Category: News

UNSW RIIS student Sana Shahoveisi was awarded the prestigious Steven Prize for the best paper at the 6^th Australasian Conference of Computational Mechanics (ACCM-2023). ACCM provides an international platform for the exchange and dissemination of recent findings on a diverse range of advanced topics within Computational Mechanics. The 6th ACCM took place in Melbourne, Australia, in December 2023.

Sana delivered a presentation on her computational framework addressing the critical issues of modelling flaws and defect propagation, with a specific emphasis on fracturing in porous media. The paper titled “Hydro-Mechanical Fully Coupled Phase-Field Modelling of Fracture in Porous Media” provides a comprehensive study for simulating dynamic fractures. The focus is on addressing the challenges associated with crack width estimation in this context. The model is able to capture dynamic crack propagation by incorporating the kinetic energy in the coupled hydro-mechanical-damage equations. This research contributes to advancing our understanding of fractures in porous media through a comprehensive and innovative approach. 

This research has been conducted under the supervision of Lead CI Professor Nasser Khalili, CI Babak Shahbodagh, CI Mohammad Vahab, and Dr Sascha Eisenträger

 

ANSHM 15^th Workshop

The 15^th Workshop was a great success! It was held from 23^rd to 24^th November 2023, at Townsville and hosted by Rockfield Technologies and James Cook University (JCU). Many thanks for the organising committee led by Dr Govinda Pandey, CEO of Rockfield Technologies as the Chair and A/Prof Rabin Tuladhar as the Co-chair. DBI and EngAnalysis were Gold Sponsors and Monash University were Silver Sponsors of the Workshop.

The theme of the 15^th ANSHM Workshop was Infrastructure Digitisation for Net Zero Transition with Day 1 as The Smart Infrastructure Summit 2023 and the 2^nd Day as ANSHM Workshop. Dr Govinda Pandey, the Chair of the 15^th ANSHM Workshop made the following statement which summarised well the success of these two days of event:

The summit successfully brought together Australia’s leading thought leaders, researchers, service providers, and key users of infrastructure monitoring technologies. With over 120 delegates representing more than 30 organisations in attendance, including nearly 50 participants who travelled from various parts of the country to Townsville, the event’s substantial turnout underscores its significance and relevance. The key highlight of the event is the resounding emphasis throughout the summit on the pivotal role that technology can and must play in ensuring a decarbonised future.

On Day 1, the Workshop was opened with the Welcoming Speeches by Cr Jenny Hill, Mayor of Townsville City Council and Prof Jenny Seddon, Deputy CV Research of JCU and Professor Tommy Chan (Lead CI RIIS Hub Executive) whose speech served partly as a welcoming speech by introducing ANSHM gave his visions and directions for SHM and ANSHM.

Keynote Speakers:

• Mr Michael Caltabiano, CEO – NTRO (ARRB)
• Mr Jason Hall, A/Chief Engineer – Energy Queensland
• Prof Ian Atkinson, eResearch Professor JCU and a Futurist
• Prof Brian Uy, Scientia Professor of Structural Engineering – UNSW
• Dr Torill Pape, A/Deputy Chief Engineer Structures, E&T – Dept of Transport and Main Roads
• Dr David Henderson, Chief Engineer – Cyclone Testing Station, JCU
• Dr Sam Mazaheri, Chair Northern Chapter PIANC ANZ and SI Specialist DBCT
• Mr John Vazey – Engineering Manager, EngAnalysis
• Prof Tuan Ngo – The University of Melbourne

All the presentations were very insightful covering SHM applications to roads, houses, buildings, ports and energy infrastructure and the views of the speakers on how SHM could help achieve Net Zero in 2050.

There were two panel discussions on the first day with details as follows:

Panel Discussion 1:    Navigating Asset Management Challenges with Ageing Infrastructure: Opportunities and Barriers in Embracing Transformative Digital Technologies

Panellists:                   Nigel Powers (ARRB) / Dr Torill Pape (TMR) / Peter Prasad (ARTC) / Kathy Noonan (Energy Queensland)

Facilitator:                  Prof Jianchun Li (UTS)

 

 

Panel Discussion 2:    Collaboration Catalyst: Bridging Gaps and Overcoming Barriers.

