Science and Engineering for a Sustainable Future
Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment
The researchers in UniSA's Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment spend every day in pursuit of sustainable solutions to the problems that plague our planet. Through good science, elegant engineering solutions and smart technology, we are making progress in advanced manufacturing, defence and national security, water science and sustainable settlements. If you want to know what the future will be like, I urge you to hear these lectures.
Professor Andrew Parfitt, Pro Vice Chancellor
At the crossroads: Adelaide's transport future |
Available online |
Tuesday 8 July (Registrations
closed,
access online lecture)
6.00 - 7.00 pm
Centenary Building,
Level 4 Room 16
City East campus
Within a generation, urban transport systems will change forever under a tsunami of social, economic and environmental factors. Consider our changing demographics, an ageing population, 'peak oil' and the wane of liquid fossil fuels, not to mention the imperative to adapt to climate change. In a fascinating visit to the near-future, Michael Taylor looks at how this will affect Adelaide and speculates on a number of questions. Will cars still rule the roads? Can buses meet the new demands? Is rail-based transport the saviour? What will life be like with these new services? Can we afford the new technology and infrastructure? What if we can't?
Professor Michael A P Taylor
Michael is Acting Director of the
Institute for Sustainable Systems and
Technologies and Professor of Transport Planning in the
School of Natural
and Built Environments at UniSA. Previously, he was a traffic engineer with
Victoria's Country Roads Board, a consultant with the OECD's Road Transport
Research Program, and a CSIRO research scientist. Currently, Michael is
working on the development and computer modelling of 'Intelligent transport
Systems' including: travel-demand modelling; traffic-flow theory; road
safety; and transport data acquisition, analysis and application. He is a
Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, the Chartered Institute
of Transport, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Professor
Michael A P Taylor's homepage
Surface-engineered silica: water treatment for a thirsty world
Tuesday 12 August (Registrations
closed,
access online lecture)
6.00 - 7.00 pm
Mawson Centre,
SA Water Lecture Theatre
Mawson Lakes campus
The global demand for uncontaminated, potable water is now unprecedented. Recently, UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) reported that water-borne organic pollutants are now the main cause of diarrhoea, worm infections and infectious diseases. Often, these emanate from manufacturers and refineries. Conventional water treatments are very inefficient at removing pathogens, necessitating disinfection. This can then result in by-products like trihalomethane, considered to have serious effects on human health. That's why the surface-engineered silica powder recently developed is such an exciting breakthrough, with its potential to remove organic contaminants and pathogens safely from water. Peter Majewski will review its development and explain how it can save lives.
Professor Peter Majewski
Peter is Professor of
Nanotechnology and Nanomanufacturing at UniSA's
Mawson Institute with our
School
of Advanced Manufacturing and
Mechanical Engineering. Born in
Germany, he studied geology at
the University of Hannover with a
PhD in mineralogy. In 1989, Peter
joined the Max-Planck-Institute for
Metals Research, developing high temperature
superconducting
cables and devices (for which he
won the Heinz Maier Leibnitz
award) and solid-oxide fuel
cells. In 2000, he received the
International Research Exchange
Scheme Award and joined the
University of Wollongong as an
International Professor Fellow. In
2003, Peter came to UniSA and
is currently exploring nano and
biomaterials for cancer diagnosis
and water treatment.
Professor Peter Majewski's homepage
Defence or sustainability: you can't beat the system
Tuesday 9 September (Registrations
closed,
access online lecture)
6.00 - 7.00 pm
Mawson Centre,
SA Water Lecture Theatre
Mawson Lakes campus
If it weren't for systems, the world would collapse into chaos. But who designs the socio-technical systems that underpin modern society? And how do they work out something so complex? The first answer is systems engineers but there is much more involved. To find out more come and listen to Stephen Cook's lecture. You'll discover that at the heart of systems engineering is the concept of holism: a complex system can only be understood by looking at its entirety and within its environment. You'll find out how holism usefully informs both systems engineering and the sustainability debates. And you'll hear research findings that help you figure out if you're a potential systems practitioner.
Professor Stephen Cook
Stephen is Director of both UniSA's
Defence and Systems
Institute and our Centre of
Expertise in Systems Integration.
After over 10 years' engineering
experience in telecommunications
and aerospace, he joined the
Defence Science and Technology
Organisation (DSTO), rising
to Research Leader Military
Information Networks in 1994.
Since 1997, he has been
seconded to UniSA as DSTO's
foundation Professor of Systems
Engineering. His research spans
systems modelling, engineering
of C2 systems, systems
approaches for defence capability
development, acquisition
modernisation, and support for
systems engineering education.
He has contributed to three books
and published over 100 papers.
Stephen is a Past President of the
Systems Engineering Society of
Australia.
Professor Stephen Cook's
homepage
Water: will Adelaide go with the flow?
Tuesday 14 October
6.00 - 7.00 pm
Basil Hetzel Building
City East campus
Having just completed the editing of his latest book, Adelaide, Nature of a City: Water, Chris Daniels can now offer you a sneak peek at its contents. The Nature of a City series (of which this is the second) examines the way the environment affects how we live in this city. On the crucial subject of Water, you'll learn about the natural aspects of Adelaide that affect the water flow, how our history has created the water situation (both droughts and floods) that we have inherited today, and what can and must be done about water to make our city sustainable into the future.
Professor Chris Daniels
Chris is Professor of Urban Ecology at UniSA's
School of Natural and Built
Environments, Director of BioCity@UniSA
and Head of Geospatial and Environmental Management. Educated in Adelaide and
New England, he held academic positions in the US and Adelaide before UniSA.
Chris is a passionate communicator about science and the environment,
appearing regularly on ABC Radio and winning the 2007 Premier's Science
Award for communication and education. With Tim Flannery and other
scientists, he formed BioCity@UniSA, with over 140 members contributing
education, communication and research into Adelaide's urban environment.
Chris's first book in the Adelaide, Nature of a City series (Ecology) won
the Whitley Award.
Professor
Chris Daniels' homepage