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Update on voting on YEA committees  Since Young Engineers Australia’s inception it has been common practice for students to vote and hold office bearer positions on Young Engineers Australia (YEA) committees. It was recently brought to the attention of the Young Engineers Australia National Committee (YEANC) that there was a question over whether students were, in fact, both eligible to vote in such elections and to hold office bearer positions on YEA committees. YEA has sought consultation from its members as well as Engineers Australia staff on this matter over the last few months and I am pleased to be able to report that we have resolved the issue. The matter was considered by Council at its August meeting. Council wish to support YEA initiatives, particularly in fostering the interest of engineering students in Engineers Australia. It was resolved that student members of YEA may continue to vote at internal YEA meetings and hold office on YEA committees. This is a very positive result, and I thank all of those who provided feedback. Dr Jessica Andrewartha is chair of the Young Engineers Australia National Committee. |
YOUNG ENGINEERS ONLINE COMMUNITY Young Engineers Australia: Website | Blog |
USyd student takes victory in HUG comp University of Sydney student Rajab Khalilpour has won the inaugural Pacific Honeywell Users Group (HUG) Student Competition in Perth last month. Khalilpour won the award for his project focusing on the simulation and optimisation of a coal-fired power plant using a solvent-based post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) process. The solvent-based PCC has the potential to reduce power plants' carbon emissions and carbon-related tax liabilities. The PCC process is coupled downstream of a fossil-fuel fired power plant and works to capture the CO2 released from the combustion processes. The PCC process is coupled downstream of a fossil-fuel fired power plant and works to capture the CO2 released from the combustion processes. It uses solvents in an absorption-desorption cycle to separate the CO2 from the flue stream prior to compression and geosequestration. The objective is to capture about 90% of emitted CO2. The drawback of PCC is the significant energy penalty it introduces to the power plant which reduces the plant's power load. Through modelling and simulation, Khalilpour analysed the opportunities for energy savings, identifying reductions of 18% in the introduced PCC energy penalty. The HUG Student Competition is held in conjunction with the Honeywell Process Solutions’ (HPS) customer conference. For more information on the competition, visit the website. |
Mentors take challenge to high schools Nine fourth year engineering students from Monash University are mentoring Victorian senior secondary students as they take the Challenge for Change competition. The inaugural competition will see Victorian senior secondary students from three schools take up the challenge of Young Engineers Australia (Victoria) and Engineers without Borders (Victorian Chapter) to design solutions that would benefit the Bendee Downs Aboriginal community development, located in southwest Queensland. As part of the challenge the students and their mentors – students from the Monash University Schools’ Technology Project (STP) – have to choose one of three design challenges currently facing the Bendee Downs community site: building/housing design; fresh water supply and sanitation; or energy supply. The students, from the John Monash Science School, Glen Eagles Secondary College and St Helena Secondary College then have to design a working model which demonstrates a viable and sustainable solution to their challenge. Teams are scheduled to present their completed projects to an invited audience at the John Monash Science School at the end of this week. |
New Ethernet course at RMIT RMIT University and Belden Australia are partnering to offer training and certification in networking and communication Industrial Ethernet skills. Senior educator in RMIT’s School of Engineering (TAFE) Bruce Kendall said the training will serve to bolster the skills sets of engineering students who wish to enter the fields of telecommunications, IT and software provision. “RMIT will offer training on the Hirschmann platform, allowing students to obtain certification as a Hirschmann Industrial Systems Engineer (HiSE) or Hirschmann Industrial Network Engineer (HiNE),” he said. RMIT will deliver the Hirschmann-certified training courses onsite anywhere in Australia and New Zealand, as well as on-campus at RMIT. For information on RMIT’s other short courses, visit the School of Engineering’s (TAFE) website. |
