Science. Franz was one of sixteen Australian scientists recently elected. Election to the Academy recognises a career that has significantly advanced, and continues to advance, the world’s scientific knowledge.  Franz was elected for his expertise in:  physical chemistry; free radical chemistry, spectroscopy, colloid and surface science and sonochemistry.