Pitches on Industry by Dr Torill Pape (TMR) and Bill Weston (Queensland Rail)

Towards a Purposeful Industry-University-Government Collaboration

Panellists:                   Prof Hong Guan (Griffith) / Mario Martini (CSIRO) / Dr Denise Hodge (JourneyTech) / Greg Bruce (Townsville City Council)

Facilitator:                  Dr Ulrike Dackermann

 

The two panel discussions gave many insights for both the University and Industry attendees for collaboration oppertunities to deal with practical issues on asset management using SHM technologies.

Day 2, Prof Ron White, Dean – College of Science and Engineering gave the welcome speech. Keynote Session, presented by the following Keynote Speakers:

• Dr Robert J Heywood, Department of Transport and Main Roads
• A/Prof. Colin Caprani, Monash University
• Dr David Lo Jacono, Jacobs
• Dr Desiree Nortje, Transurban

Followed by a panel discussion:

Panellists:                  Dr Robert J Heywood (TMR), A/Prof. Colin Caprani (Monash), Dr David Lo Jacono (Jacobs), Dr Desiree Nortje (Transurban)

Facilitator:                  Dr Govinda Pandey

After the Keynote Session, there was the traditional workshop presentations (24) arranged into two parallel sessions.

Please click the link for the event booklet giving you more details on the 15^th ANSHM Workshop, serving as a memento of the memorable summit for those who attended the Summit, and serving as an information booklet for those who had not attended.

 

Ensiyeh Javaherian Pour was honoured as the runner-up in the Three-Minute Thesis presentation at the Information Resilience Ph.D. School, a two-day event held at the University of Melbourne from October 30th to 31st. This event was organised by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIRES), Australian Research Council (ARC) (ARC) Industrial Transformation Training Centre. Ensiyeh is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration (CSDILA) at the University of Melbourne, under the supervision of Dr. Behnam Atazadeh, Prof. Abbas Rajabifard, and Dr. Soheil Sabri, as part of the  ARC Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS)

 

Masoud Kamali was recognized as a runner-up in the data literacy competition during the two-day Information Resilience Ph.D. School held at the University of Melbourne from October 30 to 31. This event was hosted by the Centre for Information Resilience), an Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Training Centre. Currently, Masoud is pursuing his PhD at the University of Melbourne in the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration (CSDILA). He is supervised by Dr. Behnam Atazadeh, Dr. Yiqun (Benny) Chen, and Prof. Abbas Rajabifard, as part of the  ARC Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS)

Congratulations to our RIIS Hub Director and Head of School PSM Professor Nasser Khalili for his recent invitation to join the Australian Research Council’s 2024 College of Experts.

The ARC College of Experts supports the advancement of knowledge and contributes to national innovation, and it plays a key role in identifying research excellence for the ARC. Members of the College are experts of international standing drawn from the Australian research community: from higher education, industry and public sector research organisations.

Prof Nasser Khalili is a globally recognised expert in unsaturated soil mechanics and computational geomechanics, and is the Director and Lead Chief Investigator for the Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS)

There are currently 269 members on the 2023 College of Experts, with 13 from UNSW.

Appointments are for a three year duration.

The College of Experts assists the ARC by:

• assigning external assessors
• assessing and ranking ARC grant applications submitted under the National Competitive Grants Program
• moderating external assessments
• providing recommendations for fundable applications to the ARC CEO
• assisting with recruiting through the nomination of new assessors
• providing advice for peer review reforms, and
• providing strategic advice to the ARC on emerging disciplines and cross-disciplinary developments.

Prof Khalili is no stranger to the work of the College, he was previously elected in 2018.

 

Congratulations!

UNSW RIIS Student Samah Said  was awarded a CIRES Travel Grant to help cover expenses to attend the  Information Resilience Ph.D. School

The PhD School is a 2-day, in-person event held at Melbourne Connect, Carlton Victoria. It targeted  current (at any stage of candidature) or prospective PhD students interested in exploring and understanding cutting-edge data science practices, pathways toward academic or industry careers, and prospects of next-generation research in the field.

