Events and News

IIE Events

IIE News

  • Student Engineer Brendan MacGillicuddy - October 2012
    The annual Engineering Excellence Awards Sydney were announced by Engineers Australia in October 2012. Each year the Excellence Awards judging panel considers the finalists of each category for an Engineering Excellence Award. As winners in their own right, these finalists represent the very best of engineering, with the judging panel seeking to identify those unique finalists that demonstrate outstanding excellence, innovation and best practice.
    Brendan MacGillcuddy won the Student Engineer of the year award. Brendan began a Bachelor of Engineering - Civil, at the University of Western Sydney (UWS) in 2007. Over the following years Brendan received numerous high distinctions and distinctions and in his final year of studies found himself drawn to the research being carried out by Associate Professor Zhong Tao from the Institute for Infrastructure Engineering, UWS. For his thesis, Brendan studied (under the guidance of Associate Professor Tao), 'Methods to enhance the bond between the steel tube and the concrete in Concrete Filled-Steel Tubular (CFST) columns.'
    This work led to the testing of CFST columns, similar in size to those actually used in construction, to determine what affected the strength of the bond between the concrete and the steel and to test the effectiveness of a variety of measures to enhance it. The strength of the bond between the concrete and the steel is critical in maintaining the continuity of strain between them, particularly pertinent when attachments are made to the side of a CFST column as it determines the maximum permissible load that can be applied in this manner.
    The work Brendan and Associate Professor Tao have carried out will be very important in providing provisions for the new AS2327 Australian Standards for Composite Buildings which is a project Prof. Brian Uy has been chairing this year and which is due for completion in 2014. 

  • Kunshan Import Expo - The Penrith Business Alliance has represented the Penrith region at the China International Import Expo. This was an opportunity to promote Penrith¡¦s trading opportunities, the Institute for Infrastructure Engineering and the School of Computing, Engineering & Mathematics of University of Western Sydney. A trade delegation led by alliance chairman Paul Brennan, deputy chairman Jim Aitken and CEO Bijai Kumar along with Dr. Olivia Mirza and A/Professor Zhong Tao attended the expo.

Kunshan Expo



Alliance Chairman Paul Brennan, Deputy Chairman Jim Aitken, Dr Olivia Mirza and Associate Professor Zhong Tao from UWS

  • Civionics Research Funding Success - High Strength Composite Columns Professor Brian Uy, Associate Professor Zhong Tao and Dr Fidelis Mashiri from the Civionics Research Centre in collaboration with Professor Richard Liew, National University of Singapore and Professor Lin-Hai Han, Tsinghua University, China have been awarded an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant in the latest round. This project will involve the development of a novel structural column system which will be more efficient, robust and require less maintenance than current systems. The outcomes will involve improved design methodologies which will enable large scale infrastructure to be enhanced and will involve the use of materials which improve sustainability.

  • Civionics Research Funding Success - Hybrid Stainless-Carbon Steel Joints Associate Professor Zhong Tao from the Civionics Research Centre in collaboration with Professor Lin-Hai Han from Tsinghua University, China have been awarded an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant in the latest round. This project will consider the behaviour of hybrid stainless-carbon steel composite beam-column joints at ambient and elevated temperatures. By incorporating into potential design codes, the results can promote the application of stainless steel in structures, thereby increasing Australia's maintenance capability of structures.

  • Institution of Structural Engineers, UK (Australia Division) Chairman - Professor Brian Uy has been elected the Australia Division Chairman of the Institution of Structural Engineers, UK (IStructE) for 2012 after serving as Vice Chairman since the Division was formed in 2008. He also previously served on the NSW Branch Committee as a member and Treasurer since 1992. The Institution of Structural Engineers was established in 1908 and gained its Royal Charter in 1934. It is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom and has 27,000 members in 105 Countries with over 500 members in Australia. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers and publishes a twice monthly journal, The Structural Engineer. The Institution is an internationally recognised source of expertise and information concerning all issues that involve structural engineering and public safety within the built environment. The core work of the Institution is supporting and protecting the profession of structural engineering by upholding professional standards and acting as an international voice on behalf of structural engineers. As Australia Division Chairman Professor Uy will serve on the Council of the IStructE which provides governance to the Institution.

  • Standards Australia Project Approved - The Standards Development Committee of Standards Australia have recently approved a project led by Professor Brian Uy, UWS to develop a Suite of Composite Standards for Composite Structures in Buildings.  This two year project commencing in 2012 will involve the development of four new standards for composite beams, columns and slabs.
    Institute staff have significant representation on Standards Committees BD01, BD02, BD06, BD32, BD90 on steel, concrete, composite wind and bridge structures respectfully, through the involvement of Professors Kenny Kwok and Professor Brian Uy.

  • ERA2010 Outcome: Senator Kim Carr and the Australian Research Council have released the Excellence in Australia (ERA) 2010 National Report and UWS achieved a 4 out of a maximum 5 in the Civil Engineering FOR Code (0905) which ranks equal 3rd out of 15 Units of Evaluation in Civil Engineering in Australia and states "The Unit of Evaluation profile is characterised by evidence of performance above world standard presented by the suite of indicators used for evaluation." Find out more through the UWS Excellence in Australia ERA2010 Outcome

  • Structural Systems ARC Research Grant: Collaborating researchers, Dr Helen M Goldsworthy, University of Melbourne, Prof Emad Gad, Swinburne University, Professor Brian Uy (UWS), and Dr Saman Fernando, AJAX Engineered Fasteners and OneSteel Ltd have been awarded $255k to develop efficient, robust and architecturally-flexible structural systems using innovative blind-bolted connections. Find out more about the Structural Systens Project.

  • Hybrid Testing Facility for Structures ARC Research Grant: Professor Brian Uy and Professor Yang Xiang were part of a major national bid under the Australian Research Council's (ARC) Linkage, Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) scheme for large equipment administered by Swinburne University which were announced by Senator Carr on 1 December 2010. The LIEF bid titled ¡§Hybrid Testing Facility for Structures under Extreme Loads¡¨ was successful. 

  • Composite Construction ARC Research Grant: The Australian Research Council has announced $255,000 funding over three years. Professor Brian Uy, Dr Dr Xinqun Zhu and Dr Olivia Mirza have been awarded an Australian Research Council Discovery grant for a project of "The use of innovative anchors for the achievement of composite action for rehabilitating existing and deployment of demountable steel structures". 

  • Wind-excited Tall Buildings ARC Research Grant: The Australian Research Council (ARC) has announced $605,621 funding over four years. Professor Kenny Kwok will lead a team of researchers to investigate the effects of wind-induced vibration on occupants of tall buildings. The multi-disciplinary team includes Professor Vaughan Macefield, School of Medicine, UWS, Dr Peter Hitchcock from the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, and Dr Darren Walton of Opus International Consultants, Wellington N.Z. The project will also include the research training of a postgraduate students. View Wind-excited Tall Buildings Project (opens in a new window) [PDF, 74Kb].
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