Head of School
Professor Chun Hui Wang
Engineering
Sch: Mech & Manufacturing Eng
Professor Wang is the Head of the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and an elected Fellow of the Academy of Technological Science and Engineering (FTSE). He joined UNSW in 2016 as a SHARP professor in recognition of his world-leading research and leadership. Previously he held the appointments as the Head of Advanced Composites Technologies at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation between 1995 and 2009, and the Director of the Sir Lawrence Wackett Aerospace Research Centre at RMIT University between 2009 and 2016. He received his bachelor's degree from Huazhong University Science and Technology in 1985 and PhD from the University of Sheffield in 1991, where he carried out his post-doc research until 1993.
He serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards of a number of professional journals, including Composites Science and Technology, Composites Part A, International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives, and Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures. He also served on the ARC College of Experts (2013-2015), as the Chair of the National Committee on Applied Mechanics (2013-2015) and President of the Australian Fracture Group. He has chaired and co-chaired a number of international conferences, including the 11th International Fatigue Congress (Melbourne Australia, 2014) and the 22nd International Conference on Composite Materials in 2019.
- Publications
- Awards
- Grants
- Media
Publications
Awards
2018 Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering (FTSE)
2015 RMIT University Research Excellence Award
2013 Best Research Performance Award, RMIT University
2011 Achievement Award for Science and Engineering Excellence, DSTO
2009 Best Research Award, DSTO
2002 Defence Science Fellowship, DSTO
2000 Best Research Award, DSTO
1999 Australian Academy of Science Fellowship Award.
1998 Best Scientific Paper Award, DSTO.
1995 Best Paper Award by the Journal of Strain Analysis.
Grants
Some current research projects include:
- ARC-Discovery project (2019-2021) Novel multiscale fibre composites for cryogenic space technologies, Prof. Chun H. Wang, Dr. Shuying Wu, Prof. Tony Kinloch, and Dr. Francis Rose. This project aims to develop novel composite materials technologies for cryogenic fuel storage applications by suppressing microcracking of fibre composites at cryogenic temperatures.
- ARC-Discovery project (2018-2020) Nonlinear frequency mixing methods for materials and damage evaluation, Prof. Chun H. Wang, A/Prof Martin Veidt, Dr. Francis Rose. This project aims to systematically investigate new approaches for frequency mixing in nonlinear ultrasonics and to demonstrate their potential for the non-destructive evaluation of material degradation and early damage detection.
- ARC Industry Transformation Training Centre (ARC ITTC 2018-2022) in Fire Retardant Materials and Safety Technologies (2017-2021), Prof. G. Yeoh, Prof. Chun Wang, et al. This ARC Training Centre aims to train a cohort of industry-focused researchers to improve the fire safety of lightweight materials and structures and fire protection systems including fire suppression. Video.
- ARC Industry Transformation Research Hub (ARC ITRH 2019-2024) for Integrated Energy Storage Solutions, Prof. Joe Dong, G. Wang, R. Amal, K-F Aguey Zinsou, J. Bao, and Chun H. Wang, et al. This project aims to develop advanced energy storage technologies, including printed batteries, structural supercapacitors, innovative fuel cells, power-to-gas systems, and integrate these storage solutions with existing energy networks and applications using novel storage monitoring, control and optimisation technologies.
- CRC-P (2018-2021) Development of an Advanced Fire Retardant for Polymers and Textiles, in collaboration with Fire Security International. Prof. G. Yeoh, Chun H. Wang, and Cyrille Boyer.
- CRC-P (2019-2021) Autonomous intelligent fire protection system, in collaboration with Fire Security International. Prof. Chun H. Wang, G. Yeoh, and Cyrille Boyer.
- Defence Science and Technology Group (2019-2020) Integrated computational material engineering, Prof. Graham Schaffer (Melbourne University) and Prof. Chun H. Wang.
Examples of recently completed projects
- ARC-Discovery project (2015-2017) Baseline-free Methods for Early Damage Diagnosis using Nonlinear Ultrasound. Prof. Chun H. Wang, A/Prof M. Veidt (UQ), Prof. W-K Chiu (Monash), Prof. F. Rose (DSTO), Prof. H. Sohn (KAIST). Self-generated nonlinear waves for non-destructive evaluation and structural health monitoring techniques. Major applications: (a) impact damage in advanced composite materials, (b) non-destructive evaluation of structures made by additive manufacturing, and (3) detection of hard-to-inspect locations in unitized structures.
- ARC-LIEF (2018) National laser-based non-destructive evaluation system, Prof. Chun H. Wang, et al. The project establishes the first Australian national facility on non-destructive evaluation, consisting of 3D scanning laser vibrometer, laser shearography, and an optical de-rotator, to enable full-field characterisation of the deformation and damage state of materials and structures.
- ARC-Linkage project (2015-2017) Strong and durable flame-retarding composites by multi-scale encapsulation and reinforcement. Dr Jun Ma, Professor Chun Wang, et al.
- ARC-Linkage project (2015-2017) Multifunctional three-dimensional non-crimp fibre preforms for polymer composites: innovative high-value products for the Australian textiles industry. Professor Adrian Mouritz, Professor Chun Wang, and Associate Professor Floreana Coman.
- ARC-Discovery Project (2014-2016) Aligning and Chaining Carbon Nanofillers in Fibre Composites: Synergistically Improving Damage Tolerance and Diagnosis. Investigators: Prof Chun H. Wang, Dr. Jin Zhang, Prof. Adrian P. Mouritz, A/Prof K. Ghorbani, Prof Anthony Kinloch (FRS, Imperial College of London)
To advance a new concept of aligning nano-scale reinforcements along the thickness direction of composite materials. The new composite material will offer dual scale reinforcement to address through-thickness weaknesses of fibre-reinforced composites and improved electrical conductivity. - ARC-Linkage Project (2012-2016) Improving affordability of composite materials to meet sustainability challenges: carbon fibre wheel to drive clean technology. Chief Investigators: Prof Chun H. Wang, Prof A. Mouritz, Dr A. Akbar; Dr T. Hilditch, Dr A Alireza; Dr M. Dingle; Prof Q. Yang and Dr B Cox
- The project will develop new technologies to improve the affordability of carbon fibre composites for non-aerospace applications. The outcome of this project will greatly accelerate the insertion of lightweight composites in clean energy products, such as carbon fibre composite wheels, to drastically reduce CO2 emissions of road transport.
- Reversible hydrogen fuel cell technology, Capability Technology Demonstrator (2014-2016), Department of Defence. A/Prof. John Andrews and Prof. Chun Wang