CIES Professor Nasser Khalili, Deputy Head of UNSW Civil & Environmental Engineering, will lead a new research hub that will address Australia’s infrastructure needs in the urban, energy and resources sectors.
The School of Civil & Environmental Engineering UNSW Sydney has secured $5 million in Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Research Program grants for 2021, with UNSW Engineering topping the nation for the largest share of funding.
Professor Nasser Khalili, Deputy Head of the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering at UNSW Engineering, will lead a hub awarded $4.98 million. The hub aims to deliver technologies that will address Australia’s infrastructure needs in the urban, energy and resources sectors.
The hub will integrate sensor technology, connectivity, data analytics, machine learning, robotics, smart materials, and reliable models.
“A frontier arena of research, the hub will provide a fully integrated platform for the development and delivery of next-generation digital technologies for Australia’s infrastructure. The technologies will enable design, real-time performance analysis and life-management of infrastructure,” Professor Khalili said.
“The hub will solve industry challenges and translate research and development into commercial opportunities and outcomes.”
The funding is for 5 years and includes $5mil from the ARC, $5.7mil from industry and $1.3 from university partners.
Other CIES researchers involved include Prof Wei Gao, Dr Xuesong (Johnson) Shen, Dr Babak Shahbodagh, and Dr Mohammad Vahab.
A second project led by Professor Chun Wang, Head of the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at UNSW Engineering, will lead a hub awarded $5 million to co-design, verify, and certify sensors that industry partners will deploy to global health markets.
The two UNSW Engineering projects will provide innovative research and create stronger connections with industry in the health, urban, energy and resources sectors.
Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge announced the federal government’s investment of $74 million to open 16 new research hubs and training centres around the country, as part of the commitment to commercialising Australian research.
UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) Professor Nicholas Fisk said: “I congratulate Professors Nasser Khalili and Chun Wang. These two hubs are exemplars of scale and collaboration, involving a total of nine universities, nearly 50 partner organisations, over 60 chief investigators with two thirds at UNSW, and a total cash and in kind spend of around $25 million.”
Full story by Yolande Hutchinson at https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/unsw-tops-arc-research-hub-grants
Professor Nasser Khalili