It included:

• Knowledge exchange and sharing, featuring talks and tutorials delivered by world-leading researchers including Prof Gao Cong, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore and Prof Jenny Zhang, RMIT University
• Social networking, facilitated by interactive short presentation/poster sessions, banquet, roundtable discussions, etc.
• Mentorship from both academic and industry, with the possibility of establishing long-term collaborations.

This event was hosted by the Centre for Information Resilience), an Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Training Centre

Associate Professor Jagannath Aryal has received the Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards Educational Development Award for his contributions to the transfer of skills and knowledge through teaching, training, research and publications.

Associate Professor Aryal is a Chief Investigator within our RIIS Hub and is from the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne.  He has worked in government and academic sectors in close collaboration with private Industry. He has delivered surveying and remote sensing education to students throughout Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Associate Professor Jagannath is a chief investigator on  2 of our RIIS Projects

• Integrating Spatial Digital Twin with Automation System in Smart Infrastructure Asset Management
• Infrastructure protection utilising real time monitoring of affected catchments by developing predictive models during flash flooding events.

His research experience has also benefited a significant number of PhD completions and ongoing PhD supervisions. Associate Professor Aryal serves as the national chair of the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI), Australia’s Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Commission. In addition, he directs a research group focused on Earth observation.

His teaching and coaching have helped students who have gone on to successful careers in the geospatial industry.

The Geospatial Council of Australia confers the Educational Development Award on teachers, trainers, facilitators or academics who have not only significantly empowered individuals and groups, but also assisted others in acquiring expertise in surveying and spatial science. It recognises strong leadership in an educational role, as well as contributions and accomplishments during the past 18 months.

Associate Professor Aryal was awarded the APSEA award (Victoria) in 2022, and he was successful in receiving the APSEA award at the Oceania level in 2023.

Congratulations!!    See complete launch event here

The Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Dr Richard Johnson, officially launched the ARC Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS), on Friday 28 April 2023.

While the Hub was begun during COVID lockdown periods in July 2022, it is now being launched as significant progress is being made on its research and development program, with 16 work packages already developed in the Hub.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) Deputy CEO Dr Richard Johnson said: “This investment enables strong and practical collaboration between top researchers and industry partners focused on deploying innovative and integrated technologies to improve urban infrastructure, transport, water, resource, and energy management.

UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Enterprise, Professor Nicholas Fisk said that the R&D ecosystem was in the midst of a paradigm shift towards collaborative, interdisciplinary, team efforts, compared to older models of sole trader discipline-specific investigator research.  The Hub really is an exemplar of this high-tech transformative approach to translate research with industry to commercial outcomes, which through its success will go on to benefit this nation and beyond.

Prof. Khalili said “Our aspiration is to make a step change in the way infrastructure is designed, constructed, monitored, managed, and maintained. As we all know, significant advances have been made in digital technologies in recent years, to the extent that they now touch every facet of our lives.  They have the potential to revolutionise infrastructure and engineering in ways that we could not have imagined even a few years ago.

See complete launch event here

 

 

 

Professor Abbas Rajabifard, Deputy Director the RIIS Research Hub, from Department of Infrastructure Engineering, the University of Melbourne, was appointed to the United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre (UN-GGKIC)’s International Advisory Committee.

 

The Centre’s overarching goal is to work towards the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF). Set by Member States, the Framework aims to develop capacity, promote and support the innovation, leadership, coordination and standards needed to develop and deliver national geospatial information policy, data, systems, tools, services and capabilities into their national government development policies, strategies and arrangements.

 

In particular, given the increase in global issues and challenges, and the need for actions towards global sustainability and resilience, it will urge United Nations to take actions to promote and build global capability, and develop collaborative knowledge and innovation hubs for harnessing contemporary methods, technologies and analytics in geospatial information as a fundamental infrastructure.