Trailblazing ideas win Australian university competition A novel therapy for bone cancer and a safer way to extract copper took out the top prizes in the inaugural Grand Final of UniQuest’s annual Trailblazer innovative ideas competition, held at The University of Queensland (UQ) on 15 August. Twenty grand finalists from five Australian universities and a Brisbane-based medical research institution competed for $50,000 in cash prizes to further their research careers. The judging panel awarded Dr Andrew Hutchinson from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) the highest score for pitching his multiple myeloma therapy. Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most common blood cancer and is considered fatal with median life expectancy of 3-5 years. Current MM treatment regimes are highly toxic with detrimental side effects. Hutchinson’s research team has identified a class of molecules that show potent anti-MM activity and potential to delay tumour growth. James Cook University (JCU) student Reza Al Shakarji impressed the judges with his alternative anode for large-scale copper extraction. More than 720,000 lead anodes are currently used in copper mining, and Al Shakarji’s research involves a new type of anode that is lighter, safer to handle, costs less to produce and transport, generates less acid mist when used, and poses no health or environmental hazards in comparison to lead anodes. University technology transfer company UniQuest has run the inter-university Trailblazer competition at UQ since 2003. As well as offering prize money and prestige, Trailblazer introduces participants to industry sponsors who can help them protect, package and promote their ideas. This is the first time prize winners from the individual university finals have competed against each other in a Grand Final of the popular pitching competition. For more information on Trailblazer, visit the website.  The winners gathered at UniQuest's Trailblazer competition. |
Students spruce up Anzac Bridge A plan to tack two extra lanes onto Sydney’s Anzac Bridge has won University of Sydney civil engineering students John van Rooyen and Marko Stankovic the People’s Choice vote in the inaugural Baulderstone National Icons Roadshow. The student competition took redesigns of Australian icons built by the engineering firm on a national tour. Members of the public were invited to vote on their favourite entry, with the two winners taking home $2000 each. Stankovic and van Rooyen took up the project brief to run the state government's proposed light rail extension across the Anzac Bridge. Stankovic and van Rooyen ran two extra lanes either side of the existing bridge: one for light rail and the other for use as a dedicated pedestrian walkway. QUT student James Ryan was announced as the Judges’ Choice winner for his redesign of Brisbane’s Story Bridge. |
The fine art of engineering at UNSW The University of NSW is offering students a new five-year combined bachelor and masters degree which includes non-engineering subjects. To attract a wider range of students, the combined degree includes a minor in subjects such as music, art or psychology. The combined degree was the brainchild of the head of the school of electrical engineering and telecommunications Professor Eliathamby Ambikairajah, and draws on industry advice about the kind of graduate companies are looking to hire. The new degree will be offered from next year, will be available for transfer for current engineering students. |
Chemical and biomolecular industry week Third year chemical and biomolecular engineering students at the University of Sydney are preparing for a week-long industrial experience program, which will span from 19 to 23 September. The annual program, called Week in Industry, is compulsory for all faculty students, and will act as a precursor to the 12-week Work Experience Unit, which is a prerequisite for graduation. During the program, students are exempt from classes and are required to present themselves at the place of work allocated to them from the list of potential companies and undertake a professional assignment. At the end of the week the students will prepare a report and presentation, to be delivered to the company staff and supervisors. Selected students will be given the opportunity to present their project outcomes at a Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Foundation meeting. |
Robogals seeking volunteers The student-run engineering organisation Robogals is currently seeking volunteers for its global IT and communications divisions. An international group founded by engineering students in Australia, Robogals aims to increase the number of young women involved in engineering by introducing school girls to robotics. For more information on the volunteer positions, or to learn more of the application process, click here. |
| New issue of Sustainable Engineering Australia out now The fourth issue of Sustainable Engineering Australia has gone live online this month, bringing you the latest sustainable developments in the engineering sector. The e-magazine is a dynamic medium that brings you a heightened sense of interactivity. After viewing the publication you can share your views on Facebook, Twitter or by emailing the editor dcameron@engineersmedia.com.au. Sustainable Engineering Australia is published by Engineers Media and is only available online. Check it out at: http://sustainableengineering.realviewtechnologies.com/. If you are having trouble viewing it in your browser, you can download the PDF using the “Download” button in the top right corner of the navigation screen. |