 

It will also seek to facilitate access to regional and global information and data sources, including Earth observations, and to improve national geospatial information management to assist countries to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Webinar – Challenges and opportunities for resilient infrastructure

Professor Abbas Rajabifard and two of our RIIS industry partners Dr Govinda Pandey CEO, Rockfield Technologies Australia and Andy Kennard Business Solutions Manager, Software and Systems, Emerson Automation Solutions were part of a webinar and panel discussion on the future of infrastructure and our RIIS research hub.

With the demand for new infrastructure in all sectors for our growing population, combined with the impacts of climate change and aging infrastructure, there is an increased need for new and innovative technologies. Technologies that can offer solutions to predict infrastructure rehabilitation and renewal needs, pre-empt failure and prolong the life of infrastructure.

In addition, there is a profound need for new systems that can deliver sustainable, resilient, and cost-effective infrastructure. This includes real-time monitoring, predictive modelling, and scenario planning that integrates climate modelling – and can also be used to assess, in 3D, how our landscapes can be designed to play a part in adaptation and mitigation.

The expert panel in this webinar discussed challenges and opportunities across the following key themes:

• Sensing, intelligent and adaptive systems
• Data collection, security, and integration
• Modelling, simulations, and prognostics
• Infrastructure health monitoring and predictive maintenance
• Spatial data, digital twins, and decision support.

The panel was proudly presented by the Infrastructure platform, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology – University of Melbourne.

Click here to view the webinar

Panelists and chair:

Andy Kennard

Business Solutions Manager, Software and Systems, Emerson Automation Solutions

Andy Kennard has been working with Emerson in industrial control and automation for over 40 years. In that time he worked in a wide range of industries, including water, power, chemical, life sciences, oil and gas, and mining.

He holds degrees from the University of Sydney in engineering and science and is currently the business solutions manager for SYSS in Australia and New Zealand, specialising in the challenges of modernising industrial automation infrastructure

Dr Govinda Pandey

CEO, Rockfield Technologies Australia

Dr Govinda Pandey is the CEO of Rockfield, Co-Founder of LiXiA, and Adjunct Associate Professor at James Cook University. His leadership has resulted in Rockfield pioneering the adoption of modern sensor technologies to accelerate the world’s transition to safe and intelligent infrastructure. Govinda’s network extends globally given his international training and practice.

Govinda’s technical authority is in the areas of structural rehabilitation, non-linear modelling, bridge engineering, structural health monitoring, asset management, buried metal structures, and mechanically stabilized earth walls. He has delivered projects of various sizes and complexities across Australia and New Zealand.

As an industry thought leader, Govinda delivers talks nationally and internationally at workshops, seminars, and conferences as an invited speaker. He is passionate about education and believes in sharing his knowledge and experience for the greater good of society. This has driven him to continue lecturing at the university, supervising undergraduate thesis students, mentoring student engineers, and visiting schools.

Prof. Abbas Rajabifard

Professor Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne

Prof. Abbas Rajabifard is an accomplished surveyor and researcher, with more than 30 years’ of experience across academia, government, and industry.

His interest and passion encompass spatial science, surveying, land administration and mapping, research, and education. Abbas is an internationally recognised expert in land administration modernisation, 3D cadastre, Digital Twin, and BIM (Building Information Model) technology. He has conducted projects in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East, North America, and Latin America regions (in particular, Australia, Iran, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, Chile, Colombia, India, Solomon Islands, and Saudi Arabia).

Mark Allan (Chair)

Director Greenline, City of Melbourne

Mark Allan is a registered architect and qualified urban planner with a Master’s degree from the Melbourne Business School. With a career spanning 30 years in sustainable urban development and major urban renewal projects, Mark has played key roles in the planning and design of Federation Square, Melbourne Docklands, and the Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal. In his current role at the City of Melbourne, he is the Acting Director of City Design where he leads the Council’s City Design Studio. Mark has previously held senior roles in architectural practice at Mirvac, VicUrban, and the former Melbourne Docklands Authority. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and the Planning Institute of Australia and an Honorary Fellow of the University of Melbourne’s Infrastructure Engineering Department. Mark has expertise in urban renewal projects and the design of sustainable precincts.